01 Headless CMS architecture
A fast front end, free of the back end.
We design composable, headless architectures, an Astro front end decoupled from the content system your team actually likes to use. Editors keep their workflow, the public site ships as static-fast HTML, and the two evolve independently. The CMS becomes a detail, not the whole architecture.
02 The position
The CMS should serve the content, not own the site.
For two decades the content system was the architecture. You picked WordPress, or Drupal, or a monolith, and that one choice dictated your performance ceiling, your security surface, your hosting bill, and how brittle the front end felt forever after. When the CMS and the website are the same program, every editor plugin is also a public-facing liability.
Headless breaks that contract. Content lives in a system built for authoring and governance. The public site is a separate, deliberately fast front end that reads that content over an API and renders it as static HTML. The blast radius of a CMS problem stops at the CMS. The front end can be rebuilt, re-platformed, or made dramatically faster without touching the editorial workflow at all.
This is not complexity for its own sake, composable adds moving parts and earns its keep only when the trade is right. We help you make that call honestly, the same way we approach every website build and software engagement.
03 Philosophy
Composable is a trade, and we only recommend it when you win it.
A headless architecture buys you speed, security isolation, and freedom to evolve the front end. It costs you a build pipeline, a content API contract, and more pieces to operate. For a content-heavy brand, a marketing site under performance pressure, or a team that has outgrown a tangled monolith, that trade is a clear win. For a simple brochure site, it can be over-engineering, and we will say so.
Boutique means we are not incentivised to sell you the most complicated thing. We take a limited number of clients, so the recommendation you get is the one we would make for our own product. Sometimes the right headless back end is a purpose-built content platform; sometimes it is the WordPress you already run, turned into a pure content API behind a faster front end.
The best headless architecture is the one your editors never notice and your visitors feel instantly.
04 Capabilities
What we actually build.
- 01
Astro front ends
The presentation layer, engineered to ship as static-fast HTML with almost no JavaScript by default. Our Astro engineering practice is the front half of every headless build.
- 02
Headless CMS integration
Wiring the front end to a purpose-built content back end, the structured content models, preview flows, and API contracts that keep authoring clean. The decision of which CMS comes first.
- 03
Headless WordPress
One common path, not the whole story. We turn an existing WordPress estate into a pure content API behind an Astro front end, the engineering core of a modern WordPress build and of re-platforming a slow site.
- 04
Content modelling
The schema beneath everything, designing content types, relationships, and editorial roles so the model fits how your team actually works rather than forcing the team to fit the tool.
- 05
Build & deploy pipelines
The machinery that turns content changes into a deployed site, incremental builds, preview environments, and webhooks, so editors publish without engineers in the loop.
- 06
Migration & re-platforming
Moving a content-heavy site onto a composable footing without losing URLs, SEO equity, or editorial sanity. The detailed playbook lives in our migration framework.
05 Method
How we think about the work.
- 01
Model the content before the code.
A headless build lives or dies on its content model. We design the schema, relationships, and editorial roles first, because a clean model makes the front end simple and a muddled one poisons everything downstream.
- 02
Decouple, don't just relocate.
Going headless is only worth it if the front end is genuinely free of the back end. We draw a hard API boundary so the presentation layer can be rebuilt or made faster without disturbing the editors at all.
- 03
Editors are users too.
An architecture that is fast for visitors but miserable for authors will be abandoned. We treat the editing experience as a first-class design problem, with real preview and workflow, not an afterthought.
07 Related thinking
Where this work goes deeper.
· Questions we get
Common questions, honest answers.
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What exactly is a headless CMS?
A headless CMS separates where content is authored from where it is displayed. Editors work in a content back end; the public website is a separate, faster front end that reads that content over an API. "Headless" means the CMS has no front end of its own, it is a content service, and you bring your own presentation layer. Our insight comparing headless CMS to WordPress walks through when this separation is worth it.
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Can we keep WordPress and still go headless?
Yes, and it is one of the most common paths we build. WordPress is an excellent authoring tool, and your team already knows it. We can keep it purely as a content back end and put a fast Astro front end in front of it, so editors keep their workflow while visitors get a static-fast site. Headless WordPress is one capability within this practice, not a separate product.
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Is headless overkill for our site?
Sometimes, and we will tell you when. Composable architecture adds a build pipeline and more pieces to operate. For a content-heavy brand, a marketing site under performance pressure, or a team escaping a tangled monolith, the trade is clearly worth it. For a small brochure site, a well-built conventional site may serve you better, and we would rather say so than sell complexity.
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How much does a headless build cost?
Engagements start at $2,500 for a focused audit or sprint; a full composable build, content modelling, migration, and a custom front end, is scoped on the call. We take a limited number of clients each year, so the architects who scope your system are the engineers who build it.
· Working together
Tell us what your content has outgrown.
If your CMS has become the bottleneck on speed, security, or change, a composable architecture may be the answer, or it may not. We will tell you honestly which, and what the right back end actually is.
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