---
title: "Headless CMS — Definition & Engineering Context"
description: "A Headless CMS is a backend-only content management system built from the ground up as a content repository that makes content accessible via an API for display on any device."
canonical: https://erpstack.io/glossary/headless-cms
markdown_url: https://erpstack.io/glossary/headless-cms.md
publisher: ERPStack
---

# Headless CMS

> **Definition:** A Headless CMS is a backend-only content management system built from the ground up as a content repository that makes content accessible via an API for display on any device.

## In depth

Unlike traditional content editors (e.g., WordPress) which couple editor interfaces with page templates, a Headless CMS focuses exclusively on content editing and database storage, delivering content via REST or GraphQL to high-performance frontend clients.

## How ERPStack applies this

We connect decoupled Next.js websites to Headless CMS engines, keeping frontend load times low and page cache updates instant via webhooks.

## Related reading

- [Headless ERP](https://erpstack.io/glossary/headless-erp)
- [Incremental Static Regeneration (ISR)](https://erpstack.io/glossary/isr)