OFF WITH THEIR HEADS: Welcome to the CMS Revolution

When did content management get so difficult?

Is this content ready to publish? Why can’t we get our page speeds up? What channels are we allowed to expand to? Do we really need SO MANY PLUGINS?

Somedays, it feels like there’s a roadblock at every turn. And unfortunately, it’s not just your imagination. Content Management System (CMS) users around the world feel the pinch of old tech (opens in a new window)

With a problem this vast, it’s better to start with the bigger question:

When did it get this bad?

Slow. Clunky. Generic. All fatal traits in a customer experience… that are also incredibly prevalent in many modern CMSs.

So how did we get here?

Sadly, it’s always been like this. Most CMSs are right where they started. That’s the key problem, in fact: CMSs stopped evolving. While new software and customer demands grew around them, CMSs remained dedicated to the architecture of the original setups where the front and backends are one monolithic unit.

Don’t get me wrong – there’s a time and a place for legacy CMSs. Smaller projects can thrive on super-simple setups. But if you have ambitious growth plans, demand top-tier speed, or require a hand-picked tech stack to power your business, you’ll find that the tightly coupled architecture inevitably gets in your way.

Nobody can deny that these traditional CMSs were king back in the day. But monarchy isn’t for everyone. So a few tech pioneers did the only reasonable thing: they pulled out the metaphorical guillotine.

Welcome to the headless revolution

While a legacy CMS is essentially one unit, a headless CMS separates the "body" of a content management system (the backend) from the "head" (the frontend). But thanks to the power of APIs, they can still communicate – just with a new, incredible degree of freedom.

What does it mean for you?

This key architectural difference in headless unlocks an infinite universe of possibilities, while legacy keeps you tethered firmly to Earth. Let’s take a closer look at what that means for your business.

Move at the speed of light

Legacy systems just weren’t designed for speed. The heavy, clunky monolithic architecture often ends up bloated. Count on slow content delivery, slow time-to-market, slow upgrades… slow everything.

A headless system isn’t encumbered like that. The decoupled setup is remarkably lightweight. Content doesn’t need to wind its way through complex workflows, meaning you can reach your customers faster than your competitors – not to mention all the savings from cutting out those slow workflow processes.

Embrace agility and turn on a dime

Users have come to expect the best of the best in all their brand interactions. That means embracing the latest programs and channels is crucial to beating the competition. The same rigidity that makes monolithic systems so darn slow also makes it difficult to integrate new tech and channels – which, unfortunately, also makes scaling your business an insurmountable challenge.

With headless, you’re not just getting content to users faster. You’re also getting it to them wherever they are: on desktop, mobile, and even emerging channels such as AR/VR. Because headless is powered by APIs, you’ll never be limited. Any channel that works with an API is fair game, meaning you’ll always be ready to scale and grow.

Control your tech – not the other way around

Due to the tightly coupled nature of a legacy system, you’re pretty much locked into one framework. It doesn’t matter if your needs change. Your system can’t, essentially tying a hand behind your back. Depending on what CMS you’re using, you might have both hands tied: some vendors have strict template restrictions that are only lifted with a hefty plan upgrade.

If you want to break free of technical restrictions like these, headless is the way to go. Because the frontend and backend aren’t coupled, you can work in any framework you want. Devs will love the freedom to work in their best language, and marketers will love how that enables them to deliver truly unique, best-in-class user experiences. And if your needs change? So can your system. You’ll never have to trade freedom for a powerful CMS ever again.

How to prepare for the headless revolution

So you’ve decided to get on board with the revolution. Congrats! Welcome!

Let’s not pretend that growth isn’t painless, though. Big changes require a lot of effort even when it's for the better. Unfortunately, there’s not a neat way around that.

But all that effort brings big benefits too. And the more prepared you are to make the switch, the sooner and easier you can start reaping the rewards.

Here are a few things to get squared away before you start for smooth sailing:

Move in phases

Rome wasn’t built in a day, and your next-gen CMS won’t be either. Don’t overload yourself with the pressure of getting it all transferred at once. Instead, plan out phases. Look for the content with the biggest impact on your users – that’s your first priority. Then, you can work your way down to other assets.

Train your teams

Make sure your teams are ready for the switch. Give them hands-on training if possible so they’re ready to jump in on day one. This goes for your tech teams and your content creators. If you want to give your teams a leg-up, pick a headless CMS with strong collaboration tools and an easy learning curve.

Embrace content modeling

For the uninitiated, content modeling (opens in a new window) is the process of optimizing your assets by thorough organization. When everything follows a certain taxonomy, it makes it easier to create and distribute it with maximum efficiency. A migration is a great time to take a moment and decide how you want to structure everything.

Conclusion

Legacy systems simply weren’t built to meet modern demands for incredible performance speeds, embracing the newest tech, and enterprise-quality scaling. Despite a few half-hearted imitations of headless, monolithic systems are just too rigid to play catchup for long. And unfortunately, the companies still using these systems will certainly feel the pinch.

But you won’t be the only ones suffering. Your customers expect seamless, dynamic user experiences that keep them engaged across all touchpoints. If you can’t provide it, they’ll find someone who can.

The choice is simple: join the revolution, or get left behind.

Which will you choose?