<s>
A	O
headless	B-Protocol
Content	I-Protocol
Management	I-Protocol
System	I-Protocol
,	O
or	O
headless	B-Protocol
CMS	I-Protocol
,	O
is	O
a	O
back	O
end-only	O
web	O
content	B-Protocol
management	I-Protocol
system	I-Protocol
that	O
acts	O
primarily	O
as	O
a	O
content	B-Protocol
repository	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
headless	B-Protocol
CMS	I-Protocol
makes	O
content	O
accessible	O
via	O
an	O
API	B-Application
for	O
display	O
on	O
any	O
device	O
,	O
without	O
a	O
built-in	O
front	B-Architecture
end	I-Architecture
or	O
presentation	B-Application
layer	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
term	O
'	O
headless	O
 '	O
comes	O
from	O
the	O
concept	O
of	O
chopping	O
the	O
'	O
head	O
 '	O
(	O
the	O
front	B-Architecture
end	I-Architecture
)	O
off	O
the	O
'	O
body	O
 '	O
(	O
the	O
back	B-Architecture
end	I-Architecture
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Whereas	O
a	O
traditional	O
CMS	O
typically	O
combines	O
a	O
website	O
's	O
content	O
and	O
presentation	B-Application
layers	I-Application
,	O
a	O
headless	B-Protocol
CMS	I-Protocol
comprises	O
the	O
content	O
component	O
and	O
focuses	O
on	O
the	O
administrative	O
interface	B-Application
for	O
content	O
creators	O
,	O
the	O
facilitation	O
of	O
content	O
workflows	B-Operating_System
and	O
collaboration	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
organization	O
of	O
content	O
into	O
taxonomies	B-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
headless	B-Protocol
CMS	I-Protocol
must	O
be	O
combined	O
with	O
a	O
separate	O
presentation	B-Application
layer	I-Application
to	O
handle	O
design	O
,	O
site	O
structure	O
,	O
and	O
templates	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
That	O
combination	O
generally	O
relies	O
on	O
stateless	B-Protocol
or	O
loosely	O
coupled	O
APIs	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
One	O
advantage	O
of	O
this	O
decoupled	O
approach	O
is	O
that	O
content	O
can	O
be	O
sent	O
via	O
APIs	B-Application
to	O
multiple	O
display	O
types	O
,	O
like	O
mobile	O
and	O
Internet	B-Operating_System
of	I-Operating_System
things	I-Operating_System
(	O
IoT	B-Operating_System
)	O
devices	O
,	O
alongside	O
a	O
website	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Cloud-first	O
headless	O
CMSes	O
are	O
those	O
that	O
were	O
also	O
built	O
with	O
a	O
multi-tenant	B-Architecture
cloud	B-Architecture
model	O
at	O
their	O
core	O
and	O
whose	O
vendors	O
promote	O
software	B-Architecture
as	I-Architecture
a	I-Architecture
service	I-Architecture
(	O
SaaS	B-Architecture
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Headless	B-Protocol
commerce	I-Protocol
uses	O
the	O
same	O
setup	O
to	O
separate	O
back	B-Architecture
end	I-Architecture
product	O
management	O
and	O
navigation	O
from	O
the	O
front	B-Architecture
end	I-Architecture
of	O
a	O
website	O
or	O
other	O
display	O
types	O
(	O
e.g.	O
</s>
<s>
IoT	B-Operating_System
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
is	O
similar	O
to	O
how	O
headless	O
CMSes	O
focus	O
on	O
creating	O
content	O
in	O
the	O
back	B-Architecture
end	I-Architecture
to	O
be	O
displayed	O
on	O
front	B-Architecture
ends	I-Architecture
via	O
APIs	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Headless	B-Protocol
CMS	I-Protocol
is	O
similar	O
to	O
but	O
distinct	O
from	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
widgets	B-Application
or	O
plugins	B-Application
on	O
a	O
site	O
,	O
like	O
adding	O
an	O
online	O
ordering	O
and	O
delivery	O
plugin	B-Application
to	O
a	O
restaurant	O
website	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Most	O
headless	B-Protocol
CMS	I-Protocol
platforms	O
employ	O
a	O
version	O
of	O
these	O
features	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
Most	O
monolithic	O
content	B-Protocol
management	I-Protocol
systems	I-Protocol
are	O
'	O
coupled	O
 '	O
,	O
meaning	O
that	O
the	O
content	B-Protocol
management	I-Protocol
application	B-Application
(	O
CMA	O
)	O
and	O
the	O
content	O
delivery	O
application	B-Application
(	O
CDA	O
)	O
come	O
together	O
in	O
a	O
single	O
application	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
makes	O
back-end	B-Architecture
user	O
tools	O
,	O
content	O
editing	O
and	O
taxonomy	B-General_Concept
,	O
website	O
design	O
,	O
and	O
templates	O
inseparable	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Traditional	O
content	B-Protocol
management	I-Protocol
systems	I-Protocol
are	O
often	O
seen	O
as	O
the	O
easiest	O
and	O
most	O
cost-effective	O
way	O
of	O
creating	O
dynamic	O
websites	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
difference	O
between	O
a	O
decoupled	O
CMS	O
and	O
headless	B-Protocol
CMS	I-Protocol
is	O
based	O
on	O
the	O
inclusion	O
of	O
the	O
front	B-Architecture
end	I-Architecture
in	O
the	O
offering	O
:	O
Decoupled	O
CMS	O
would	O
always	O
