What is Headless CMS?
Headless CMS is defined as a content management system that handles back-end content creation and editing, exposing data via APIs without being bound to a specific front-end design.
Detailed Architectural Context
A 'headless' CMS decouples the content repository (the 'body') from the presentation layer (the 'head'). Editors write content inside a dashboard (such as Sanity, Contentful, or Strapi), which is then served via REST or GraphQL APIs to a fast front-end framework like Next.js. This architecture prevents site bloat, eliminates security vulnerabilities inherent in traditional database-linked CMS platforms (like WordPress), and allows content to be reused across web platforms and mobile apps simultaneously.
Related Technical Terms
Next.js
An open-source React framework designed by Vercel that enables server-side rendering, static site generation, and serverless edge functions.
REST API
An architectural style for developing APIs that uses standard HTTP requests to GET, POST, PUT, and DELETE data over a network.
GraphQL
An open-source data query and manipulation language for APIs that lets clients request exactly the data they need, and nothing more.
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