What is a Headless CMS? - Explanation & Meaning
Learn what a headless CMS is, how API-first content management works, and why a headless CMS like Contentful or Sanity offers advantages over traditional CMS platforms.
Definition
A headless CMS is a content management system where the backend (content storage and management) is fully decoupled from the frontend (presentation layer), delivering content via an API to any client.
Technical explanation
In a headless architecture, the CMS manages only structured content and delivers it through REST or GraphQL APIs. Unlike monolithic CMS platforms like WordPress, where templates and content are intertwined, a headless CMS is agnostic about how content is rendered. Content is modeled as reusable blocks with defined schemas and relationships. Popular headless CMS solutions include Contentful, Sanity, Strapi, and Hygraph. Contentful and Sanity are SaaS platforms with CDN distribution and real-time collaboration, while Strapi offers an open-source alternative that can be self-hosted. Content Delivery Networks cache API responses globally for fast delivery. Webhooks trigger automatic rebuilds of static sites when content changes. The headless approach enables omnichannel publishing: the same content feeds a website, mobile app, digital signage, and IoT devices. Content previews are achieved via draft APIs that serve unpublished content for review. GROQ and GraphQL provide powerful query capabilities to fetch exactly the required content structures.
How MG Software applies this
MG Software implements headless CMS solutions for clients who need to distribute content across multiple channels. We connect Sanity or Contentful to Next.js frontends with incremental static regeneration, so content changes go live within seconds. This gives editorial teams full freedom without requiring developer intervention.
Practical examples
- A media company using Sanity as a headless CMS to manage articles that automatically appear on their website, mobile app, and newsletter via the same API.
- A retail chain using Contentful to centrally manage product descriptions and publish them to their webshop, in-store displays, and social media channels.
- A startup self-hosting Strapi to maintain full control over their data while their Next.js frontend fetches content via GraphQL.
Related terms
Frequently asked questions
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