have	O
a	O
front	B-Architecture
end	I-Architecture
included	O
in	O
the	O
offering	O
though	O
connected	O
with	O
an	O
API	B-Application
,	O
hence	O
following	O
the	O
decoupled	O
architecture	O
,	O
whereas	O
a	O
headless	B-Protocol
CMS	I-Protocol
does	O
not	O
offer	O
the	O
front	B-Architecture
end	I-Architecture
at	O
all	O
but	O
an	O
API	B-Application
using	O
which	O
content	O
is	O
served	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
response	O
to	O
the	O
introduction	O
of	O
headless	O
CMSes	O
,	O
many	O
traditional	O
CMS	O
vendors	O
have	O
implemented	O
APIs	B-Application
on	O
their	O
systems	O
,	O
promoting	O
them	O
as	O
decoupled	O
CMSes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
approach	O
promises	O
website	O
rendering	O
capabilities	O
along	O
with	O
the	O
flexibility	O
of	O
a	O
headless	B-Protocol
CMS	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Yet	O
,	O
the	O
APIs	B-Application
are	O
still	O
based	O
upon	O
a	O
model	O
designed	O
for	O
a	O
singular	O
website	O
,	O
making	O
them	O
somewhat	O
coupled	O
and	O
thus	O
limiting	O
the	O
contexts	O
in	O
which	O
one	O
can	O
effectively	O
use	O
the	O
content	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
decoupled	O
CMS	O
and	O
a	O
headless	O
one	O
because	O
they	O
have	O
a	O
lot	O
in	O
common	O
as	O
a	O
headless	B-Protocol
CMS	I-Protocol
is	O
a	O
type	O
of	O
decoupled	O
architecture	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Like	O
a	O
headless	B-Protocol
CMS	I-Protocol
,	O
a	O
decoupled	O
CMS	O
separates	O
the	O
CMA	O
and	O
CDA	O
environments	O
,	O
typically	O
with	O
the	O
content	O
created	O
behind	O
the	O
firewall	B-Application
and	O
then	O
synchronized	O
and	O
pushed	O
to	O
the	O
delivery	O
environment	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
main	O
difference	O
between	O
a	O
decoupled	O
CMS	O
and	O
a	O
headless	B-Protocol
CMS	I-Protocol
is	O
that	O
the	O
decoupled	O
architecture	O
is	O
active	O
:	O
it	O
prepares	O
content	O
for	O
presentation	O
and	O
then	O
pushes	O
it	O
into	O
the	O
delivery	O
environment	O
;	O
whereas	O
a	O
headless	B-Protocol
CMS	I-Protocol
is	O
reactive	O
:	O
it	O
sits	O
idly	O
until	O
a	O
request	O
is	O
sent	O
for	O
content	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Another	O
core	O
difference	O
is	O
that	O
the	O
decoupled	O
first	O
offer	O
APIs	B-Application
to	O
serve	O
content	O
,	O
while	O
the	O
latter	O
are	O
API-exclusive	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Headless	B-Protocol
CMS	I-Protocol
is	O
a	O
content	B-Protocol
management	I-Protocol
system	I-Protocol
(	O
CMS	O
)	O
without	O
a	O
pre-built	O
front-end	B-Architecture
presentation	B-Application
layer	I-Application
or	O
templating	O
system	O
;	O
instead	O
,	O
it	O
provides	O
a	O
content	B-Protocol
repository	I-Protocol
and	O
an	O
API	B-Application
for	O
managing	O
the	O
content	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
main	O
downside	O
is	O
that	O
it	O
may	O
require	O
more	O
effort	O
to	O
set	O
up	O
and	O
configure	O
and	O
a	O
certain	O
level	O
of	O
web	O
development	O
knowledge	O
on	O
both	O
the	O
front	B-Architecture
and	I-Architecture
back	I-Architecture
end	I-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
Since	O
there	O
's	O
no	O
front-end	B-Architecture
framework	O
built	O
into	O
the	O
architecture	O
,	O
setting	O
up	O
a	O
headless	B-Protocol
CMS	I-Protocol
requires	O
front-end	B-Architecture
development	O
skills	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Due	O
to	O
how	O
customizable	O
headless	O
CMSes	O
are	O
,	O
there	O
are	O
a	O
lot	O
fewer	O
options	O
when	O
it	O
comes	O
to	O
ready-made	O
templates	O
or	O
plug-ins	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Since	O
pure	O
headless	O
CMSes	O
do	O
n’t	O
deal	O
with	O
the	O
presentation	B-Application
layer	I-Application
,	O
developers	O
may	O
have	O
to	O
create	O
some	O
functionality	O
on	O
their	O
own	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
website	O
navigation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
headless	B-Protocol
CMS	I-Protocol
offers	O
a	O
solution	O
to	O
issues	O
arising	O
from	O
the	O
traditional	O
approach	O
by	O
decoupling	O
the	O
front	B-Architecture
end	I-Architecture
(	O
the	O
"	O
head	O
"	O
)	O
from	O
the	O
back	B-Architecture
end	I-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
allows	O
the	O
front	B-Architecture
end	I-Architecture
to	O
be	O
reworked	O
or	O
changed	O
anytime	O
,	O
and	O
different	O
front	B-Architecture
ends	I-Architecture
can	O
consume	O
the	O
same	O
content	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Furthermore	O
,	O
the	O
architecture	O
of	O
the	O
CMS	O
is	O
more	O
secure	O
as	O
the	O
content	O
is	O
stored	O
on	O
a	O
separate	O
server	O
from	O
the	O
front-end	B-Architecture
presentation	O
,	O
which	O
reduces	O
the	O
potential	O
attack	O
surface	O
.	O
</s>
