Headless CMS development for teams that need control and speed
If every change to your site or app turns into a ticket and a mini‑release, the CMS is probably holding you back. BYBOWU helps growing companies replace brittle page builders and plugin stacks with clean, headless CMS architectures that serve the website, apps, and any other channel from one reliable source of content.
We are a Phoenix, AZ based web and app development team working with clients across the US and worldwide. Our focus is simple: give marketing and content teams a CMS they actually like using, while engineering gets a fast, secure frontend and predictable APIs instead of one more monolith to babysit.
Where traditional CMS setups start to hurt
Most of the companies that come to us are feeling one or more of these pains:
- Slow, fragile websites from themes, plugins, and visual builders stacked together, dragging down Core Web Vitals and SEO.
- Content sprawled everywhere with separate copies for web, mobile, email, and in‑product messages that never stay in sync.
- Marketing blocked by engineering because a simple headline test or landing page requires a developer and a deploy pipeline.
- Risky migrations where no one is sure what will happen to rankings, redirects, or tracking if you touch the CMS.
- Hard‑to‑change layouts that make every new campaign or product launch feel like a redesign project.
A well‑designed headless CMS decouples content from presentation. Content editors work in a clean, structured environment, while the website or app consumes that content over APIs. You get faster pages, simpler deployments, and less chaos every time the business needs to change.
How we design your headless CMS stack
There is no single "best" headless platform. What matters is how it fits your team, budget, and roadmap. We help you choose and implement the right combination instead of forcing a pet tool.
Strapi
Best for: teams that want self‑hosted control, custom content models, and private extensions.
We deploy Strapi with a production‑ready database such as PostgreSQL, on infrastructure that fits your organization (AWS, DigitalOcean, Render, or your existing cloud). Paired with a Next.js frontend and GraphQL or REST APIs, Strapi gives you a flexible, API‑first content layer you own end to end.
Contentful
Best for: mid‑market and enterprise teams that care about governance, environments, and multi‑locale content.
Contentful offers mature role‑based permissions, content modeling, and environment workflows. We design content types, locales, and preview flows so editors get a polished interface, while developers work against stable APIs and environments that are easy to automate.
Sanity
Best for: content teams that collaborate heavily, experiment a lot, and want highly structured, reusable content.
With Sanity, real‑time collaboration and portable text make it easy to build dynamic, component‑based content that works across web, mobile, and campaigns. Paired with Next.js and modern hosting, changes are previewed instantly and published in seconds without full rebuilds.
Headless WordPress
Best for: teams who like the WordPress editor but are hitting limits with themes and traditional hosting.
If your content team lives in WordPress, we do not force a migration for the sake of it. Instead, we connect WordPress via WPGraphQL or REST, harden the origin, and put a fast Next.js frontend in front. You keep familiar editing workflows and gain better speed, security, and flexibility.
During discovery, we walk through trade‑offs between Strapi, Contentful, Sanity, and headless WordPress, including pricing, hosting, governance, and editor experience. The result is a stack that fits where you are today and where you expect the product and content to be in the next few years.
Get a practical headless CMS game plan
Share your current CMS, traffic profile, and goals. Within a few business days we will outline suggested platforms, a draft architecture, and a realistic migration path.
Our process: from legacy CMS to headless MVP
The job is not to install a new tool. The job is to reduce risk, protect SEO, and give your team a working headless setup without a year of refactoring.
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1. Discovery and audit
We inventory your current CMS, content types, URLs, redirects, SEO dependencies, and key integrations such as ecommerce, CRM, analytics, and marketing tools. For many clients this is the first clear map of how content actually flows through the business.
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2. Architecture and platform selection
Together, we decide on the headless CMS, hosting, and frontend stack. We define API contracts between the CMS, website or app, and external services so that internal teams and vendors can implement in parallel without guesswork.
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3. Content modeling and editorial workflows
We design content models around how your team works in practice: modules, locales, approval flows, versioning, and reusable components. Then we configure preview environments so marketing can see and test changes before anything goes live.
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4. Development and integration
We build the new frontend (typically with Next.js or a similar modern framework) and connect it to the headless CMS. Where needed, we integrate services like Shopify or WooCommerce, search providers, payment gateways such as Stripe, and analytics. Caching, image optimization, and performance budgets are baked in from the start.
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5. Migration, QA, and launch
We plan redirects to protect rankings, keep tracking intact, and avoid broken links. Staging environments mirror production as closely as possible. Structured QA covers functional flows, accessibility, and performance on real devices before launch.
Throughout the project you work with a single senior team that owns the outcome from the first audit through post‑launch support, not a rotating cast of freelancers.
What you actually get at the end
By the time we are done, you are not just "on headless". You have a stable content platform that your team understands and can grow with.
- A production‑ready headless CMS instance (Strapi, Contentful, Sanity, or headless WordPress) configured for your brand, locales, and workflows.
- A modern frontend (usually Next.js) connected to the CMS, tuned for speed, Core Web Vitals, and SEO.
- Clear, versioned API contracts between CMS, storefront, first‑party apps, and external services.
- Preview and staging flows so content editors can safely test changes, schedule campaigns, and get approvals.
- Redirect mapping, sitemaps, canonical tags, metadata fields, and structured data to enable SEO‑aware migrations.
- Environments that mirror production, with role‑based access, audit logs, and SSO or other identity setup where required.
- Concise playbooks and documentation for content editors, developers, and operations, so the system does not fall apart the moment someone leaves.
What you can order
- Headless MVP for marketing sites — Design and implement a headless CMS plus a Next.js marketing site or conversion‑focused landing system with a small set of page types, SEO basics, and editor training.
- Multi‑locale headless platform — Consolidate several regional or language sites into a single headless CMS with locale support, shared components, and deployment workflows built for international SEO.
- Headless ecommerce foundation — Pair a headless CMS with Shopify or WooCommerce, build a Next.js storefront, and enable richer PDP content, faster load times, and integrated checkout. Ideal with our ecommerce development services.
- Headless WordPress upgrade — Keep WordPress as the content backend, replace the theme layer with a modern frontend, and improve Core Web Vitals without retraining the entire editorial team.
- CMS migration and SEO‑safe replatform — Plan and execute a move from your legacy CMS to headless with URL mapping, redirects, analytics, and SEO audits handled for you.
- Headless CMS audit and rescue — If you already went headless but are fighting performance or workflow issues, we review the architecture, fix bottlenecks, and leave you with a concrete recovery plan.
Proof it works in the real world
Marketplace with complex catalogs
For a fashion marketplace similar to SixZeros, we structured content and product data so marketing could manage editorial sections and promotions without touching the core commerce engine, while the storefront stayed fast and stable.
B2B platform with dynamic marketing pages
On a project like MonoDrop, we separated marketing content from the core application, giving the team flexible landing pages for acquisition campaigns backed by a centralized headless CMS.
Content‑driven product company
For a company similar to ARTKB, we designed content models and navigation that allowed the team to expand case studies, blog content, and product pages in one place without adding plugins or new themes.
Why choose BYBOWU for headless CMS work
- Product mindset, not just implementation — We care about what the CMS needs to do for marketing, product, and operations, not only about getting a deployment green.
- Design, engineering, and SEO under one roof — Our team covers frontend performance, UX, and technical SEO, so you do not need three different vendors to launch safely.
- Clear communication and ownership — You work with senior people who explain trade‑offs in plain language, give you real options, and stay involved all the way through launch.
- Long‑term support — After go‑live, you can keep us on for support and maintenance so the stack stays fast, secure, and well documented as your content grows.
How engagement typically works
Headless CMS projects vary based on scope and complexity, but the collaboration model is straightforward.
- Timeline: Around 4 to 6 weeks for a focused MVP marketing site, and 8 to 12 weeks for multi‑locale, ecommerce, or deeply integrated implementations.
- Budget: Most projects start around the high five figures for a focused rollout, with larger multi‑system programs scoped with you before we commit to numbers. Platform licensing or SaaS fees are separate.
- Engagement model: Fixed‑scope projects with clear milestones, or ongoing product partnerships when headless is part of a broader platform build.
If you prefer line‑item clarity, you can review typical ranges on our pricing page or browse related web development services for more context.
Ready to explore headless or stress‑test your current plan?
Whether you are still comparing platforms or already have a rough architecture, a short conversation is usually enough for us to outline your options, risks, and a realistic path forward.
Start a headless CMS project or request a Phoenix‑led audit →
Questions founders usually ask
Will going headless hurt our SEO?
If you cut corners, yes. If you treat SEO as a first‑class requirement, moving to headless usually improves it. We use server‑side or hybrid rendering, maintain URL structures where it makes sense, implement redirects, sitemaps, canonical tags, and structured data, and coordinate with your SEO team or handle audits ourselves.
Can our marketing team still edit pages without developers?
That is the point. Platforms like Contentful, Sanity, Strapi, and WordPress all have editor‑friendly interfaces, previews, and scheduling. We design content models and components around your existing workflows so non‑technical users can safely build and update pages.
How long will our migration actually take?
Simple marketing sites with a limited set of templates typically take 4 to 6 weeks. Complex setups with multiple locales, ecommerce, or custom integrations usually land in the 8 to 12 week range. During discovery we identify any legacy surprises so timelines are based on reality, not wishful thinking.
Do you support headless ecommerce?
Yes. We often pair a headless CMS with Shopify or WooCommerce, build a Next.js storefront, and integrate services like Algolia or Stripe. This setup lets marketing own the storytelling and content while the commerce platform focuses on inventory, orders, and payments.
What about security and compliance needs?
For self‑hosted options like Strapi, we follow hardening best practices, backups, and environment separation. For SaaS platforms, we configure environments, permissions, SSO, and webhooks in line with your internal policies. If you have specific compliance requirements, we factor those into the architecture from day one.
Can you work with our in‑house engineers?
Absolutely. Some clients ask us to own the entire stack, others want us to handle the CMS and architecture while their team builds the frontend, or the other way around. We document APIs, provide examples, and stay available during handover so your engineers are set up to succeed.
If you are considering a headless CMS or need a second opinion on a proposed architecture, we are happy to take a look and give you a clear, practical recommendation.
