Decoupled vs. Headless CMS: Which One is Right for You?

A CMS or Content Management Systems is a sophisticated software that allows companies to create, publish, embellish and manipulate content. Currently, where online services are the norm rather than the exception, a good CMS is a smart investment. 💰

The CMS is the backbone of managing content on websites, blogs, apps, and e-commerce platforms. CMSs have evolved with the internet and online services in general.

Initially, CMS used to be rigid and inflexible. They used to be monolithic models with little to no room for customization. Nowadays, there is much more flexibility due to Headless and Decoupled CMS. 

People often get confused about decoupled and Headless CMS because, initially, it can seem as if they are the same thing. Today, we will explain their differences and help you understand which is better for you.

Let’s start with decoupled CMS.

Simply put, a decoupled CMS has a separate front and back end. The only communication between the two is done via APIs. 

The backend is responsible for storing the content on a server, while the frontend is responsible for displaying it. The front and backend were completely tied together in older monolithic CMSs. This meant that the frontend design was constrained due to the way the back end worked.

With decoupled CMS, that is no longer an issue. Let’s check out the special properties of decoupled CMS in more detail.

Features of Decoupled CMS

A decoupled CMS has the following properties and features.

• Separate front and backends.

• Content delivery from the backend to the frontend is done via APIs or a bespoke method that doesn’t tie the frontend design to the backend.

• Allows for different frontend designs.

• Provides templates for frontend designs ready for use right out of the gate.

• Provide content preview before publishing.

• Easy to integrate with 3rd party services due to having separate front and backends.

• Allow using different designs based on region.

• The separate design helps use content delivery networks (CDNs) to improve content delivery globally.

• Better security due to the lack of connection between front and backends.

These services provide a working front-end template and handle content delivery via APIs, thus decoupling the front and back ends.

Suitable Use Cases

Considering the features and architecture of decoupled CMS, we can identify some scenarios where they are suitable. 

• Smaller websites/blogs: When you need a website quickly, a decoupled CMS is better as it provides some templates for the front end.

• High Traffic Sites that Require Fast Loading: When a front end is already made, it can be cached and pre-rendered on the client side. This reduces the load on the server and improves website loading times.

• Organizations that require collaboration: While nothing can beat a dedicated development team, sometimes you just don’t have that luxury. You may need content writers and product managers to push content updates and posts. They can use decoupled CMS more easily due to the less stringent technical requirements.

Headless CMS are similar to decoupled CMS in many ways. They also separate front and back ends, but they do it differently. In a Headless CMS, there is no pre-defined frontend. 

When you use a headless CMS, you have to create your frontend from scratch and provide the data from the backend via APIs. Let’s look at its properties in more detail.

Features of Headless CMS

A Headless CMS has the following properties.

• It does not have a prebuilt frontend

• Only concerned with storing and providing data.

• Unconcerned with presentation

• Allow for Omnichannel support. No frontend requirement means data can be sent to any app or website from one backend.

• It lets you preview content designs before publishing them.

• Leaves way more room for frontend customization than a decoupled CMS.

• Extremely flexible. You can modify things like routes, middleware, controllers, and services on the backend. 

• Highly scalable. Due to the extreme customization available, you can scale your CMS with your projects easily. 

These benefits do come at a cost, though, as the individual frontend development takes some time.

Also, take care of your content delivery. While Omnichannel delivery is supported, you must do your due diligence and set up the content routes, which requires significant networking knowledge.

For example, you need to create DNS records, ensure DNS propagation is correct, and define different DNS servers for different regions using the client’s IP location.

While all of that means more development work, you are not locked to a prebuilt system at the end of the day. 🎉

Suitable Use Cases for Headless CMS

Given the properties and benefits, we can easily derive the best Headless CMS use cases:

• Media companies: Media companies need Omnichannel support to view their content on all types of devices. 

• Enterprise systems: Large systems where scalability is necessary benefit from using an Enterprise Headless CMS.

• Progressive Web Apps (PWAs): PWAs made using technologies like React, Vue.js, and angular benefit from headless CMS by dynamically fetching content via APIs.

• Personalized Content Delivery: When a company wants to provide content in a highly personalized way, they can use headless CMS and a dynamic front end to achieve their goals.

Now that you know what decoupled and headless CMS is, let’s have another look at what separates them from each other:

These are the most noticeable differences between the two types of CMS.

Which CMS is right for you? That depends on your use case, goals and resources.

But before making a choice, ask yourself: Do you need scalability? Do you need omnichannel support? Do you need the level of flexibility afforded by a headless CMS? If the answer is yes to two or more of those questions, use a headless CMS; otherwise a decoupled CMS or even a Traditional CMS might be the better choice. 

And remember, to make a Headless CMS work, you need a dedicated development team.

Still unsure? At Caisy, we offer a free demo-call and CMS-Consulting. Book your call and get a personal tour through Caisy, a highly flexible, fast and user-friendly Headless CMS.

We'd be happy to talk to you - no strings attached. 😆