Skip to main content

CMS? Headless? DXP? Huh?

Need a better website platform but dreading the Google-and-demo grind?

Whether you're battling feature limits, rising costs, or workflow headaches, we've done the hard work for you.

Skip weeks of research. Get the answers you need in minutes.

Compare Traditional CMS, Headless CMS, and Digital Experience Platforms (DXPs). Get clear pros and cons, costs, and implementation realities - no jargon, no bias, just clarity you can act on.

Confused woman surrounded by elements of digital experiences, including social media, integrations, branding, multi-site publishing and personalization.

First things first – what’s the difference?

  • Traditional “Head-on” CMS

    This is the OG website builder. It's like a cookie-cutter house with pre-defined walls, roof, and foundation. Get everything you need to build a simple website – WYSIWYG editing tools and templates.

    💡 Great for basic websites. Not so great for large, complex sites with multi-channel experiences. To scale, you’ll end up needing a lot of custom code and developer reliance.

  • Headless CMS

    Imagine taking that same house and separating the foundation from everything else. The foundation (your content) stays put, but you can build whatever you want on top of it. Want your content on a website? Cool. An app? Sure. Smart fridge? Why not!

    💡More flexibility for developers comes with more technical complexity, high maintenance costs, custom code, and less marketing control.

  • Low-code DXP

    This is like upgrading from a house to a smart home. It's not just about websites – it's about managing every interaction your users have with your brand. Think personalization, AB testing, performance insights, and integrations to enable all channels to work as one.

    💡 The DXP offers both ease-of-use and advanced capabilities. Perfect for enterprise marketers and developers to collaborate on building brilliant experiences fast, without sacrificing enterprise-grade security and governance.

  • A traditional CMS suits you if:

    - You just need a simple, solid website
    - Your team isn't super technical
    - You want something up and running quickly

  • A headless CMS suits you if:

    - You want maximum flexibility of your content across multiple platforms
    - You have a large team of developers to manage the day-to-day
    - You want more customisation on how things look and work

  • A low-code DXP suits you if:

    - You're managing multiple digital touchpoints in a large organization
    - You want marketers to build without code while devs focus on strategic work
    - You want a unified platform for your digital tools to play nice together, minus the overhead

Here's how they stack up, at a glance.

A scatter plot comparing traditional CMS, headless, and DXP across two axes: Marketing Autonomy (vertical, from Low to High) and Dev Complexity (horizontal, from High to Low). DXPs are positioned in the top right, showing high marketing autonomy and low dev complexity, with features like 'Built for marketers and devs' and 'No-code tools with enterprise capability.' Traditional CMS is in the middle, noting it's 'Easy to use for basic websites' but 'Complexity increases exponentially when scaling.' Headless CMS is positioned in the bottom left, indicating low marketing autonomy and high dev complexity, characterized by 'Dev-first approach' and 'High technical requirements.'

Let's break it down.

Marketer experience

Comparison table of Traditional CMS vs Headless CMS vs DXP across eight criteria. Traditional CMS excels in UI and low dev reliance but has limitations in scalability and advanced features. Headless CMS offers strong API integration capabilities but requires more technical expertise. DXP leads in most categories, offering WYSIWYG editing, pre-built components, cross-platform scaling, extensive integrations, multi-channel publishing, real-time personalization, and AI/ML optimization capabilities. The table uses checkmarks, crosses, and question marks to indicate strengths and limitations of each platform across categories including Easy-to-use UI, Low dev reliance, Speed to market, Flexible integrations, Content unification, Multi-channel publishing, Personalization, and Optimization.

A traditional CMS is simpler to use but limited.

Headless CMSs are flexible but code-heavy. Low-code DXPs combine both benefits: intuitive tools, with the power to scale, personalize, and integrate across all channels.

Developer experience

Comparison table of Traditional CMS vs Headless CMS vs DXP across five developer experience criteria. Traditional CMS offers simple content management but has limited framework choices and security concerns. Headless CMS provides framework flexibility but needs ongoing dev support. DXP leads with comprehensive features: self-serve tools for marketers, multiple framework support, pre-built connectors, enterprise security, and integrated DevOps. The table uses checkmarks, crosses, and question marks to evaluate each platform across categories including Minimal time on content updates, Framework choice, Ease of integration, Security, and Developer environment.

Low-code DXPs balance developer and marketer needs.

While traditional CMS restricts developers and headless CMS depends too heavily on them, low-code DXPs provide both technical flexibility and marketing autonomy, all with enterprise security built in.

End user experience

Comparison table of Traditional CMS vs Headless CMS vs DXP across five user experience criteria. Traditional CMS shows limitations in consistency of experiences and personalization with siloed tools. Headless CMS can overcome these limitations but requires custom development. DXP excels with unified experiences: consistent design systems, multi-channel personalization, AI-powered search, tailored remarketing, and adaptive customer service. The table uses checkmarks, crosses, and question marks to evaluate each platform across categories including Consistent experience, Personalization, Fast answers, Remarketing, and Improved customer service

Traditional CMSs offer disconnected experiences as you scale and stretch beyond its abilities.

A headless CMS offers a consistent experience, only with a lot of code. Low-code DXPs deliver unified, personalized experiences for users across all touchpoints - integrating data and content from any source.

thumbnail displaying an eBook titled 'The Modern Website Builder's Playbook'

Which is best for you?

Grab our BS-free guide to discover which one makes sense for you. No tech jargon, just the facts.

Why organizations like these use Squiz DXP

Hear it from DXP converts

FAQs

CMS vs DXP Guide: Which is best for you?

Our no-nonsense guide breaks down CMSs and DXPs without the fluff. Your shortcut to choosing the solution you really need.