Content management systems (CMS) have been essential for online stores for a long time. They allow you to add products, manage web pages, and process orders without needing to change code every time. However, as businesses grow, many find that traditional CMS platforms can be too slow or not flexible enough. That’s where a headless CMS for e-commerce comes into play.
A headless CMS separates the way content is managed (the “body”) from how it is displayed (the “head”). This means the same content can be used on websites, mobile apps, online marketplaces, or even smart devices. More brands are moving to headless solutions because they improve speed, make updates easier, and help reach customers in more places. So, which type helps drive more sales: a traditional CMS or a headless CMS for e-commerce?
Traditional CMS vs. Headless CMS: Key Differences for E-commerce
A traditional CMS combines content management and display in one system. It includes an editor, themes, plugins, and checkout features all in one package. This is great for quick setups and small online stores. On the other hand, a headless CMS only manages and stores content using APIs. You create the front end separately using any framework or programming language you like. The front end then retrieves data from the CMS as needed.
The Impact of CMS Choice on E-commerce Sales
- Speed & Performance: Faster websites keep shoppers interested. Google’s Core Web Vitals show that a delay of just 0.1 seconds can reduce sales by 8%. With a headless CMS for online stores, you can make each page load faster by only downloading what you really need. This more efficient setup usually results in quicker loading times and better scores on Web Vitals.
- User Experience (UX): When you have complete control over the front end, you can design layouts, animations, and checkout processes without being limited by a theme. A better user experience leads to longer browsing sessions and more items added to carts. Brands using headless systems often see an increase in engagement by up to 20%
- SEO: Traditional platforms can have trouble with changing content and metadata. A headless CMS allows you to prepare pages in advance or manage metadata during your build process. This can improve how often search engines crawl your site and how well your pages are indexed, which can lead to more organic traffic.
- Omnichannel Capabilities: Today’s shoppers easily switch between apps, social media stores, and voice assistants. A headless CMS for e-commerce lets you update your content once and share it everywhere. You can send new product information to a mobile app and a kiosk display at the same time.
Best Headless CMS for E-commerce in 2025: A Feature-by-Feature Comparison
Selecting the best headless CMS for e-commerce isn't just about choosing the one with the most features. It's important to find one that matches the way your store operates, expands, and develops. Let's take a closer look at three of the most popular choices in 2025 which is BCMS, Contentful, Strapi and discover why BCMS is becoming the top choice for e-commerce brands.
What to Expect From Each Option
- Ease of Use: If you want something that works right away, BCMS and Contentful are great choices. Their user interfaces are easy to understand, making them good for beginners. Strapi is more aimed at developers and takes a little longer to set up, but it gives you more flexibility.
- Scalability: BCMS is designed to automatically grow as your store gets more visitors. Contentful has a strong system that big companies trust. Strapi lets you control how your store expands, but you'll need to handle that on your own.
- Developer Experience: All three options support REST and GraphQL. BCMS offers extra help with prebuilt components, e-commerce templates, and starter projects, so developers can launch stores quickly. Strapi and Contentful have good documentation, but they require more hands-on setup.
- Pricing: BCMS has a good free plan and only starts charging when your usage increases. Contentful has a traditional pricing plan with limits on users and content. Strapi is free if you host it yourself, but using cloud hosting will cost more.
Why BCMS is a Great Choice for E-commerce
BCMS is becoming one of the top options for e-commerce because it focuses on being both fast and easy to use. Here are some of its key features: