How to Utilize SharePoint Online as a Headless CMS

Benefits of a headless CMS:

• Promotes a single sourced content strategy where information is created once and used multiple times throughout the organization
• When modifications are made, they are completed once and therefore content is automatically updated to all end-points
• Decouples technology decisions on how to deliver the content from the content itself

What is a Headless CMS? It is a Content Management System where the content repository (the body) is separated from the presentation layer (the head). The advantage is that your content is just content, which ideally is well structured, and it can be presented in any number of ways. The same content can be used for your traditional public website, in your Intranet (staff portal), in emails, social feeds, mobile apps, or presentation devices (like TVs in public or event spaces). On the presentation side, developers are free to make whatever technology choices they want to, to optimize the user experience. Later changes to those technology stacks do not affect the content, since it is decoupled from that.

We'll be using our Extranet Publisher product to illustrate how we achieve this in a SharePoint Online environment, using our own new Extranet User Manager website as an example. In this webinar, we will discuss:

• Background on Headless CMS
• What this means for Content Authors and Site Owners
• SharePoint Online as a Headless CMS
• Teams integration for content authors
• Publishing to an Azure website
• Consuming the content in a SharePoint Online staff portal
• Leveraging the content for email marketing