TYPO3 Headless CMS: Benefits, Implementation & Future

TYPO3 Headless is one such approach that is gaining much popularity because of its innovative ability to deliver outstanding digital experiences. 

Do you know?
According to Contentstack Headless CMS adoption rate is expected to double in the next year.

With interactive and unique front-end designs and fast-loading websites. With the commitment of TYPO3 and its API-first architecture, content can be used and displayed anywhere.

Trust me, it’s interesting! Grab a cup of coffee and read on to learn more about TYPO3 Headless CMS!

When you load a page on a TYPO3 site, the server runs code that builds front-end developed code. That document is then sent to your browser. And then so TYPO3 and web apps that work in the same way are called server-side apps.

Basically, a headless approach is becoming very valuable in our multi-device world. Headless content management means the CMS is responsible solely for content input, editing, and sorting on the back end.

So, how does content get displayed in a headless system?

A headless system should be highly accessible, and however, it is irrespective of front-end visual impact. So, how does content in a headless system make it out into the world?

Well, the content in the database is accessed through RESTful API calls. This means it can be viewed wherever it is called to, without TYPO3 templates or plugins.

This can be used to create a traditional browser-based website or almost anything else in the IoT. 
No TYPO3 templates. No plugins required. Just flexible, structured content ready to go anywhere.

Explaining in detail, we can say that TYPO3 serves as the TYPO3 backend system. The frontend, which the client sees, is separate from TYPO3. 

The name "headless" means TYPO3 no longer has a top layer, or "head." Instead, it only provides APIs for the frontend to use as content sources.

TYPO3 can serve as the best fit for a Headless CMS. You must be wondering why so?

TYPO3 has many built-in features that cover most website needs. It is one of the most mature content management systems (CMS) and works well with other APIs to create a great TYPO3 Headless website.

TYPO3 community is working very heavily to allow TYPO3 to be a great API-driven CMS. In 2019 a “TYPO3 Headless initiative” was launched. Its aim was to coordinate the development effort to allow TYPO3 to be a fully headless CMS.

The main goal of TYPO3 Headless is to prepare APIs. These APIs connect TYPO3 to popular JavaScript frameworks like ReactJS, VueJS, and AngularJS.

As of writing this, enormous progress has been made in allowing TYPO3 to serve and receive content via APIs. That’s all we know about TYPO3 Headless CMS.

Let’s check it’s how it works in TYPO3.

TYPO3 is ahead of its time. Thanks to Macopedia for sponsoring and supporting the TYPO3 Headless project. You can use the Headless concept on your TYPO3 website through the TYPO3 Extension “headless”.This extension provides a JSON content API for the TYPO3 PWA solution.

In the headless extension, we added a new JSON Content Object. This lets you choose which fields to output and how they will look. Let’s look at a simple example.

lib.page = JSON
lib.page {
  fields {
    header = TEXT
    header {
      field = header
    }
  }
}

Output

{
    "header" : "headerFieldValue"
}

in addition, keyword fields allow you to nest multiple times fields in json, e.g.

lib.page = JSON
lib.page {
  fields {
    data {
      fields {
        foo = TEXT
        foo {
          field = bar
        }
        foo1 = TEXT
        foo1 {
          field = bar1
        }
      }
    }

  }
}

Output

{
    "data": [
        {
            "foo": "bar",
            "foo1": "bar1"
        }
    ]
}

The current Ext: headless extension is powered by the JSON:API module. This has greatly improved the REST experience with TYPO3. It makes TYPO3 a very versatile system, better than most CMS options available.

• The JSON:API module shows all entities in TYPO3. This makes interactions easy and elegant.
• It follows the JSON:API standard (https://jsonapi.org/). This helps anyone integrating with a TYPO3 website understand the data structures without needing much custom documentation.
• It allows querying for lists and filtering by entity properties  and fields, also following the JSON: API standard
• The core JSON:API features are enhanced by the JSON:API Extras module. This allows for more configuration of the endpoints.
   

The above features effectively turn TYPO3 into a super robust backend for frontend applications.

Headless TYPO3 is a great way to build interactive websites or content hubs. These hubs can power various content-consuming websites and media. It is however, not without disadvantages and careful consideration should be made before choosing this path.

Hopefully, this article gave you sufficient information to choose from. If not, we are always happy to consult your TYPO3 Headless project.