Exploring the Future of Headless CMS in WordPress and Drupal

1. Exploring the Future of Headless CMS in WordPress and Drupal Content Management Systems (CMS) have become inevitable for site owners when building and managing online content. Owing to that CMS development services have peaked in the web development industry for the past few years. The CMS platform integrates a backend content database with the frontend user interface. However, as the business ecosystem continues to evolve it becomes necessary for businesses to serve content across many digital touchpoints. Traditional CMS platforms (like Drupal and WordPress) struggle to meet the demands of the modern business requirements of omnichannel customer experience. This is where a headless CMS became a hot topic in the web development industry. A headless CMS platform decouples the backend content database from the frontend user interface; this allows developers to deliver content seamlessly across multiple digital touchpoints. Reports published in WP Engine highlight that 85% of the organizations witnessed a steep rise in agility and performance after adopting headless CMS. Using Drupal or WordPress as a headless CMS will empower businesses to deliver consistent UX across all available digital channels and reduce significant time to the market for new products. Overall adopting headless CMS development will improve efficiency on business operations.

2. This article explores why businesses are looking for headless CMS development and the future of headless CMS in WordPress and Drupal in detail. 1. What is a Headless CMS? A headless CMS can also be called a backend CMS that makes content easily accessible and delivered to various front-end user interfaces through API. This empowers developers to provide content to various touch points other than websites and web apps. Before getting deep into the headless CMS, it is necessary to understand the differences between a traditional CMS and a headless CMS. A traditional CMS has an interrelated backend database and frontend interface through a conventional configuration. This makes the platform which controls your content determine how the content is going to be displayed. However, in a headless CMS, the backend database and frontend interface get decoupled. The content from the backend gets distributed to the frontend through APIs. This gives the flexibility for developers to deliver content consistently to multiple front-end touchpoints and improve UX values. 2. The Rise of Headless CMS The ecosystem provided by a headless CMS empowers content creators to focus on writing instead of worrying about how it will be displayed. On the other hand, developers can pick any of their favourite tech stacks for displaying content at frontend UI. Overall, a headless CMS development service provides more flexibility and improves the performance of the business by meeting all the evolving demands of modern customers. With API-driven content, developers can make use of JavaScript frameworks (like React, Vue, and Angular) to create more dynamic and visually appealing designs. Also, a headless CMS supports multi-channel and Omnichannel strategies allowing developers to design websites or web apps with better user experience level. 3. Headless CMS in WordPress Headless CMS in WordPress uses a decoupled architecture where the content from the backend is delivered to multiple frontend interfaces through API or SDK. In simple words, a WordPress site uses APIs like REST API or GraphQL for delivering content to the customer/visitor interface developed using a custom frontend framework. Benefits of using WordPress as a Headless CMS ● Greater Control ● Faster Performance

3. ● Improved Security ● Greater Flexibility Challenges ● No WYSIWYG editor ● Requires advanced programming skill ● More maintenance 4. Headless CMS in Drupal Just like headless WordPress CMS, headless Drupal uses Drupal as the CMS platform and delivers content to the frontend UI developed using custom frameworks through APIs (like JSON, GraphQL, and so on). Benefits of using Drupal as a Headless CMS ● Greater Flexibility ● API – first approach ● Single source of truth ● Streamlined development ● Faster content delivery Challenges ● Poor documentation Many top enterprises prefer using a headless Drupal to achieve a better interactive user experience across all user touchpoints. Here are some top websites with headless Drupal and custom frontend technologies. ● https://weather.com/ – Uses Anjular.js as a frontend stack. ● https://www.greatwolf.com/ - Uses CoffeeScript and Spine as its frontend stack ● https://www.wmg.com/ - Uses Anjular.js as a frontend stack. 5. Comparison: Headless WordPress vs Headless Drupal

4. Developers and businesses, who seek digital solutions for advanced customized and seamless integration capabilities to integrate various modern frameworks with their applications, can prefer headless WordPress. On the other hand, developers who intend to develop a highly interactive server-side rendering website can prefer headless Drupal. Both headless WordPress and headless Drupal have advantages and challenges, but they must be picked on considering the demands of end-users. As the modern end-users demand continues to evolve, web development companies now prefer custom CMS development for their clients to satisfy their needs. 6. Future Trends in Headless CMS Development The headless CMS has become a more conventional platform for delivering content across all front-end interfaces for developers. The emerging trends and challenges revolving around the CMS industry have paved the path towards the growth of the headless CMS market. Take a look at the emerging trends in the headless CMS industry. ● API-First Strategy – To deliver content instantly in an interactive way from any source. This will provide a smooth user experience. ● Composable Architectures – This allows developers to build custom digital solutions with a mixture of different components. With this feature, developers can create a CMS based on the specific need. ● AI Integration – With the presence of AI in headless CMS, businesses can easily automate the content creation and delivery. Also, delivering personalized content becomes possible along by improving content security.

5. ● IoT Devices – Headless CMSs are the best when it comes to delivering content to all customer devices including wearables and IoT devices. The introduction of disruptive technologies like AI and IoT in the headless CMS will create a significant impact on the growth of the headless CMS market around the globe. 7. Key Considerations for Choosing Headless CMS ● Scalability – A headless CMS should allow developers to implement high-level architecture for the development. ● Security – It should have a multi-layered cyber security to protect business data. ● Omnichannel Capabilities – It should allow you to create a single content asset and share it with many channels. ● Customization and Extensibility – A headless CMS should allow developers to customize the fields, content models and workflow for creating digital solutions with better UX. ● Flexibility – It should be flexible to update and easy to handle front-end UI. Also, it should possess the capability of handling complex transactions at the backend. How Impact TechLab Can Help? Impact TechLab is a leading Web and Mobile App Development Company in the USA. We are the most trusted IT solution provider when it comes to delivering industry-specific solutions. Our web development team has years of experience in end-to-end WordPress and Drupal development. Our proficiency in headless CMS Development and Custom CMS Development will allow your content editor to be creative and publish it without waiting for developers. We prefer an open communication channel for all our clients throughout the project and ensure 100% transparency in project development. Why should you hire Impact TechLab? ● Experienced team of developers ● Best practices and rigorous testing methodologies ● Open communication channels ● Flexible pricing models Conclusion

6. Businesses these days are well aware of the advantages of separating content management from the presentation layer and prefer headless CMS development for their digital solution. As the headless CMS market continues to evolve, we can expect more innovation in the headless CMS technology. If you are going to choose a CMS for your business, selecting a headless CMS will definitely benefit your business growth in the form of flexibility, scalability and user experience. Try Impact TechLab today to develop a great headless CMS for your business and see the impact by yourself by free consultation.