How to Create a Custom Frontend with a Headless CMS

Learn how to create a custom Frontend with a Headless CMS. Our Headless CMS Integration Support team is ready to assist with any queries or concerns.

How to Create a Custom Frontend with a Headless CMS

Headless CMS and custom frontend frameworks offer developers better freedom and businesses more flexibility. It lets us deliver content to any frontend or UI.

Today, we will break down the basics of headless CMS, explain how custom frontends work, and explore how to create a dynamic web solution.

What Is a Headless CMS?

A Content Management System (CMS) traditionally combines content management and presentation into a single platform. Systems like WordPress, for example, handle both content storage and the display of that content on your site.

While this all-in-one approach works well for simple websites, it can become restrictive as a project scales or requires customization.

That’s where headless CMS comes in.

A headless CMS removes the frontend from the backend. It manages content in the backend and delivers it via APIs (usually REST or GraphQL) to any frontend like a website, mobile app, or even a smart device. This decoupling offers enormous flexibility for both developers and content teams.

Here are some of the benefits of a Headless CMS:

What Are Custom Frontend Frameworks?

A custom frontend is the user interface layer of the application, built using modern JavaScript frameworks such as React, Vue.js, Angular, Next.js, or Gatsby. These frameworks allow developers to create fast, interactive, and responsive experiences tailored to specific project needs.

When paired with a headless CMS, a custom frontend gives us complete control over how content is rendered and how users interact with it.

How to Build a Custom Frontend with a Headless CMS

1. First, we need to choose a Headless CMS. Selecting the right headless CMS depends on the project requirements. Here are some popular options:

   

   When evaluating a CMS, we need to consider API support (REST vs GraphQL), content modeling flexibility, integration with the frontend tech stack and features like localization, version control, and media management.
2. Next, we need to choose a Frontend Framework. One of the biggest advantages of using a headless CMS is that we are free to pick the frontend framework that best suits our needs. Some popular choices include:

   
3. Next, we need to connect the frontend to the CMS through an API. Here’s how:
   1. Review the CMS API documentation. Learn how to authenticate, query, and fetch content.
   2. Then, choose between REST and GraphQL. GraphQL lets us fetch only the data you need, reducing payload size. REST is simpler and more familiar to many developers.
   3. Now it is time to fetch the content. Here is an example using Axios in React:

      import axios from 'axios';
      const fetchData = async () => {
      const response = await axios.get('https://api.contentful.com/spaces/{SPACE_ID}/entries');
      console.log(response.data);
      };
      Copy Code
   4. Use the framework’s templating or component system to display the fetched content.
   5. In most headless CMS setups, content is organized into collections like blog posts or product pages. We need to create dynamic routes that generate unique URLs for each content entry.

      Here is an example with Next.js:

      // pages/blog/[slug].js
      import { fetchPostBySlug, fetchAllSlugs } from '../lib/api';
      export async function getStaticPaths() {
      const slugs = await fetchAllSlugs();
      return {
      paths: slugs.map(slug => ({ params: { slug } })),
      fallback: false,
      };
      }
      export async function getStaticProps({ params }) {
      const post = await fetchPostBySlug(params.slug);
      return { props: { post } };
      }
      const BlogPost = ({ post }) => (
      <div>
      <h1>{post.title}</h1>
      {post.content}
      </div>
      );
      export default BlogPost;
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      This approach pre-builds static pages for each post, which is great for SEO and performance.

How to Optimize Performance and SEO

1. Now, we have to optimize for performance and SEO. Use Server-Side Rendering (SSR) for better SEO and faster initial load. Also, use Static Site Generation (SSG) for pages that don’t change often. We can optimize images with formats like WebP and lazy loading.

   Here is an example using Next.js:

   import Image from 'next/image';
   <Image
   src={post.featuredImage.url}
   alt={post.title}
   width={600}
   height={400}
   />
   Copy Code

   Furthermore, use a CDN to deliver content quickly worldwide. Minimize JavaScript and CSS using code splitting and tree shaking. Also, add metadata and structured data for better indexing and potential rich results.
2. Then, make sure the site works well across devices and browsers. We can use CSS frameworks like Tailwind CSS or Bootstrap for responsive layouts. Also, test the frontend on Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge. Tools like BrowserStack help automate this.
3. Security is critical, especially when working with APIs. We need to use HTTPS for all API calls. Store API keys securely and implement a Content Security Policy (CSP) to prevent XSS attacks. Also, sanitize user inputs to prevent injection attacks. Monitor API rate limits to handle potential service interruptions gracefully.
4. Once your frontend is live, we need to monitor it continuously with tools like Lighthouse, Web Vitals, Google Analytics, Sentry, and so on.

[Need assistance with a different issue? Our team is available 24/7.]

Conclusion

Combining a headless CMS with a custom frontend framework gives us the best of both worlds. We get flexible content management and complete creative control over our user experience.

In short, our Support Engineers demonstrated how to create a custom Frontend with a Headless CMS.