The Ultimate Guide to Building a Headless WordPress

9 minutes read

Oct 30, 2025

What is Headless WordPress?

Headless WordPress refers to decoupling the frontend and backend of a WordPress website. In this setup, WordPress serves only as the backend content management system (CMS), and the frontend is built using a JavaScript framework such as React, Vue, or Svelte. This modern approach allows for more flexible, performant, and scalable applications.

Unlike traditional WordPress themes that render content on the server side, headless setups use APIs (REST or GraphQL) to fetch content dynamically. This content is then displayed in the frontend app, offering full control over design and performance optimization.

Why Choose Headless Architecture?

Going headless offers several benefits:

Performance: Modern frontends like Next.js or Gatsby offer static site generation (SSG) and server-side rendering (SSR), resulting in faster load times and better user experiences.
Flexibility: Developers have complete control over the frontend design and user interface.
Multi-Platform Publishing: Serve content to all digital properties from a single WordPress backend.
Improved Security: By removing the WordPress theme system, the attack surface is reduced.

However, headless architecture also introduces complexity:

Development requires JavaScript and API expertise.
Some WordPress plugins may not work correctly since they expect theme integration.
You lose built-in features like the customizer or widget editor.

Choosing the Right Stack for Headless WordPress

To build a headless WordPress site, you need to choose the right combination of backend, API, and frontend technology.

Backend: WordPress (Self-hosted or Managed Hosting)
API: REST API (built-in) or WPGraphQL plugin
Frontend Frameworks:
- React (with Next.js)
- Vue (with Nuxt.js)
- Svelte (with SvelteKit)
- Gatsby (React-based static site generator)
- Astro (hybrid static + dynamic)
Hosting:
- WordPress: WP Engine, Kinsta, or DigitalOcean
- Frontend: Vercel, Netlify, Cloudflare Pages, or any CDN-enabled static host

What are the steps to make WordPress Headless?

Step 1: Install WordPress

Use any standard installation (local or hosted).

Step 2: Create Content

Use Gutenberg editor, CPTs (Custom Post Types), and ACF (Advanced Custom Fields).

Step 3: Install WPGraphQL (optional)

Adds GraphQL support for structured, queryable APIs.

Step 4: Configure CORS

Allow frontend domains to access the WordPress API.
Add CORS headers via theme’s functions.php or a plugin.


<
add_action('init', function() { 
  header("Access-Control-Allow-Origin: *"); 
}); 
>

Building the Frontend (Example: React with Next.js)

Step 1: Create Next.js App

// npx create-next-app headless-wp-app

Step 2: Fetch Data from REST API


export async function getStaticProps() { 
  const res = await fetch('https://example.com/wp-json/wp/v2/posts'); 
  const posts = await res.json(); 
  return { props: { posts } }; 
}

Step 3: Display Posts in the UI


export default function Blog({ posts }) { 
  return ( 
  	Blog
  	{posts.map(post => ( 
    	 
      	dangerouslySetInnerHTML={{ __html: post.title.rendered }} /> 
      	dangerouslySetInnerHTML={{ __html: post.excerpt.rendered }} /> 
    	 
  	))} 
  ); 
}

SEO, Caching, and Authentication

SEO Tips:

Use next/head in Next.js or vue-meta in Vue to manage meta tags.
Generate sitemap.xml manually or with plugins.

Caching:

Enable CDN caching on frontend hosts like Netlify or Vercel.
Use server-side caching (e.g., Redis, object caching) on the WordPress backend.

Authentication:

Install the JWT Authentication for WP REST API plugin.
Use /wp-json/jwt-auth/v1/token endpoint to login and receive a token.
Attach token to protected API requests from the frontend.

Best Practices for Headless WordPress

Keep frontend and backend repositories separate for maintainability.
Use Git and CI/CD pipelines to automate deployment.
Avoid exposing sensitive data via public APIs.
Use ACF JSON sync to version control field groups.
Structure your API queries to minimize data overfetching.
Use GraphQL over REST for better control over data shape.

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The Way Forward

Choose Headless WordPress if:
• You need custom design with modern frontend tools.
• You’re building for multiple platforms (web, mobile, kiosk).
• You have JavaScript development experience.

Stick with Traditional WordPress if:
• You rely heavily on plugins like Elementor.
• Your team lacks JavaScript experience.
• You want to launch quickly with fewer development resources.

Headless WordPress unlocks powerful capabilities, but it’s important to assess your team’s skills and project requirements before making the switch.

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Jignesh Jadav

Oct 30 2025

Jignesh is a recognized Assistant Project Manager at iFlair Web Technologies Pvt. Ltd. Jignesh has over 9 years of industry experience, and in his career, he has managed many web development projects that have been delivered on time with high customer satisfaction. His skills include JS expertise including Angular, React, Vue.js, Mean.js, Next.js, Nuxt.js, and Full-stack tech expertise also in project planning, client communication, and team management, which are a great addition to the company's continuous development and success in the technology industry.