Top 10 Headless CMSs to Build a Website in 2024

Headless CMSs (content management systems) are gaining popularity thanks to their ability to reach multiple platforms and devices simultaneously. With the rise of omnichannel experiences, businesses need technology that will help them deliver content swiftly to different platforms. So, a headless CMS comes in handy.

In this blog post, our experts discover the top 10 headless CMS platforms 2024 you can use for your business. By understanding what they provide, you will be able to choose one that will help you meet customer demand and thrive. Let’s dive into it.

Introduction to headless CMSs

A content management system, or CMS, helps users create a website and manage its content. In this context, what does a headless CMS mean? Let’s see.

In general, a CMS consists of the frontend (“head”) and the backend (“body”). In traditional CMSs, like WordPress and Drupal, these two sides are connected like in any webpage framework. So, you need to enter content manually each time you want to update it.

On the other hand, in headless API-first CMSs, the frontend, the head, is decoupled from the backend, the body. Hence, the term “headless”. Whenever you want to deliver new content, APIs (application programming interfaces) do the job.

This API-based work enables you to deliver content not only to your website but also to other platforms and devices. Today, enterprises create content for digital displays, conversational interfaces, and more. With a headless CMS, you can deliver your content at once to all those touchpoints with only one change.

Benefits of using headless CMSs to build websites

Businesses that use headless CMSs have seen significant improvements, according to The State of CMS 2024 survey. Companies have seen benefits in terms of return on investment (ROI) and productivity. Accordingly, 61% and 58% of respondents reported this growth.

Regarding these numbers, we will discuss what headless CMSs bring to businesses. Several headless CMS’s benefits include omnichannel delivery, enhanced security and performance, flexibility, and scalability for growing businesses. Let’s explore these improvements in more detail.

Omnichannel content delivery

This benefit means that once you update your content at one point, it is also updated in other connected digital touchpoints. Omnichannel content management is the primary reason why businesses switch to headless CMSs. Since you can deliver content to many touchpoints with a single change, your content is consistent across them and preserves your brand style.

Flexibility in tools for frontend development

Unlike traditional CMSs, which limit developers' coding options, headless CMSs provide more space for web design creativity. Decoupling the backend and frontend layers allows developers to use various frameworks to build websites. So, if you need custom adjustments, developers will help you with that. Moreover, these changes can be consistently implemented across multiple channels.

Improved page performance and security

Rendering HTML in traditional CMSs takes additional time as it involves both the backend and the frontend. Moreover, web pages in traditional CMSs include plugins and customizable themes, which add more load to content management systems and possibly worsen performance.

Modern headless CMSs solve this problem by delivering only the required content, thus removing unnecessary processing across channels. Improved performance means that your customers access the content faster and have an enjoyable experience with your sources.

These properties of headless CMSs for web development also contribute to lower levels of vulnerability. As content is delivered via APIs, such CMSs take less space on the server and narrow content exposure to the Internet. Thus, cyber attackers targeting your traffic loads, data, and website scripts fail as it will be easy for your security team to tackle these problems on a small scale.

Scalability for growing businesses

To follow tech trends and stay competitive in the modern business world, companies need solutions that support different channels and changing loads. Headless CMS architecture supports these needs. The decoupled design allows developers to make necessary changes to the frontend while leaving the backend the same. A scalable headless CMS ensures flexibility and speed in changes as they are needed.

Moreover, a headless CMS is easily integrated with generative AI tools. So your content team can adapt to these technologies as well.

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Top 10 Headless CMSs to create a new website

Let’s now discuss what headless CMSs you can use for your business purposes. We know that headless CMSs use APIs to connect the backend and frontend. So, now we will cover specific features that different CMSs provide.

Contentful

It is one of the oldest CMSs and a leader in the market. Contentful provides a rich space for marketers, developers, and content editors. The platform offers superb content management features that allow your teams to collaborate and make changes across channels. Specifically, the headless CMS’s features allow you to make your content based on your brand identity and easily change it in the system. So, even large enterprises can use the system.

The Contentful CMS has a convenient live preview showing your content's appearance before going online. This also includes localized previews based on your preferences. So, you get websites and content for your preferred languages and localized versions.

Contentful use cases

• On.A company that creates and markets athletic shoes and sportswear, ranging from dog walkers to professional athletes. The On company has a new design system and streamlined content creation thanks to Contentful.
• Costa Coffee.A British coffeehouse chain, a nationwide favorite in the United Kingdom. The company has chosen the Contentful CMS to build and localize its new websites,
• Audible.An online audiobook and podcast service that delivers inspiring ideas and leverages technology with affinity to Amazon’s principles as its subsidiary.

Strapi

What makes Strapi special is that it is fully open-source, and many contributors develop and improve it. So, you can use it for free. There are also paid plans, in which case you gain professional support in hosting your Strapi websites and content.

