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Headless CMS? Confused Newbie
So I am starting from zero other than some basic HTML/CSS/JS experience. I have seen people online advise that I design and create a WordPress site about something I have an interest in and spend time building that and optimizing the SEO. But I also heard headless CMS systems are the future for most client websites going forward.
I am confused, can someone clarify this and their place in the web ecosystem? Why do so many web design freelancers, marketing agencies and clients use WordPress if a “Headless CMS” is superior for your typical site? Does it have something to do with so many plugins already coded for WordPress such as SEO, membership builders, scheduling builders?
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4 Replies
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The web is changing so fast, it is impossible to catch up with the latest and greatest technologies. If you are starting out and have ambition, you should learn Jamstack.
Of course traditional CMS like WordPress is easier to deploy and develop due to everything being in one place and also due to the wealth of plugins, and I don’t think it is going anywhere any time soon. Headless solutions are in a Wild West right now. So many offerings, so many solutions, so many moving parts, your head can spin. So ,you have to build your nitch in the headless jamstack space.
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You can use WordPress with a headless CMS. Headless CMS still have a CMS (WordPress, Shopify, etc) but it’s decoupled and the ability of the site is endless. From custom made shopping carts, site speed, the advantages of a headless site are endless.
Does this mean every site should be headless? No. E-commerce sites especially are great for headless structures (shopping cart functionality mentioned above) but should a small coffee shop pay extra for a headless, absolutely not.
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When I needed a new CMS I went headless and haven’t looked back. But I have a development team and ultimately the separation of styling from content could only be a good thing as it allowed consistency and control.
Headless CMS also allowed the content loaded to be easily pushed out via mobile app and email, and rapid development where content use was required.
The separation of the website from code, using content and domain based apis meant far faster development and a much lighter website build meaning we were far more agile. -
Headless CMSs offer a lot of benefits but often lack the usability of regular WordPress. On regular WordPress, content creators can do a lot on their own thanks to blocks, widgets, the editor, page builders and plugins. A lot of functionality that is taken for granted on WordPress becomes complicated on headless and devs often have to reinvent the wheel to achieve WordPress functionality that is generally a matter of one click.
That’s why WP is still a popular choice, and WP’s market share continues to grow by leaps and bounds.
Solutions like [Strattic](https://www.strattic.com) (disclosure: I work there) aim to bring the best of both worlds to site owners: use WP as usual, and click a button to deploy a static, headless version of the site.
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