WordPress is an incredibly powerful web development platform all on its own. Its ease of use and scalability helps everyone from individual bloggers to Fortune 500 companies create websites tailored to their exact needs and goals. It’s so popular, in fact, that it powers roughly 43% of all websites around the world—including The Walt Disney Company, Whitehouse.gov, and NASA. 

With the advancements in the block editor and the 2024 addition of the Interactivity API to WordPress core, the platform has become even more versatile and scalable, reducing the need to use decoupled solutions to meet specific performance metrics or implement complex interactive frontend features. 

But there can still be situations when WordPress alone doesn’t match a company’s technical requirements. This is when headless WordPress can come into play.

But what exactly is headless WordPress and how does it work? Is it right for your clients’ projects? For those new to using a decoupled approach to website development, we’ll start with an overview of headless WordPress, then describe some use cases when headless WordPress could be a good choice as well as some of the challenges of using a decoupled solution. We’ll also list some requirements and considerations before attempting to go headless.

What is Headless WordPress?

An out-of-the-box WordPress install is a monolithic system, meaning its frontend display is tightly coupled with the backend architecture. But just because it’s monolithic by default doesn’t mean that it has to stay that way. You can decouple the front end and back end to allow for a “headless” approach. 

In a headless setup, the frontend presentation layer of WordPress is eliminated while keeping the backend content management system. A client can use their familiar WordPress CMS on one server while developers create and maintain a custom frontend using their preferred tech stack (like React and Next.js) on another server (or even use a serverless approach).

The content from the CMS can then be called from a single WordPress instance and pulled into other web applications, reducing content duplication and improving workflow efficiency across multiple applications.  

This separation provides additional flexibility in how a project is built, managed, and displayed, but it also creates a lot of additional complexity.

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Backend and Frontend Components of a Headless WordPress Website

Below is a breakdown of the basic backend and frontend components of a headless WordPress site, and an explanation of how they work together.

Backend Components of Headless WordPress

1. WordPress CMS

The core of the backend remains the WordPress CMS. It handles the following:

• Content creation and management such as posts, pages, media, and custom post types
• User management, including roles and permissions
• Taxonomies and metadata

2. REST API or GraphQL API

To deliver content to the frontend, WordPress exposes its data through the REST API or GraphQL API. 

• REST API: This API provides endpoints to access content as JSON data, allowing developers to fetch posts, pages, users, custom fields, and other WordPress data. Each API endpoint corresponds to a specific type of data.
• GraphQL API: Alternatively, developers can use GraphQL (via plugins like WPGraphQL) for more efficient data queries. Unlike REST, which fetches all the available data, GraphQL allows querying specific fields in a single request, reducing unnecessary payload.

3. Database (MySQL or MariaDB)

WordPress stores content, settings, users, and configurations in a MySQL or MariaDB database. The structure is the same as a traditional WordPress site, with tables for posts, users, metadata, options, and more.

The API layer fetches the required data from this database and sends it to the frontend. 

4. Plugins and Custom Functions

As part of a decoupled approach, some agencies may use certain microservices in lieu of WordPress plugins. However, if you prefer to keep using certain WordPress plugins, you can certainly still do that. Examples include:

• SEO plugins to optimize content for search engines
• Custom post type plugins to manage additional content structures
• Ecommerce plugins like WooCommerce for managing products and orders, which then communicate with the frontend via API

5. Authentication and Security

WordPress handles user authentication and authorization. The backend API endpoints can be secured using authentication mechanisms like OAuth, JWT (JSON Web Tokens), or API keys. This ensures only authorized front-end applications can fetch or manipulate the data.

Keep in mind that any WordPress plugin that would normally interact directly with the frontend will not work in a headless architecture. You’ll need to use plugins that expose their functionality through the REST API and use the API to communicate data to the frontend.

Frontend Components of Headless WordPress

1. JavaScript Framework (React, Vue.js, Angular, etc.)

The decoupled frontend is usually built with a modern JavaScript framework. Some of the most popular choices are:

• React: Often paired with Next.js for server-side rendering and static site generation.
• Vue.js: A flexible framework popular for building SPAs (Single Page Applications).
• Angular: Another JavaScript framework that offers robust tools for building dynamic web apps.

