Companies can only do so much with the current legacy CMS systems because, eventually, the demand for timely, error-free content interaction across multiple channels will arise. This is the digital age. This is what a CMS should be: a scalable, customizable, high-performing content management solution that enables these companies to turn on a dime, literally and figuratively. That’s why Storyblok’s unique CMS solution provides an elevation of content dissemination with solutions that enable previously thought to be impossible options to occur with faster turnaround and creative opportunities.
Whereas an ordinary CMS merely templates and codes content and unfortunately uploads it in one fixed way and shuts down, the possibilities with headless and hybrid CMS options enable a fuller experience. Companies can render and, not to mention, control everything from one location and dynamically transfer it to their websites, apps, IoT, and any digital interaction. The decoupled CMS gives companies the opportunity to create a customized, flexible solution for now and forever for their content.
The Evolution of Content Management Systems
The last two decades have changed the CMS experience from monolithic CMS to fragmentation over time. At the peak of web development, monolithic CMS were prevalent. They provided a centralized repository for storage, design, and publishing. Generally, systems connected to static websites, for example, as information and formatting were inextricably linked, and they best operated for presentations that were basic simple websites and blogs. However, as businesses expanded into the digital universe, businesses reliant on web findings discovered that monolithic CMS would not be the answer for future development, expanding to omnichannel efforts, and giving developers the autonomy they desired.
The monolithic CMS made sense for practical reasons content was served and managed in one location. Yet, it depended upon far too many templated, preset designs that weren’t easily changeable. Therefore, it was difficult to supplement new services to facilitate a better digital experience. Thus, when companies needed to capture their audience outside of the website mobile apps, IoT devices and voice devices, digital kiosks, smart TVs it became evident that the traditional CMS was not omnichannel, not flexible enough to manage content across various endpoints. This was not something legacy CMS solutions could deliver with any speed or efficiency. This is why relying upon headless and hybrid CMS solutions became the norm by decoupling the location of content storage and rendering and presentation. By eliminating the “head” of the CMS, for instance, companies were better equipped to push content via API to wherever it needed to be in real-time.
Thus, this content management transformation empowered all enterprise-level content creation, aesthetics, and scaling of any digital asset to function appropriately since any front-end framework, any cloud-based solution, or any modern digital asset could plug in. That’s what a headless CMS does. It retains all content in a single centralized back end and distributes it through API access, meaning content can be rendered and displayed whenever and wherever necessary. One company can create one piece of content one time and send it to a website, an app, a smartwatch, a digital kiosk, and an AR head all at once, there’s no need to revise later across platforms and devices. Therefore, companies are never in a digital deficit; their content can be used for engagement purposes now and later.
A Unique Approach to Content Management
Where once templates and strict guidelines from legacy systems were predictable, the explosion of super customizable CMSs is due to the flexibility, scalability, and API-first content management approach desired. For instance, developments in CMS technology facilitate the content team using a visual editor and content modeling on the fly, not to mention an API-first approach, since deliverables are no longer given in a predetermined fashion. Arguably, the most remarkable feature of modern CMSs is the inclusion of a real-time visual editor, which empowers content creators to edit without always needing to understand code.
Where legacy CMSs facilitate a frustrating back and forth between developer and marketer, a real-time editor lets the content creator see changes as they happen and thus generates better efficiencies and faster time to market. In addition, the feature of modern CMSs allowing for componentized content creation means that content is generated in modular, reusable pieces. This facilitates design uniformity and content effectiveness across multiple online sites while reducing redundancy and simplifying content edits. As new landing pages are created, new content for product descriptions and new FAQs due to new customer service offerings needs easy access to content without interfering with the integrity of the whole website. These can be managed with ease.
In addition, multilingual and localization support is required for international business. A custom CMS enables a company to effortlessly generate, change, and distribute localized content so that consumers in different areas get appropriate, location-based messaging in their language, but it’s still the same brand message.
Performance, Speed, and Scalability
Making sure a site is performant and quick is crucial for retention, SEO, and conversion rates. If a site fails to load or appears frozen, people will leave. If people can’t find information in a timely manner, they’re exiting the site to make their purchase somewhere else. Performance is a growing factor. As people grow more and more impatient with technology, they will not waste time helping a brand that fails to provide relief in a timely manner. The problem is, most CMS platforms do not have appropriate performance factors. Most have slow backend development, ineffective querying of the database, and excessive loading of scripts and plugins on the front end that are not needed. These create slow page loading times, stuttering engagements, and annoying incidents that reduce a brand’s presence.
A modern CMS improves rendering of content by using a headless approach, API-driven delivery, and CDN integrations that ensure quick, effortless rendering across websites and applications. For instance, an outdated CMS still trying to call files uses server-side rendering far too frequently, making too many simultaneous calls to databases to pull information. Yet a headless CMS uses lightweight APIs to transport assets, reducing the burden on servers and improving rendering efficiency. This equates to less downtime, improved rendering speeds, and a better overall experience for users across all digital properties. Yet this is a concern for brands with a lot of traffic eCommerce, news, SaaS, online marketplaces.
