Get the Classic Umbraco CMS As Headless With Umbraco Heartcore

Umbraco is an open-source CMS system that allows users to create and maintain websites quickly and easily. It is open-source, so the software source code is available and can be freely modified and distributed. That means it's flexible, it can work across organisations, it can be adapted to accommodate different types of web projects and it's all free.

Umbraco Heartcore is a cloud-based headless CMS built on Umbraco CMS technology. Umbraco Heartcore is the headless version of Umbraco Cloud, which is a managed and hosted version of Umbraco CMS. Umbraco Cloud is provided as a service and has existed since 2005.
This means that Heartcore uses Umbraco CMS as its backend, giving developers the freedom to create the front-end they want, while providing editors with a user experience that has been tried and tested since 2005. The entire editorial experience, such as page setup, preview, etc., comes out-of-the-box with no special setup, hosting or maintenance. Data is easily accessed through the automatically created APIs, so content can be displayed on websites, apps or other platforms.

What is headless CMS?

In a headless CMS, the front end and back end are separate. This means that the CMS is only responsible for creating, maintaining and delivering content, but it does not decide how the content should be displayed in the presentation layer. Because the front end and back end are not technologically linked together and because the front end generally has a shorter lifetime than the back end solution, a headless CMS will extend the lifespan of the CMS.

Through APIs, content is delivered to the system or platform that needs it, without dependencies on how it should be displayed, regardless of whether it is for a website, apps, smartwatches or similar. Therefore, it is ideal if you want to expand your business to omnichannel. So if you have multiple presentation layers, or want to expand to omnichannel, headless CMS is the way to more reusable and consistent content.

A Deeper Look At Umbraco Heartcore

Umbraco Heartcore comes with a lot of intuitive features that make work easier for both developers and editors. These are features such as Managed API, GraphQL and built-in CDN.

Managed API - content becomes available automatically.

Umbraco Heartcore is a comprehensive solution that covers all CMS requirements. The user interface is easy to use, and setting up data types, pages, elements, etc. is simple. All content is automatically made available through Heartcore's managed API, which is automatically generated and kept up to date with changes.

With managed API, you can concentrate on creating great, live content without spending time on the technical side.

GraphQL - a faster way to get data.

Umbraco Heartcore has built-in GraphQL functionality, which means shorter load times for users. GraphQL is an open-source language for data queries against APIs. It gives the user the ability to ask for exactly the data they need, and in doing so they only get the relevant data back. You can describe small and simple queries with single fields from a data object, or you can create larger and complex queries with data combinations and lists of subtypes.

The strength of GraphQL is very much that it is the client that asks for the data it needs, so each call is tailored to the need. It's incredibly flexible compared to, say, a REST API, which has a fixed interface and is time-consuming to change.

CDN Delivered - an efficient way to deliver content.

A Content Delivery Network (CDN) is a system of servers that work together to deliver content to users' front ends. The aim is for the same data to be available in multiple places and as close to the user as possible, as this gives the shortest response time and therefore the best experience. Umbraco Heartcore provides CDN capabilities using Cloudflare, which has a world-class global CDN. Umbraco has chosen Cloudflare as its supplier to create a service that is secure, fast and reliable.

CDN helps to distribute traffic across multiple servers and to ensure that content has high availability. In addition, CDNs help improve security, for example by protecting against DDoS attacks, which are denial of service attacks in which hackers attempt to "flood" a website or network with requests, causing it to crash.

When does it make sense to use headless CMS?

A headless CMS separates the front end from the back end, providing a number of benefits and freedoms. You can build your solution exactly the way you want. It is an advantage to use headless CMS if you need to deliver content to multiple platforms at the same time. If you have websites, mobile apps or smart screens, for example, having a single data basis is an advantage. Each front end can be designed independently, but still use the same data.

In addition, if you have very complex needs for your information channels, headless CMS will make sense. You may have very fluctuating traffic volumes, such as the change of month, Black Friday or Christmas shopping. A separate front end allows for scaling bottlenecks e.g., through CDN. If performance is the overall focus, headless CMS offers great opportunities. Fundamentally, Umbraco Heartcore performs well and you have full freedom to design your front end to perform.

If you want to make frequent changes in design or functionality, it makes sense to use Headless CMS. This will encourage content to be created in as small chunks as possible. When content is split, only the small part you want to update needs to be tested. This results in a shorter time-to-market.

5 good reasons to choose Umbraco Heartcore

• Umbraco CMS is a well-known product that is well-tested and user-friendly for editors. It is reused in Umbraco Heartcore.

• Umbraco is Danish and is designed for the European market.

• Umbraco Heartcore has built-in CDN and GraphQL for high performance.

• Umbraco Heartcore is easy to set up and you'll be up and running in no time.

• It is well priced for both large and small needs.

We are always ready for a no-obligation conversation about your business needs and how a headless CMS with Umbraco Heartcore or Contentful can contribute to your business. You can contact us here.