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Best Headless CMS for NextJS in 2023

In this article, we'll dive into the top headless CMS options and compare their features, benefits, and drawbacks to help developers make an informed decision. Whether you're building a simple blog or a complex web application, this guide will help you choose the best CMS for your NextJS project.

Best Headless CMS for NextJS in 2023

This 2023 version precedes our updated article from 2024, which includes the newest developments and insights.

Headless CMS solutions have been gaining immense popularity in recent years, especially for modern web development projects that rely on frameworks like NextJS. With the decoupled approach of a headless CMS, developers can build their front-end applications using their preferred technologies and frameworks, while still leveraging the power of a content management system for handling the content.

If you're planning to use NextJS for your next web development project, it's essential to choose the right headless CMS that can seamlessly integrate with your technology stack. In this article, we'll explore the best headless CMS options for NextJS developers in 2023, highlighting their key features, benefits, and drawbacks. Whether you're building an e-commerce website, a blog, or a complex web application, this guide will help you make an informed decision on the best headless CMS solution for your project.

Sanity logo

Sanity is an excellent choice for developers looking to use a headless CMS with NextJS. It is a fully customizable CMS that gives developers complete control over their content architecture. Its intuitive user interface and powerful API make it easy for developers to create custom content models and manage content for their NextJS applications.

Sanity also offers seamless integration with NextJS, allowing developers to quickly and easily build scalable and flexible web applications. Its integrations with popular tools like React and GraphQL make it an even more attractive option for developers looking to build modern web applications.

One of the key benefits of using Sanity with NextJS is its ability to handle large amounts of content with ease. This is particularly important for businesses and organizations that require a high degree of flexibility when it comes to managing and publishing content.

Furthermore, Sanity provides developers with an easy-to-use content editor that allows them to create and manage content in a visual manner. This is particularly beneficial for non-technical users who may not be familiar with coding and prefer to work with a more user-friendly interface.

Storyblok logo

Storyblok is a popular headless CMS that offers a variety of features and integrations that make it a great choice for developers building applications with NextJS.

Storyblok also provides a visual editor that allows non-technical users to create and edit content, while developers can leverage the platform's APIs to fetch and render that content within their NextJS application. The platform also offers powerful content management features, such as content versioning, content locking, and content scheduling, making it a great choice for teams working on complex projects.

Contentful logo

Contentful is a widely used headless CMS that offers a range of features and integrations, making it a popular choice for developers building applications with NextJS.

Additionally, Contentful provides a user-friendly visual editor that enables non-technical individuals to generate and modify content. Simultaneously, developers can utilize the platform's APIs to retrieve and display the content within their NextJS application. Contentful offers robust content management capabilities, including content versioning, locking, and scheduling, which makes it an ideal solution for teams handling intricate projects.

Ghost logo

Ghost CMS can be a good choice for Next.js depending on the specific needs of the project. Since Ghost is primarily designed for content creation and publishing, it may not be the best choice for projects that require more complex functionality or integrations beyond blogging.

However, Ghost CMS can be easily integrated with Next.js using its API, making it a great option for projects that require a CMS for blog or publication content. The platform offers a range of customizable themes and plugins, which can be easily modified and extended to fit the needs of the project.

Additionally, Ghost CMS offers a simple and intuitive writing experience, allowing content creators to focus on their work without distractions. It also offers powerful content management features, including tags, categories, and custom post types, which can help organize content and improve user experience.

DatoCMS logo

DatoCMS is a great choice for NextJS. DatoCMS is a modern, API-driven CMS that provides a range of features for managing and delivering content, including a user-friendly content editor, content modeling tools, and a robust API that can be easily integrated with NextJS.

DatoCMS allows developers to define custom data structures and models that fit their specific needs, making it a flexible and adaptable solution for a wide range of projects. The platform also offers powerful content management features, including versioning, localization, and granular access controls.

One of the key advantages of using DatoCMS with NextJS is its built-in support for GraphQL, a powerful query language for APIs that enables developers to retrieve data efficiently and effectively. DatoCMS also provides a range of tools for optimizing images and other media assets, helping to improve website performance.

Strapi logo

Strapi is a well-known headless CMS that is an excellent choice for NextJS for several reasons. Firstly, Strapi is built on Node.js, which makes it simple to integrate with NextJS, also based on Node.js. As a result, developers can easily create custom integrations between Strapi and their NextJS application.

Secondly, Strapi is highly adaptable and can be tailored to meet specific needs by allowing developers to create custom content models and data structures. This makes it a good option for complex projects that require a high level of customization and control.

Thirdly, Strapi provides a powerful content management interface that enables non-technical users to generate and edit content, while developers can use the platform's APIs to retrieve and render that content within their NextJS application. The CMS platform also offers robust content management features such as versioning, localization, and workflow management.

Lastly, Strapi offers various plugins and integrations that can be easily installed to extend its functionality. These plugins include image optimization, email marketing, and social media integration, among others.

Conclusion

In conclusion, as mentioned before, the choice of the best headless CMS for NextJS depends on the specific needs of a project. Each CMS has its own strengths and weaknesses, and the best one for a particular project will depend on a variety of factors, such as the size and complexity of the project, the development team's skills and experience, and the desired level of customization and control.

Therefore, it is difficult to choose a single "best" CMS from the list. DatoCMS and Strapi are popular choices among NextJS developers due to their flexibility, powerful APIs, and ease of integration. Contentful and Ghost CMS are also excellent options that offer user-friendly content management interfaces and flexible content modeling options.

Ultimately, it is recommended to carefully evaluate each CMS option based on the specific needs of the project, and choose the one that offers the best fit in terms of features, flexibility, ease of use, and cost-effectiveness

To learn more about these CMS options and how they can be used with NextJS, you can visit their official websites:

Additionally, NextJS provides a wealth of documentation and resources for developers looking to build with the framework. You can find more information about NextJS on their website: https://nextjs.org/.

WRITTEN BY

Aleksei Zhilyuk

Aleksei Zhilyuk

Business Development Manager at FocusReactive