Headless Content Platform Considerations: How to Build for the Future

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The concept of “headless platforms” has emerged within the last decade and changed how many operate their tech stacks.

"Going headless" means separating the front-end presentation layer of a website from its back-end data and functionality. This contrasts with traditional all-in-one platforms where content, products, and data are tightly integrated.

While both headless and traditional platforms have their merits, the choice depends on a business's specific needs and resources. A headless approach can lead to quicker and more refined user experiences but typically demands more development expertise.

So, what is headless… content? Before you start trying to picture what that means, we’ll save you from trying!

Understanding headless content management

Understanding Headless CMS

80% of businesses that don't have headless architecture plan to implement one in the next two years. Why? A headless content management platform is a back-end-only system allowing you to host website content.

The term “headless” comes from the concept of chopping the “head” (the front end, i.e., the website) from the “body” (the back end, i.e., the content repository).

You can add content to the headless platform and determine how it is sent to the front end of your website. Typically, you would use a modern content platform tool like Contentful to host the content.

Content platforms have to be the focal point of your martech stack
From a strategic standpoint, we consistently advise our customers that the content platform should be the central focus of all marketing technology. This is where we begin because this is where marketing itself starts. How?

Think about it… The first question is always about strategy: What type of content should we showcase for this campaign? How will we distribute it, and how quickly? The content platform is always at the heart of these decisions.

Instead, many marketing teams use data platforms as the central focus, and this approach becomes more about managing data than enhancing the customer experience. In other words, you may find yourself reacting to data trends without a clear strategic direction for content delivery. This could lead to serving content that fails to engage or is redundant.

Customer experience should be driven by content with data supporting it. Then, you can make sure your customer experience remains front and center and deliver content that resonates with your audience.

Benefits of a headless content platform

While a traditional CMS allows you to keep your content and website all in one place, a headless CMS has a wide range of benefits:

Host more content without impacting site speed

At first, anyone will have limited content and pages for their website. But, each year, their website grows (especially if you create content like blogs).

A headless CMS allows you to centralize content and deliver it to the website directly via API. This means that when a web page is loaded, the content that’s needed for that page is the only thing that loads, not other data points that would accompany a regular landing page using a traditional all-in-one CMS platform.

More secure

Since you’re decoupling the front end of the website from the back end, you can also separate the security risks and better protect your back end. You can create different security protocols for both ends; if something happens, it only impacts one end.

For instance, while the front end might focus on defending against cross-site scripting (XSS) and other client-side attacks, the back end can concentrate on securing the data and protecting against unauthorized access and breaches.

Flexible and easily customizable

Since you have access to the back end, you’re not limited to pre-determined content formats. Content is stored as raw data, independent of presentation, meaning it can be pushed and reformatted for any platform — from websites and mobile apps to IoT devices and beyond.

Customization also extends to integrating various marketing tools and technologies. Headless content platforms can seamlessly connect with ecommerce systems, customer relationship management (CRM) software, analytics tools, and more. This interoperability enhances a marketing team’s ability to deliver targeted, data-driven campaigns.

Smoother maintenance and staging

Since you can access the back end without impacting the front end, you can work on content, make updates, and test new features in the back end without any risk of inadvertently altering the user experience.

One of the critical aspects of this approach is the ability to create staging environments. A staging environment is a separate, non-public area where you can test changes, updates, or completely new features before they go live. Since the front end is independent, these staging environments can perfectly replicate the live environment without any risk of impacting the actual website or application.

Marketing teams and developers can collaborate to refine content, experiment with layouts, and trial new functionalities with the assurance that the public-facing site remains unaffected and stable.

Omnichannel delivery

Consumers engage with brands across a myriad of platforms — websites, mobile apps, social media, smart devices, and more. Each of these platforms may have different requirements and ways of presenting content.

A headless CMS is inherently designed to handle this complexity. The fundamental architecture of a headless CMS, with its clear separation between content storage and delivery, enables content to be served wherever it's needed through the use of APIs (Application Programming Interfaces).