These frameworks interact with the WordPress backend by consuming the API endpoints—either REST API, which comes pre-installed with WordPress, or GraphQL, which can be enabled using the WPGraphQL plugin. Developers can then fetch content dynamically, rendering pages or sections of the site based on user interactions and server responses.

2. Static Site Generators (SSGs)

Some developers prefer using Static Site Generators to pre-build static HTML files based on the content fetched from WordPress. Gatsby, Strattic, and Next.js are a few of popular options for creating static sites, however Gatsby is no longer being actively maintained and Strattic is being sunsetted. 

Next.js is still widely used for decoupled development, and is more flexible than options like Gatsby or Strattic as it can be used to create both static and dynamic sites.  

3. API Integration

The frontend consumes WordPress data through APIs. Depending on the setup, the frontend can:hy

• Fetch content dynamically: For dynamic web applications, API calls are made in real-time as users interact with the site (e.g., navigating between pages or loading new posts).
• Pre-fetch content: In static setups, content is fetched during the build process and stored locally as static files.

The API integration includes handling CRUD operations (Create, Read, Update, Delete) where the frontend can perform actions like submitting forms, adding comments, or even posting content back to the WordPress backend via authenticated API requests.

4. Routing and State Management

JavaScript frameworks provide tools for managing routing (navigating between pages) and state management (storing and managing data within the app).

• Routing: Frameworks like Next.js and Vue Router manage client-side routing, ensuring smooth transitions between pages without requiring full reloads.
• State management: Libraries like Redux (for React) or Pinia (for Vue.js) are often used to manage the application’s state, ensuring that data fetched from WordPress is available and updated across different parts of the site.

5. UI/UX and Design Systems

Since the frontend is decoupled, developers have a lot of flexibility in what they use to create the design and user experience of a project. They can integrate custom systems, CSS frameworks like Tailwind or Bootstrap, and manage animations and interactivity using JavaScript. They can apply these systems across all applications involved in a project to ensure consistency of user and development experience.

6. Rendering Approach

Depending on the chosen framework, the frontend can use either:

• Client-side rendering (CSR): Content is fetched and rendered on the browser after the initial load. This approach is often used in SPAs for dynamic, fast interaction.
• Server-side rendering (SSR): The server fetches and renders the content before it’s sent to the client, reducing the time it takes to display content.
• Static-site generation (SSG): Pages are generated during the application build and static assets are gathered once and served via a CDN for both the initial and subsequent requests.
• Incremental static regeneration (ISR): This works similarly to SSG, however after the static page is initially served, the page is invalidated on the CDN after x amount of time. A new version is then regenerated with updated content, making it a better use case for more dynamic sites.

7. Caching and Performance Optimization

To enhance performance, especially when fetching data from APIs, the frontend typically includes both edge and local caching mechanisms.

• Edge caching: Tools like Vercel, Netlify, or Cloudflare provide edge caching solutions to speed up content delivery by storing pre-fetched content closer to the user.
• Local caching: Caching API responses in the browser minimizes repeated API calls, further improving performance.

8. Microservices

The decoupled frontend provides the opportunity to integrate microservices with disparate application types and more easily exchange data between them and the CMS. An example would be using a custom checkout that is the same between your website and mobile app.

Should My Agency Invest in Headless WordPress?

Now that you’ve got a good idea of how a headless WordPress implementation is structured, let’s talk about whether or not this approach is right for any given project an agency might be considering. 

The short answer is that the majority of the time, it’s probably not the right solution. For a single site, you can almost always accomplish what you need with the existing capabilities of WordPress. 

Even for multi-site builds or projects where an agency is developing an app that needs to communicate with the website, they likely don’t need to immediately jump to using a decoupled approach. An agency’s development team can build plugins for WordPress that push data to and pull data from an app using the REST API. 

So, a project could still involve a WordPress site built the traditional way and an app built with Swift or React Native where content is still managed from the same WordPress CMS.

Also, using the decoupled approach with the goal of increasing performance or creating a more interactive experience on the frontend is no longer necessary with the adoption of the Interactivity API in WordPress core. 

However, there may still be some use cases that call for a headless WordPress implementation. So, let’s go over some of those. 

