What you need to know about 'headless CDP' (and how it can benefit your business, too)

In this blog post, we introduce a concept from software development called the 'headless' approach.

Photo of a headless ancient, probably Egyptian statue.

Surely you have heard the term 'headless CMS'. It refers to systems that are used to create information without worrying about where and how that information will be displayed later. Read here how we apply this approach to Content Delivery.

What is headless?

Content Management Systems (CMS) traditionally consist of two parts: the frontend, which could also be called the 'head', and the backend, which is the 'body'.

The front end could be compared to a window display. This is about the presentation of the products. How are they arranged? What are the signs and lettering?
The backend is the logistics behind it. This is about creating and updating the product descriptions, creating the signs and labels.

In classic CMS, frontend (head) and backend (body) are closely linked. authors work in the CMS, create content in the backend, add features to the content. Once completed, they publish this content to the front end at the push of a button. The information appears in a predefined structure and appearance.

In order for the published information to look good and be usable on different output devices, usually considerable effort has to be put into classic CMS solutions.

This effort was to be avoided. CMSs came onto the market that strictly separate front-end and back-end and, as 'headless CMS', focus only on content creation and management.

These CMSs have had their heads figuratively cut off.

On display is a hand-painted sketch of a robot lifting off its own head and holding it over itself like a hat. — Headless

We did the same and applied the software development principle 'headless' to the area of content delivery. We talk about headless CDP oder auch API-driven-Design.

What is a headless CDP?

Let's break this concept down into its component parts:

'headless' literally means 'headless'.
CDP is the abbreviation for Content Delivery Portal.
This is usually a website or portal where manufacturers provide information such as product manuals, descriptions, assembly instructions for viewing and downloading.

headless CDP is the name for the technical structure of such websites and customer portals.

The 'head' stands for the user interface, that is, what is operated by those who use a portal, where they search for information, where they want to download something.

In the background, in the backend, processes are running that bring out the right information for the website users.

Both layers, frontend and backend, communicate via a standardized application programming interface (API) and exchange information through it.

Advantages of the headless approach to content delivery

We are developers of content delivery software, software that is used to provide product information. We develop our software according to this principle as 'headless' software, so that it can run in the background of existing customer portals or on company websites without being recognizable as 'third-party software'.

The appearance and especially the functionality of the customer portal can be determined by the companies themselves. It is usually defined by CI specifications. 'headless' software, i.e. software that does not come with its own head, integrates completely and invisibly into existing systems.

c-rex.net IDS is a 'headless CDP'

Thus, our Information Delivery Service (c-rex.net IDS) is developed according to this principle, offering flexible ways to access content.

We deliberately do not call our system Content Delivery Portal, but Information Delivery Service.

We don't deliver content somehow. For example, not in the form of a PDF file, in which users again have to search for the desired information themselves.

Instead, we care about information within source formats in everything we do. We process this information and make it available to any parties. These parties can be people, for one thing. But it can also be machines in the form of some kind of control software.

We do not offer another 'silo' in which content resides. No. We offer servicesprovide information in a flexible and reproducible way to . How the information is presented where it is picked up does not matter to us for the time being.

Take a look at two very different implementations based on c-rex.net IDS.

Display of help information for Siemens based on c-rex.net IDS

The guideline portal of GMP Verlag based on c-rex.net IDS

What you get from it

We described what we have to offer in the blog post "Why Headlessness Can Be an Advantage."

Here again the advantages at a glance

Fully automated publishing from any sources and systems
Native support of iiRDS
Linked Data Concept
Content licensing
Access management (SSO)
Layout control based on metadata