So, what is Strapi ideal for? Its functionality allows you to manage various types of media data, such as images and video. Dynamic content management is best suited for maintaining eCommerce websites, news portals, and social media apps.

The Strapi CMS also provides a wide range of customizable APIs that meet industry-specific needs. Security is another top priority for the CMS, and it can be tailored with special security policies if you need them.

Strapi use cases

• MindGym.A company that offers training to businesses and employees to maintain a healthy work culture powers its website with Strapi.
• L'Équipe.The leading French sports media company tried a new format of content delivery for mobile browsing and used Strapi for that.

Sanity

This is one of the best headless CMSs. Sanity is known for its powerful workspace. For example, Sanity Studio helps your team collaborate with a customizable interface and connects teams from different locations. This environment is conducive to fast-paced companies that prefer real-time collaborative editing.

A rich feature set allows developers and content creators to build websites and create content as they need for specific projects. So, eCommerce platforms, media websites, educational solutions, and digital agencies win from this CMS for unique and interactive experiences.

You can start for free and grow your website with additional, more complex features and quotas for content creation on Sanity.

Check out the video below to see how Sanity’s AI Assist works to create structured content with the help of AI.

Sanity use cases

• Morning Brew.A media company that transforms business news into approachable content. Sanity helps the brand reach a broad audience across different channels through various content types.
• Lift Foils.An inventor of eFoil, this brand uses Sanity to power its new, media-rich platform.

Storyblok

Leading brands have chosen this headless CMS for their content management. Tesla, Nissan, Disney, and other prominent brands stick to it in their work. That is for a reason. Storyblok has a versatile set of features that support even the most demanding business requirements.

This CMS offers features for creating, managing, and optimizing content for Next.js projects. Storyblok’s Visual Editor and Ideation Room provide space for creating content and brainstorming ideas. Sophisticated customization allows you to choose any options for your website. You can also easily manage your content in a centralized hub.

The CMS provides powerful APIs, frontend SDKs (software development kits), and other tools for developers and meets the highest security standards.

Storyblok use cases

• Nissan Motorsports (NISMO).This division of Nissan Motor Co. creates outstanding driving experiences thanks to cars tested by drivers of all levels. Sanity powers their graphically rich website.
• Spendesk.The company helps businesses with spending management. Storyblok helped them create the webpage fast, optimize their code base, and migrate 1000+ blog pages.

Umbraco

This is an open-source headless CMS that is free and is designed for .NET projects. Though anyone can contribute to the Umbraco source code, the moderating team accepts only relevant and important changes. So, you can rely on the system. The CMS is free, but if you want advanced features and support, you can opt for Umbraco Cloud.

The flexible content management interface is simple and intuitive. It’s not just about text. You can also edit images and videos as you wish. The Media Library helps you organize the content and track where it’s used across your projects. The CMS supports different channels and languages.

Moreover, Umbraco provides developers with advanced experience. The platform offers powerful tools to extend functionality in the frontend and backend for specific needs.

Umbraco use cases

• Shamballa Jewels.A globally recognized jeweler needed a convenient ordering system for their unique jewelry designs. Umbraco helped the brand to deliver such a system and improve order handling time, delivery accuracy, and understanding of customer behavior.
• Asda Money.This financial services arm of the Asda supermarket brand needed the design refresh and optimization for their website. Umbraco powers its revamped design and helps the company optimize content management.

Prismic

The distinguishing feature of Prismic is building with blocks called slices. They help you create and manage layouts in a local builder, Slice Machine. You can add and mix them and experiment with layouts as you wish to create unique experiences. This feature relieves your team from needing to search for design solutions as slices enable you to preserve your brand identity.

With Visual Builder, an advanced visual content editor, you can check your pages before going live. The tool allows you to see separate blocks and whole pages. You also can use mock data to test your pages in real-world scenarios. Check out the video by Prismic to see how Visual Builder works.

These features are complemented by other helpful functions, such as a media library, migration API, localization, and more. This CMS's best use cases are content-rich websites, such as blogs, eCommerce, and marketing sites and pages.

Prismic use cases

• Stacked Farm.This Australian brand reconsiders fresh food production to deliver sustainable and pesticide-free produce. Prismic ensures that customers can familiarize themselves and contact the brand.
• UpStack.It helps businesses hire vetted developers from their carefully considered pool for remote work. Thanks to Prismic, the company has an appealing website to connect with customers and developers.

ButterCMS

Founded in 2015, this CMS strives to deliver top-notch experiences to content creators, executives, marketers, and developers. ButterCMS has enriched the classical headless content management system features with helpful nuances.

For example, these include built-in SEO tools and adapting your pages to social media. To preview your changes, you can use split-screen and full-screen preview panels. It also offers convenient scheduling options and revision tracking.

