What is Headless WordPress?
Headless WordPress is an architecture where WordPress is used solely as a Content Management System (CMS), while the frontend shown to visitors is built with an entirely different technology.
How Does Traditional WordPress Work?
In a standard WordPress site, the process follows these steps:
- A visitor enters your site
- The WordPress server executes PHP code
- Content is fetched from the database
- HTML is generated using theme files
- The page is sent to the visitor
This process repeats for every single page view. High traffic often leads to a slow site.
How Does Headless WordPress Work?
- Content is authored and stored in WordPress
- WordPress provides content in JSON format via REST API
- Next.js fetches this data and generates static HTML pages
- Ready-made pages are distributed to CDNs
- When a visitor arrives, the pre-built HTML is served instantly
The result: 10-50 times faster page loads!
Why is it Called 'Headless'?
In WordPress, the 'head' is the theme layer (the display). By removing the theme, WordPress becomes 'headless'—working only as a data provider.
A Real-World Analogy
Think of a restaurant:
- Traditional: The kitchen, the waiter, and the dining area are all in the same place.
- Headless: The Kitchen (WordPress) is separate from the Dining Area (Next.js). The kitchen only prepares the food, and delivery is handled separately.
Who is it for?
- ✅ Performance-critical websites
- ✅ Projects where security is a top priority
- ✅ Brands seeking modern, custom designs
- ✅ High-traffic websites
- ✅ Multi-platform needs (web + mobile app)
Who is it NOT for?
- ❌ Users with zero technical knowledge (it has a learning curve)
- ❌ Very small, simple personal blogs
- ❌ Sites requiring frequent real-time updates without cache concerns