Glossary
What is a headless CMS?
A headless CMS is a content management system that stores and edits content but has no built-in website front end; it delivers the content through an API to a separately built site, app or other channel.
Also called API-first CMS, decoupled CMS
How it works
A traditional CMS, such as WordPress in its classic setup, holds the content and also renders the pages with its own themes. A headless CMS keeps only the first half. Editors write in its interface, and developers fetch the content from an API into a front end built with a framework such as Next.js or Astro.
Well-known headless CMSs include Sanity, Contentful, Storyblok, Strapi and Payload. Some, like Strapi and Payload, are open source and can be self-hosted.
Why it matters for B2B websites
Headless setups suit B2B companies whose content has to appear in more than one place: the marketing site, product documentation, a customer portal or an app. Content is written once and reused. Developers get full control over speed, structure and integrations.
The cost is complexity. Every page type, preview and editing feature has to be built, and changes to layout usually need a developer. A visual builder such as Framer or Webflow, with its own CMS, is often the simpler choice for a marketing site that a small team edits.
When it fits
- Content shared across a website, docs, app or several regional sites
- Complex content models with many relations, such as integrations by product by industry
- A development team that will own the front end long term
- Strict security, hosting or data residency requirements
Example
A developer tools company keeps its integration listings in a headless CMS. The same entries feed the marketing site’s integrations directory, the docs sidebar and an in-product picker, so a new integration is added in one place.
How we handle it
We recommend headless only when the content really has to live in several places or a team will maintain the code. For those projects we build the front end in Next.js with an editor-friendly CMS and live preview. For most marketing sites, we recommend Framer, Webflow or another platform that a marketing team can run without developers.
Last updated 15 November 2026
