When to use a headless CMS and how to scope the build

Identify the content that needs to appear in several places

A business may need the same approved information in several websites, apps or customer journeys. A headless content management arrangement can separate the content from the interfaces that present it.

That separation creates useful flexibility when the business needs it. It also creates responsibilities for content structure, connections, presentation and operating support. Start by identifying information the team currently maintains in several places.

Read the source: Sanity: Platform introduction.

Identify the content that needs reuse

List the information people maintain and the places it appears. Decide which items are shared and which belong to one experience. Include the relationships, approval rules and languages involved.

For an illustrative product record, distinguish the approved name and description from a campaign-specific introduction. Reusing the approved record can reduce conflicting versions, provided its owner and update process are clear.

Model the information before the pages

A Sanity developer should explain the proposed structured-content arrangement and the tools the publishing team will use. Sanity's platform introduction describes content storage, APIs and customizable content-operation tools.

A Contentful developer should likewise show how the account, spaces, environments, roles and content model fit the business. Contentful's documentation describes these as separate organizational and access concepts.

Ask both developers to demonstrate the same edit, approval and publication flow. Confirm current plan capabilities and any custom components in the engagement.

Include the publishing experience

Have an intended editor create, review and update representative content. Check previews, required information, linked assets and the effect of changing a shared record.

Decide who may publish and how a mistake is corrected. A content interface that developers understand may still need work before the wider team can use it confidently.

Test the presentation connection

The customer-facing website or app must retrieve and display the content correctly. Include changed records, removed material, unavailable images and a delayed content service in acceptance testing.

For an illustrative exercise, update one shared record and inspect every intended destination. Check how long the change takes to appear and whether each version shows the approved information. Record any cache or release step the team must understand.

Plan a complete migration

Inventory the existing pages, assets and important addresses. Decide what becomes structured content, what remains specific to a page and what is deliberately retired. Keep the source-to-destination record reviewable.

Test publishing and customer journeys after the move. Verify forms, search, navigation and external links separately from the content import.

Compare the operating cost

Include the content platform, website hosting, development, integrations, monitoring and editorial support. Keep ownership of accounts, schemas, code and source material clear, along with what another provider would need to operate the system.

AI App Studio can help choose and build a maintainable content publishing arrangement. Book a call with the content, editors and customer experiences involved.