This means the platform stores content in a format-agnostic way, so the same piece of content can be easily adapted and delivered to different platforms without the need for duplication or extensive reformatting.

Choosing the right platform: Key considerations when choosing a CMS

Since teams, resources, and goals vary between businesses, there are some considerations to make when choosing a content management platform. Some questions to ask yourself:

Does your content system easily pipe content to other marketing channels like email and Ads?
If your team runs various ad campaigns, how much time are you spending duplicating content across various platforms? If you could deliver content to multiple destinations immediately, would it make your life easier? With a headless platform, you can deliver content to multiple destinations easily.
How easy do you need it to be to build your content structure and add content?
Non-headless platforms will make you use their predetermined content formats. If you need a high uptime system with few limitations in terms of APIs, then going headless might be the best option.
Does your team need to invest more time with customers and prospects versus trying to keep up with outdated technology?
Traditional CMS platforms are known to be a high investment in terms of time and dollars.

Many teams using legacy all-in-one platforms are stuck in a position where they rarely, if ever, update their website or the software because of the daunting task of cleaning up legacy bits of data and content that have been lying around for years and exist strictly in one format.

If you have a small team, you might benefit from migrating to a headless platform that allows you to update and move faster in the longer term.
What are the operating expenses and capital expenses?
The bottom line is often about cost. First, what are the day-to-day expenses that will be incurred in order to operate and work with the content management platform? Then, what are the capital costs you will invest to improve the business over the long term?

Often, the capital cost, like the cost of a one-time migration, is considered an investment in the future.

Common mistakes when selecting a platform

Here's a bulleted list of mistakes to watch out for and solutions to consider:

Choosing based on past experience alone

Avoid selecting a platform just because someone on the team is familiar with it from a previous role or company. Remember that a platform that works well in one context might not suit the needs of a different organization size or type.

Ignoring the broader impact

Consider the impact of a new platform on all teams across the business, not just one department or individual. Evaluate how the change might disrupt existing processes and whether the benefits outweigh the potential negatives.

Relying on gut feelings over data

Make decisions based on data, such as time spent on tasks with the current vs. potential new platform, rather than intuition. Log and analyze data to make informed choices that can be justified and explained to the team.

Overlooking change management

Plan for the disruption that any migration will cause. Prepare a comprehensive plan for onboarding and training all users on the new platform.

Seeking temporary fixes instead of long-term solutions

Address the root causes of issues rather than applying temporary fixes that might not solve the underlying problems. For example, if design issues are the core problem, consider working with a specialized design agency rather than switching platforms.

Not weighing the pros and cons carefully

Understand that while a platform might benefit one side of the business, it could negatively impact another. The decision-maker should carefully weigh these factors to ensure the chosen solution is the best overall.

Avoiding these mistakes can save time, money, and reduce stress, leading to a more cohesive and efficient working environment.

Future proof your content platform

When making the decision to use any CMS, headless or traditional, it’s important to consider how your business will grow and future-proof the platform you use.

What exactly does that mean? When you think of legacy sites with thousands of bits of content in their back-end, you want to avoid getting trapped within one platform or content format.

Here are a few tips for future-proofing your CMS:

Keep the power in the marketing team’s hands: Although headless platforms can leverage APIs and custom development, balance it with empowering the marketing team to be able to edit and make changes without requiring a developer every time. With the right platform, you should be able to have both.
Maintain a flexible design structure: While content should be unique, your design structure shouldn't need to be reworked for every new campaign or product.
Select a tool with a simple integration process: Adding a new product to your tech stack should be straightforward, typically through an API or simple integration, not a massive development task.

These tips are designed to ensure your content platform remains robust and adaptable, ready to meet the evolving needs of your business and the digital marketplace.

Tying it all together

Your content platform is the focal point for all things marketing tech. But, hey, that doesn't mean you can just wing it with the rest of your tech stack. You still need a solid plan and smart strategy to make everything work smoothly.

Here’s how you can start that process: Download our guide “Breaking Down The Tech Stack: A Guide to Web Technology for Modern Websites.”

Headless Content Platform Considerations When Building Your Web Tech Stack