Last year, there seemed to be only one flavor in "webland": Headless. It was the trend. Everyone wanted to go "headless," sometimes just for the bragging rights. But by now, the dust has settled. The reality? Headless is powerful, but it isn’t the holy grail for every organization. In some cases, it’s even an unnecessarily complicated detour.
Headless CMS: Hype or the right choice for you?
Engineering
Technology
23.01.2026
What is a Headless CMS?
In a traditional CMS (like a standard Craft environment), the "front-end" (what the visitor sees) and the "back-end" (where you manage the content) are joined at the hip. With a Headless CMS, you pull those two apart. The "head" (the front-end) is essentially cut off.
What remains is a system purely focused on storing content. Via an API (a connection), you then push that content to any desired channel: from your website and mobile apps to smartwatches and digital signage screens.
The Price of Freedom
That sounds sexy and modern, and it is. But many companies discovered last year that this freedom comes with a price tag:
- Increased technical complexity
- Higher development costs
- The loss of simple features like a "live preview."
The reality: No 'one size fits all'
We see it often: an organization switches to headless because they feel it’s the new industry standard, only to find their marketing team becoming frustrated. They miss the intuitive tools of a traditional system.
When is Headless CMS a good choice?
Does this mean we’re writing off Headless CMS? On the contrary. When the context is right, it is a technical masterpiece. We recommend making the switch in the following scenarios:
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1. You are truly 'Omnichannel'
Do you distribute content not just to a website, but also to mobile apps, smartwatches, digital signage in stores, or IoT devices? Then Headless is your best friend. You manage your content in one place and push it to every imaginable screen.
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2. You demand total front-end freedom
Do you want to deliver a user experience (UX) that simply isn't achievable with a standard template? Headless gives developers the freedom to build the front-end using modern frameworks like React or Vue.js, without being restricted by the constraints of a CMS theme.
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3. Performance and security are business-critical
Headless sites are often lightning-fast because they can be statically generated. Additionally, the back-end remains invisible to the outside world, which significantly reduces the risk of hacks. For high-traffic platforms, this is a major advantage.
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4. You work with multiple data sources
Does your website need to pull content from an ERP, a PIM, and a CMS all at once? A headless architecture is perfectly suited for these types of complex integrations.
Headless or traditional?
At Redkiwi, we’re digital natives, but we stay pragmatic. If you "simply" need a rock-solid corporate website that your marketing team can easily manage on their own, then a traditional (or hybrid) setup in Craft CMS is often faster, more cost-effective, and more user-friendly.
However, if you have a complex ecosystem of apps and platforms where performance truly makes the difference, then we’ll go Headless together.
Look beyond the hype. Focus on your target audience and your processes. The technology follows from there.
Ready to grow? Let's talk.
Paul van der Meijs
Head of technology
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