Why You Should Consider Headless CMS When Upgrading Your eCommerce Website

During the early years of the dot com era, audiences could only interact with online content through their web browsers on desktop computers and laptops. There were no smartphones, tablets, wearables, or internet of things (IoT). Hence, content creation was streamlined for web browser display on desktops and laptops. The traditional content management system (CMS) providers then had only one job, to make it super easy for businesses to manage their websites. And it was effective because legacy CMS allows businesses to create and deploy content one by one from the backend to their single web page.

But the challenge is that internet users can now access online content on multiple screens and across different online channels, which is why brands are switching to headless CMS.

Headless CMS VS Traditional CMS

Before we talk about the benefits of headless CMS, here’s a quick rundown of why brands are upgrading from legacy CMS to headless CMS for better content management.

Legacy CMS (aka traditional CMS or coupled CMS) ties the presentation layer which users interact with, the business logic layer, and the data access layer together in the backend. Developers, designers, and content editors do their respective work from the same backend — applying design schemas, coding, and writing content from the same backend. The client-side, aka internet users’ devices, also access the same backend thereby making the website a bit vulnerable.

The rise of blogging birthed the What You See Is What You Get (WYSIWYG) editing feature, giving brands complete control to create content one-by-one from the backend for web browsers as they want it. However, legacy CMS and WYSIWYG are not equipped to handle the complex omnichannel content creation style. And each time the content editor wants to update content on legacy CMS, it has to be with the help of a technical expert.

Unlike legacy or traditional CMS, headless CMS is decoupled. Headless CMS separates the presentation layer from the business logic layer and data access layer, making the website more secure. It optimizes content creation and management by allowing brands to create and store content in the content management backend until APIs call it to display on any UI type. Headless CMS eliminates the omnichannel content management challenge traditional CMS faces.

Additionally, the content management backend on headless CMS is separate from the database backend where the developer works. Hence, content editors don’t need the help of developers to work on content, and the developer’s work won’t affect the presentation layer of the website.

Benefits of Headless CMS

Omnichannel Support

Headless CMS can convert your published content to another format to display on any user interface or channel without consistent input from the content editor. Once the API calls to the stored content, the webhook will present the content to the channel the audience uses. For instance, if you want to make your content accessible on wearable devices or Tesla, there’s no need for you to create specific content for either channel. Headless CMS will convert the available content to the format that is compatible with the client-side wearable or Tesla and display.

Content Management is Fast and Easy

Headless CMS is flexible. Developers can use any programming language to work without affecting the content management side of things. Because headless CMS is content as a service (CaaS) type of decoupled CMS which uses API for content management, content editors can create and manage content without restraints. Unlike legacy CMS, your headless CMS tool is strictly for storing content, and it doesn’t save other delicate assets of your website. You also don’t need a developer or CMS expert to teach you how to use headless CMS. Hence, headless CMS makes content delivery fast and easy.

More Scalable and Secure

With headless CMS, whenever your backend is under maintenance or has a performance issue, your website won’t experience any downtime. Headless CMS also uses webhook to foster simple and seamless integrations with existing systems. Hence, eliminating the discrepancy challenge websites usually face when they switch their architectural framework. If your headless CMS tool has performance issues, it also doesn’t affect the rest of your website.

Additionally, headless CMS is more secure than traditional CMS for the same reason; it separates the presentation layer from the business logic and data access layers. So, when the client-side interacts with your website, it is restricted to the presentation layer, thereby making your website less vulnerable to hacking.

Headless CMS Makes Future-proofing Easy

You will always have to adopt new applications for your website because there will always be a better tool, framework, etc in the future. A non-headless CMS is not easy to integrate with new applications and frameworks because it usually requires overhauling from the ground up at the backend. Some involve adding new lines of codes from scratch, and this will always make you hesitate to try new tools and frameworks.

On the other hand, headless CMS doesn’t require any technical changes to integrate new systems. The most your developers will do is use APIs to connect your headless CMS with new systems.

Headless CMS is Affordable

Since you won’t have to overhaul your backend code every time you want to integrate new systems with your CMS, it will save you time and money. You also don’t need to hire technical experts to build custom CMS-based templates. Lastly, you don’t have to go all-in with setting up your headless CMS. Instead, you can use a small headless CMS tool, see how it optimizes your website, and upgrade to a more robust headless CMS solution later.

To be truly digital in 2022, your content must be available in multiple formats across multiple channels and compatible with numerous screens. If you stick to legacy CMS, what you can do is manually create content for each screen, in different formats, and for different channels. But that’s a waste of your precious time that you can spend doing other necessary business operations or enjoying a good nap. Especially since the content as a service (CaaS) experience of headless CMS is available to you.