Choosing a headless CMS? Here’s how to wade through the jargon
If you’re shopping around for a headless CMS or decoupled CMS, you’ll notice that the jargon doesn’t end with these two terms. Below, we’ve defined some phrases commonly used by headless vendors.
What is API-first, and a headless API?
When a CMS touts itself as being API-first or API-driven, it’s referring to the fact that it uses APIs to deliver content. An API-first platform is essentially a synonym for a headless or decoupled CMS.
Headless APIs (sometimes called Content API or REST API) are particularly useful for pushing content to a native app, such as an Android or iOS app. It can even be used to deliver content to commerce systems, such as a POS (Point of Sale), and voice-activated applications like Alexa, Cortana, and Siri.
With a Headless API, you can specify content types and fragments that you want to push to the device or touchpoint of your choice.
What does front-end agnostic mean?
The term agnostic in the world of computing refers to a piece of software that is “compatible with many types of platform or operating system”, according to Oxford Dictionaries. Again, we’re dealing with a synonymous term for a headless, decoupled, or API-first CMS. Because APIs are involved, the front-end delivery layer could be anything you desire, from a smartwatch screen to a virtual reality headset, thus making your content front-end agnostic.
With a headless CMS, developers create their own front-end presentation layers in line with the device they’re trying to send content to.
A Decoupled platform is also front-end agnostic. While they do provide a set of front-end templates and editing tools for building web applications out-of-the-box, you also have the option to create your custom front-end presentation layers to work outside of the framework laid out by the vendor.
What is a hybrid CMS, and a hybrid headless CMS?
Once again, while the term Hybrid CMS or hybrid headless CMS may seem like a totally different kettle of digital fish, these two terms are synonymous with the term decoupled.
A hybrid CMS aims to combine the headless content management of a headless CMS, and the editing tool found in a traditional CMS. Thus, a hybrid CMS is just a decoupled CMS with a different name.