June 3rd, 2020 × #CMS#Headless CMS#Web Development

Headless CMS Break Down & Roundup

This podcast episode provides a breakdown of headless CMS options, including hosted, self-hosted and API-based systems. Scott and Wes discuss key considerations when evaluating CMS choices and provide an overview of popular options in each category.

Show Notes Transcript

In this episode of Syntax, Scott and Wes talk about headless content management systems — why you might want to use one, things you should take into account, and more!

Sanity.io is a real-time headless CMS with a fully customizable Content Studio built in React. Get a Sanity powered site up and running in minutes at sanity.io/create. Get an awesome supercharged free developer plan on sanity.io/syntax.

Get a 30 day free trial of Freshbooks at freshbooks.com/syntax and put SYNTAX in the "How did you hear about us?" section.

Show Notes

02:38 - What and why

A headless CMS doesn't mean you have to use a static site generator
A headless CMS has an API:
- REST
- GraphQL
- GROQ
A headless CMS can pipe its content into:
- Static Site on build - like Gatsby
- An app on run/refresh
- An existing website - widget
What makes a CMS? Do you need a UI?
What is the threshold?
Is a hotdog a sandwich?
Things to think about when choosing an API
- Auth - Rules + roles + levels
How easy is it to create new data types?
- Is it code or UI?
- Can my mom use it?
Can you create one-off content types? (e.g. settings pages)
Custom workflows
- dRafts, revisions, roll backs
How are images handled? Do you need another service for that?
Pre-determined UI
- Is custom UI possible?
- Two-way relationships?
- Tags?
Data validation?
- UI + API?
Hosting?
Pricing?
Content movability?
- Can you get your data out?
- Schemas
- Users
- Revisions
CORS or realtime API?
APIs
- Can you insert data via the API? (or just pull)
- Node API
- Importing data

24:37 - Hosted

Sanity
Prismic
Contentful
Dato CMS
Storyblok
8Base
Agility CMS
- Seems to be making a big corporate play

36:59 - Self-Hosted

WordPress
- WordPress REST API
- GraphQL API
- WP GraphQL
- Advanced Custom Fields for custom UI
- Most things in WordPress are custom post types and taxonomies, so data from plugins can often be surfaced
- The theme UI from plugins is often lost
Drupal
- contentacms.org
Craft CMS
Ghost
Strapi
Keystone
Joomla (JK!)