When Headless WordPress Makes Sense

Even though the recent advances in WordPress have made it more capable of tackling a wide variety of projects, there will still be situations where a standard WordPress build will not be the right fit. Here are some times when you might want to consider a decoupled approach:

1. A client is using multiple front-end systems for different applications and you need to retrofit a standardized CMS to work with existing front ends. 
2. Using plugins to communicate data across different applications does not achieve the needed results.
3. There are specific interactivity needs across projects that cannot be met by the current Interactivity API’s capabilities.

Headless WordPress Challenges and Considerations

Despite its advantages in a few specific types of use cases, headless WordPress does come with considerable challenges. Before using this approach on your next project, it’s essential to consider the following:

1. Setup and maintenance are complex. Setting up a headless WordPress site is more complex than traditional WordPress. You’ll need knowledge of various frontend development frameworks, APIs, and tools to connect everything. Maintenance can also be more involved as you’re managing two systems instead of one.
2. There’s no site editor compatibility or live preview. The built-in site editor and live preview functionality of WordPress are lost in a headless setup. This can make content creation less intuitive, especially for non-technical users who rely on seeing their changes in real time.
3. You must manage multiple platforms and languages. With headless WordPress, you’re often working with different programming languages (e.g., PHP in the backend, JavaScript in the frontend). This can complicate development and require a broader skill set from your team.
4. There are longer development and update times. Since you’re using different systems to create the website, it can increase the amount of time it takes to develop the site and make ongoing changes. If the client wants to create a new page layout, they’ll have to put in a ticket to your development team, who will then have to put that request in their queue. In a more traditional WordPress environment, the client could simply pull from a library of patterns to make a new page layout, add content, and click publish.
5. Costs are increased. A headless WordPress build typically requires more development work, both in terms of the initial build and ongoing maintenance. This can translate into higher costs, especially if you need to hire specialists for both the backend and frontend development.
6. SEO management is more complex. Traditional WordPress provides built-in SEO tools and plugins. In a headless environment, you’ll need to handle SEO differently. While not impossible, it requires extra effort to ensure that the site is optimized for search engines.

How to Get Started with Headless WordPress

So, you’re ready to dive in? Before you get started, it’s essential to understand the resources and knowledge required for a successful headless WordPress implementation.

Prerequisites and Requirements

1. An in-depth understanding of WordPress. You should already have a good grasp of how WordPress works as a CMS, including being well-versed in PHP, CSS, and HTML. 
2. An understanding of frontend frameworks. Experience with JavaScript frameworks such as React, Vue.js, or Angular is crucial, as these are the primary tools used to build the decoupled frontend.
3. API knowledge. Since headless WordPress relies heavily on APIs, you’ll need a solid understanding of how to interact with REST API and/or GraphQL to retrieve and manage content.
4. A proper hosting setup. While you can still host the WordPress backend on traditional hosting platforms like WordPress.com and Pressable, the frontend will often require separate hosting. Ensure that your hosting provider supports the modern stack of technologies you plan to use.
5. Adequate staffing. Whether you’re working with external partners or in-house team members, make sure that you have enough experienced individuals to develop the project in a reasonable timeframe. 
6. Revised client onboarding. If you’ve previously only delivered standard WordPress sites to clients, you’ll want to take a fresh look at your onboarding process and revise it as necessary for this new type of product. 
7. A test site and updated internal workflow. Before undertaking a headless WordPress build for actual clients (if this is your first time), you’ll want to create a test site to close any knowledge gaps and work out any kinks in communication and development processes. Update your workflow accordingly so that efficient systems are in place to manage your new headless WordPress projects. 

Not all web development projects are suitable for a headless approach. However, headless WordPress does offer a powerful solution when the scope of work is very complex. Proper planning and a clear understanding of the benefits, challenges, and requirements are crucial before committing to going headless for any given build.

Need Help Getting Started? 

Whether you want to explore going headless for the first time, looking to better understand how to work with the Interactivity API, or want to find new ways to enhance your offerings to clients, Automattic for Agencies is the ultimate partnership. With your free membership, you’ll be able to access exclusive benefits like specialized support, economic incentives on Automattic products, training, and resources to help increase operational efficiencies.