A headless CMS is a system for editing content that has no website attached; a separate front end takes the content and builds the pages visitors see. The name comes from the idea that the head, the part that shows the website to visitors, has been removed. What is left is the editing screen and a way for other software to fetch the content.
What is a headless CMS?
A headless CMS only stores and serves content.
In a traditional CMSA content management system (CMS) is software that lets you edit the pages, texts and images of your website by logging in, without writing any code. such as WordPressWordPress is free software for building and editing a website in your browser. It is written in PHP, so it builds each page when someone visits., the same system stores your content, applies a themeA WordPress theme is a ready-made package that decides how your WordPress site looks and how its pages are laid out. Change the theme and the design changes. and produces the page. A headless CMS stops after storing and delivering. Other software asks for the content through an interface, usually an API, and decides what the page looks like.
That other software can be a static site generatorA static site generator, such as Astro or Hugo, is a tool that builds all the pages of a website in advance, so visitors get ready-made files., a mobile app or several channels at once. The same product description can feed your website, a newsletter and an app, because the content is separate from the layout.
What a headless CMS means for your PHP site
If your current site runs on PHPPHP is a programming language that builds your web pages on the computer that hosts your site, just before they reach the visitor. WordPress runs on it., the CMS is part of the server that visitors reach. In a headless setup, the editing system can sit behind a login and be reached only by your build process, while the public site is a set of static files. Visitors then never touch the CMS. That separation gives a smaller public attack surfaceThe attack surface is the total of all places where an attacker could try to get in, such as logins, forms, plugins and the code on your server., though the CMS still holds your content and needs updates and strong logins.
There are different kinds of headless systems. Some are hosted services that you pay for and do not maintain yourself. Others you install on your own server, which brings you back to maintaining software and, in some cases, PHP. Ask which one you are looking at before you decide.
How to tell if it fits
A headless CMS suits teams that publish content regularly, want a proper editing screen and still want a fast, simple public site. It fits when the same content needs to appear in more than one place. It fits less well for a five-page site that changes once a year, where simple files and a developer are cheaper and easier.
Think about preview as well. Editors often want to see a page before it goes live. Check that the setup includes a way to do that, and agree how long a change should take to appear after publishing.
A concrete setup
A common setup for a small business looks like this. The editors write in the headless CMS and press publish. That triggers a build of the site with a generator, which fetches the content and produces new files. The files are placed on a CDNA CDN is a network of servers around the world that keeps copies of your website close to your visitors, so pages load fast wherever they are., and the change is visible shortly afterwards. No PHP runs for visitors at any point.
Our service to move from WordPress to a static site can include this kind of editing workflow, so you do not have to give up editing by yourself.
When to act
Look at a headless setup when you maintain a WordPress site mainly for its editing screen, when updates keep causing trouble, or when you want the same content in several places. If you also face an upcoming PHP end-of-support date, our PHP migration service can plan the move with you.
Frequently asked questions
What does headless mean?
Headless means the CMS has no built-in website, or head. It manages content and offers it to other software, such as a site generator or an app, which decides how to present it.
Is WordPress a headless CMS?
Not by default. WordPress normally builds pages itself. It can be used headless, with its content read by a separate front end, but it then still runs PHP and a database on a server.
Do editors lose their editing screen?
No. A headless CMS has an admin area for editors, often with a clean form-based view. What you lose is the direct live preview that comes with a traditional CMS, unless the setup adds one.
Does headless make the site more secure?
It can reduce what is exposed, because the public site is separate from the editing system. The CMS itself still needs strong logins and updates, so it does not remove the need for care.