So you want to implement a headless CMS for your organization?
You should emphasize usability

By Aatu Väisänen

October 11th, 2024

Introduction

Implementing any new software for the needs of an organization is usually an considerable overtaking – this also generally applies to headless web content management systems (headless CMS). However, even though there are many things to consider, one quality of the headless CMS implementation is often overlooked: usability.

This blog post covers why your organization should consider usability of the headless CMS as much as possible before, and during the implementation process.

What does software usability mean?

Software usability can generally be defined with five basic characteristics [1]:

1. Learnability – new users should be able to quickly start working efficiently with the system

2. Efficiency – the system should allow a skilled user to continue working productively with it

3. Memorability – even novice users should be able to return to using the system after a long period of time without the need to re-learn everything

4. Low error rate – the user faces as few errors as possible. If errors do occur, they are not catastrophic for the usability of the system

5. Satisfaction – the system is enjoyable to use, and the user generally perceives the usage of the system in a positive light.

These general usability principles also apply to headless content management systems.

What does implementing a headless CMS mean?

Before we dig deeper to the topic, we need to clarify the distinction between a couple important concepts:

• Headless CMS: the actual content management system software – a headless CMS is a general-purpose toolkit, which provides the various core content management functionalities, such as content modeling, editorial processes, asset management capabilities, and so on.

• Headless CMS implementation: the process of using the chosen toolkit (a headless CMS) to set up, customize, and integrate an instance of the system to meet the unique needs of an organization or a project.

An important take here is that a headless CMS generally isn’t a plug-and-play type of a product, so your organization shouldn’t expect to have a ready-to-use content management system just by subscribing to a headless CMS platform. Instead, someone has to create an implementation of the system built upon your unique requirements: on top of that, in order to publish a functioning website that uses the headless CMS, you'll need to connect the CMS to a JavaScript framework like Next.js, Nuxt, Remix, or Svelte. This ‘someone’ can be your own IT team, or more commonly a specialized implementation partner, such as us at Ikius.

Additionally, it’s worth mentioning that defining the content management requirements of your organization/project, and choosing the correct CMS for these requirements is the most important first step. Implementing a headless CMS that isn’t suitable for your needs, isn’t going to change the fact that the CMS software itself lacks some of the fundamental features that are necessary for you. Fortunately, you can always ask for help – your implementation partner can help with choosing the best system for your unique requirements.

Why usability should be valued highly when implementing a headless CMS?

Before starting any headless CMS implementation process, various aspects should be evaluated, such as content modeling, content re-usability, and content relationships to name a few. While there are many technical details to consider, usability is arguably one of the most important qualities of the system.

Content editor efficiency

While software developers are usually the ones that are implementing the headless CMS for an organization, the actual day-to-day users of the system will be content editors, often with a marketing background. Although some content editors may have sophisticated technical skills such as a programming background, most often this is not the case: this is why the perspective of the content editors should ideally be considered at all stages during the implementation of the headless CMS.

Less need for training

Ideally the headless CMS implementation should be as intuitive as possible: if the features are self-explanatory, there shouldn’t be a need for additional software training sessions. This is desirable, because the less training is needed, the easier it is to onboard new content editors to using the system at a later date.

Reduced dependency on developers

While it usually isn’t possible to completely maintain a shifting web project, which utilizes a headless CMS without some occasional developer involvement, an headless CMS implementation with a high degree of usability helps to reduce the dependency on developers. If the common content management functionalities in the system have been implemented thoughtfully with usability in mind, the casual users can manage to achieve their desired output of the web content without having to frequently ask a developer to complete simple tasks for them.

However, this should be taken with a grain of salt: many additional content needs, like designing and implementing new website components, will need some developer intervention: it’s just a matter of how often and what for. So, usability in this sense also increases the developer efficiency, as they can focus their time and effort to developing new features to the website, instead of helping with completing trivial editing tasks.

Higher user satisfaction

In the end, the usability of a headless CMS implementation comes down to the simple fact of how pleasant the system is to use. A highly usable headless CMS means that it’s enjoyable to use, which turns into better adoption rates of the system – meaning, “how likely non-technical users are to embrace using the system to manage web content”. This is especially important if your organization is transitioning from using a traditional CMS, like WordPress: the old system which everyone is used to, is ideally replaced with a system that’s easy to get into, so the shift to using the new system would be less burdensome for the content editors.

Summary

Prioritizing usability in headless CMS implementation is crucial for creating an efficient and user-friendly content management system. A highly usable CMS empowers content editors, typically non-technical users, to work efficiently without being overly dependent on web developers.

The focus on usability leads to less need for training, improved user satisfaction, and better adoption rates for the new headless CMS – this is especially prominent when transitioning from traditional CMS platforms. Ultimately, a usable headless CMS implementation enhances overall productivity and makes content management tasks less burdensome for the entire team. You can focus only on the task that the system was acquired for: managing your website's content.

References:

1. [1] Usability engineering methods for software developers, Holzinger A. (2005), Graz University