Moreover, the CMS boasts one-click migrations and a generous range of compatible technologies, APIs, webhooks, and integrations.

ButterCMS use cases

• Key.Me.An advanced company that uses artificial intelligence and robotics for key duplication and locksmith services. Since local needs vary, the company wanted to improve them with location-specific marketing. ButterCMS helped the company tie content and data to specific locations and customize services as needed.
• PickFu.This consumer research platform helps businesses understand their brand representation, like logo design, features, copy, and more. With ButterCMS, the company enables its marketing team to create content without reliance on the tech team.

Decap CMS (former Netlify CMS)

Netlify, a Git-based CMS for static sites, has been rebranded as Decap CMS. You now have three options: use Decap CMS without Netlify, use Netlify without Decap CMS, or use them both.

Git is a version-control system that many developers appreciate. How does it help Decap CMS deliver the best content management results? Decap CMS is designed to support the creation of static websites that are not targeted by other headless CMSs. The use of Git means better version control. So, you can choose the site’s version that works best for you from versions saved in Git. Even if your team does not use Git, you can share access to them through Git Gateway.

The primary features that Decap CMS offers are convenient text editing, easy media uploads, and real-time preview. The system supports the most popular static site generators, like Next.js, Nuxt, Hugo, Gatsby, and more. The CMS allows you to extend and customize your website and its content over time as needed.

Decap CMS use cases

• Fluentu.The platform offers a collection of authentic videos that are fun but still help people learn languages. Netlify helps organize and manage this media-rich platform.
• Patient.info.An award-winning UK website that provides verified content on healthcare topics uses Netlify to organize the blog content.

Directus

This platform is an open-source headless CMS and Backend-as-a-Service (BaaS) platform. It turns your databases into APIs and helps you manage data with a no-code app. This database-driven CMS part has an intuitive interface that lets you edit, connect, and organize your assets. It stores all your files and projects for easy and prompt access.

The CMS also provides authorization and accountability across your team, securing your data. Moreover, Directus has detailed logs, so you can easily track changes. The features for scheduling, updating multiple pages and platforms, and triggering reviews streamline your content management processes. With Directus, you can localize your content in 64+ languages and add any customizations, like links, apps, and other tools.

Here is a simple introductory video on how you can manage content in Directus.

Directus use cases

• Vanguard.The logistics company with a network in South Africa needed a CMS that could handle the company’s growing content needs. Vanguard had chosen Directus as a robust, modular, and scalable CMS.
• Ripley Entertainment.An attraction company that provides entertainment and at the same time educates since 1918. It had to change its aging digital infrastructure to meet its audience’s demand. Directus has been chosen to manage content for global audiences and provide different teams with granular access to the CMS features.

Agility CMS

Thanks to its rich feature set, this headless CMS powers global websites, content hubs, and other complex use cases. It is available for free and has paid versions with hosting, support, and advanced functionality.

The basis for Agility’s content management is its modular approach and schema builder. You can combine components and fields as you need and see what happens with a convenient preview. Also, you can access any step of your creation process with version control.

The system supports granular control in team collaboration, scaling for businesses, and customization that developers can apply. Agility also provides quick deployment and integrations with Azure, AWS, and Docker.

Agility CMS use cases

• Scotiabank.One of the biggest Canadian banks, Scotiabank, found Agility CMS helpful in building several websites for Mexico and other regions of South America. The CMS provided a robust and secure environment for teams in different areas.
• Compass Group Canada.The leading food service and hospitality company chose Agility CMS when its website needed a major overhaul. With Agility CMS, Compass Group received a feature-rich website with an appealing UI/UX design.

How to choose the best headless CMS for your website in 2024

The headless CMSs discussed above provide robust, flexible, and scalable features for modern business needs. Yet, each of them has nuances and fits specific projects better. Here are tips on headless CMS comparison to reach the best results with your website and content.

• Assess technical expertise. When choosing a headless CMS, be sure that your team has the necessary technical skills to create and customize layouts as needed. You might need to provide additional training.
• Matching business needs with features. Although modern CMSs provide robust functionality, one CMS can serve your business needs better than another. In this case, check the technologies available in a CMS to match your project.
• Budget and cost considerations. When choosing a headless CMS, consider maintenance, hosting, licensing, and other costs. Check CMS’s scaling capabilities for your business’s growth.

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Takeaways

Now, you have a collection of headless CMSs from which to choose. Each of them is user-friendly and designed for modern business needs. Still, be sure to choose one that will help you manage particular websites and types of content, scale as you grow, and provide you with the necessary support.

We know how important a robust CMS is for your business. So, in our custom software development services, we apply top tools and techniques to develop a headless CMS that is efficient, convenient, and secure. Feel free to contact us to discuss details and get a free quote for your project.