Headless CMS

A headless CMS stores and edits content but does not render it. It exposes the content through an API, and a separate application — a website, a mobile app, a display in a shop — decides how it looks.

The value appears when the same content must reach more than one place, or when the presentation layer is rebuilt more often than the content model. Editors keep working in a familiar tool while the front end is replaced underneath them.

For a single website that will not be redesigned this year, it adds a system without removing one. A traditional CMS or generated static pages will usually get a small site live faster and leave less to operate.