# What Is a Headless CMS? Pros and Cons for B2B > A headless CMS stores and edits content but leaves the design to separate code, delivering content through an API. How it works and when a B2B site needs one. Source: https://pentaclay.com/glossary/headless-cms 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](https://pentaclay.com/services/nextjs-development) 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. Read next - [Next.js development](https://pentaclay.com/services/nextjs-development) - [Custom development](https://pentaclay.com/services/custom-development) Last updated 15 November 2026 Related terms ## Terms that go with headless CMS - [CMS collections A CMS collection is a group of content items of the same type, such as blog posts, case studies or team members, that share a set of fields and are displayed through a shared page template.](https://pentaclay.com/glossary/cms-collections) - [Next.js Next.js is an open-source framework, built on React and maintained by Vercel, for building websites and web applications that can render pages on the server, at build time or in the browser.](https://pentaclay.com/glossary/nextjs) - [Static site generation (SSG) Static site generation (SSG) is a way of building a website in which every page is turned into a finished HTML file ahead of time, during a build step, so the server only has to send ready-made files when someone visits.](https://pentaclay.com/glossary/static-site-generation) - [Webflow Webflow is a visual website builder that lets teams design pages with the same structure as hand-written HTML and CSS, manage content in a built-in CMS, and host the site on Webflow’s servers.](https://pentaclay.com/glossary/webflow) [All glossary terms](https://pentaclay.com/glossary) ## Questions about headless CMS ### Can’t find your answer? Book a call and let’s talk. [Book a call](https://cal.com/pentaclay/discovery-call) Or email us at [contact@pentaclay.com](mailto:contact@pentaclay.com) Is a headless CMS better for SEO? Not by itself. SEO depends on how the front end is built: whether pages are rendered as HTML, fast, and well structured. A headless setup gives developers full control over those things, which can help or hurt. Can marketers edit a headless CMS without developers? They can edit text, images and entries. Changing page layouts or adding new section types usually needs a developer, unless the build includes a page builder made of predefined blocks. Is Webflow or Framer a headless CMS? Not in the usual sense. Both are visual website builders with a built-in CMS and hosting. Webflow does offer a CMS API, so its content can also be used elsewhere. What does a headless setup cost to run? It usually means paying for the CMS, for hosting and for developer time to maintain the front end. The total depends on the tools and team; ask for a breakdown before choosing. ## Your business grew up. Your website should too If customers need a demo just to understand what you sell, your website isn’t doing its job. - We sign an NDA on request. - You own the site, the code and every account once it’s paid. - Your first call is with Erfan, the founder. **Kazi Mohammed Erfan** Founder Don’t want to fill in the form? [Book a call directly](https://cal.com/pentaclay/discovery-call) ## Not sure? Ask AI about Pentaclay ### Pentaclay, in short Updated 17 Oct 2026 Pentaclay is a B2B website design agency for AI companies that sell to enterprises. We write, design and build marketing websites in Framer, Webflow and Next.js, and stay to help after launch. Pentaclay LLC is registered in New Mexico, USA; our team works from Dhaka, Bangladesh, with calls until 12:30pm US Eastern. Founded in 2023 by Kazi Mohammed Erfan, who brings 12 years of design experience.