Poorly performing CMSs or ones that do not grow with the brand will lead to a site overloaded with traffic loading slowly for the users who can access it, creating even more frustration and a bounce rate that the site cannot overcome. Not only do users bounce from sites that take too long, but so does Google. It has a bounce rate for its own search engine results pages (SERPs) because users leave untrustworthy sites with high bounce rates. Like any business, Google wants to provide the best options for its users; thus, it favors sites that load quickly on its SERPs. With a CMS configured and accelerated properly, the system can handle extensive amounts of content, opportunities for engagement, storefronts, etc., and run seamlessly while executing thousands of simultaneous requests. Another key benefit of a modern CMS is its ability to integrate with future web developments such as SSR, SSG, and Jamstack architecture which all improve performance. These developments pre-render content and serve cached pages, which means loading almost instantaneously, reduced stress on the server, and improved mobile usability.
In addition, an enterprise CMS is scalable. Should digital assets, audiences, and content plans grow, businesses require a CMS that can accommodate and change with its website. A scalable CMS framework allows a business to enhance features, boost integrations, and scale to different areas of the world without annoying migrations, shifts in the system, or site downtimes down the road. In other words, as a business’s needs change because it needs a refresh from customer feedback or industry demands, it can accommodate such changes without site functionality disruption or user experience issues. A scalable CMS means not just managing increased traffic and increased capacity, but also the capability to disperse content to various different locations.
Enterprises are free to publish across multiple channels, on multiple devices, with multiple types of content and never feel restricted. This is ideal for the enterprise with ongoing sales and seasonal campaigns or the enterprise that frequently changes its content experience and needs immediate integration across all digital avenues. A modern, API-first CMS allows businesses to reclaim their digital future while elevating site performance and ensuring that all can access fast, responsive delivery systems. The emphasis on fast delivery and flexible functionality not only promotes improved conversion and SEO results, but also sets the stage for future digital expansion.
Bridging Content and Development
Perhaps the biggest headache for enterprise-level businesses is getting content creators and developers aligned on the same workflow. More frequently, the established CMS solutions separate the marketing team from the development team, forcing a company to choose either a more accessible option for non-technical marketers or a more complex, yet more powerful solution for technical developers. Either way, content publishing is postponed, and limitations prevent a brand from reaching its optimal working position in the market too quickly. A hybrid CMS truly offers the best of both worlds so that both teams can have a collaborative, effective working relationship without compromising on their wants/needs.
For content managers and marketers, the intuitive yet sophisticated interface provides all necessary tools to create, edit, and publish content without any coding experience. For developers, the API-driven architecture applies to their backend endeavors without having to disrupt the content creation process so long as it’s connected to certain front-end frameworks, third-party applications, and custom digital solutions. Whereas previously, with standard CMS capabilities, marketers and content teams had to structure and rely upon IT assistance to become embedded within publishing, a more recent CMS capability enables drag-and-drop style options, customized workflow developments, and WYSIWYG features for easy edits and changes for seamless syndication across channels. In addition, instead of requiring an approval chain to change formatting, a new CMS capability encourages instantaneous changes that render content non-static and available to change for business needs. At the same time, developers enjoy the headless and API-first capabilities that enable them to build and deploy digital experiences using modern frontend technologies React, Vue.js, Next.js, Angular.
This decoupled experience increases performance and ease of scalability while ensuring the content structure is future-ready, rendering brands able to deliver consistent and engaging experiences across all digital channels. Furthermore, with the rise of automation and AI-generated, consumer-specific content, businesses will require a revamped CMS architecture. For example, an AI-based CMS can analyze not only user interactions and engagement statistics but also time spent on each page per website, offering suggested products, customized feeds, and geo-targeted opportunities. This interaction breeds even more engagement and conversion rates while establishing customer loyalty.
Another advantage enabled by a hybrid CMS is the potential for better content workflow by streamlining productivity and reducing redundancy of efforts. For example, a typical content management system historically means that much happens behind the scenes with approval chains, over-edited prior to going live, and behind-the-scenes developers before anyone sees the intended content. The hybrid CMS reduces the anticipated need for such oversight because the hybrid provides a front-end tailored viewing experience for everyone, back-end automatic publishing and approval processing, and tracking of content use that keeps people on the straight and narrow without compromising broader expectations of content usage. Furthermore, for international business endeavors, hybrid CMS facilitates multiple sites in multiple languages, as hybrid CMS possesses multilingual capabilities and localization options so that content can be specific to regions, yet branded and legal requirements remain consistent globally.
These content efforts can easily be expanded without separate content repositories or duplicate efforts to engage different target markets. Having a hybrid CMS in a company’s digital toolkit positions them for future collaboration and enhanced content creation, as the organization can empower its teams to proactively create relevant, customized content experiences. This type of content management positions the company for future digital transformations when necessary, more complex integrations, and transformative customer expectations.
