Strapi vs headless WordPress: How they handle frontend development

When comparing Strapi vs WordPress as a CMS for implementing modern frontend stacks, the two platforms, again, differ significantly in terms of flexibility, ease of integration, and developer experience. Strapi, as a headless CMS, is built with modern frontend stacks in mind. WordPress, on the other hand, has evolved to accommodate them in headless content delivery. Let’s review Strapi first.

Using Strapi with frontend frameworks

Strapi is designed to integrate well with modern JavaScript frameworks such as React, Vue.js, Angular, and Next.js. Its API-first approach allows developers to fetch content and present it on any frontend, giving them complete freedom to choose technologies that fit the needs of the project.

Strapi + Next.js

Strapi pairs seamlessly with Next.js, making it a popular combination for developers aiming to build modern, high-performance web applications. The duo leverages the strengths of a flexible, API-first CMS with a versatile React-based framework that supports both static site generation (SSG) and server-side rendering (SSR). This combination is particularly well-suited for building applications that demand dynamic data fetching, robust content management, and top-tier performance.

Strapi + Gatsby (Using source plugins)

The setup, too, is fairly straightforward:

• The setup includes installing and configuring the gatsby-source-strapi plugin in your Gatsby project, providing your Strapi API URL and content types.
• Fetching data involves using GraphQL queries to fetch Strapi content during build time, enabling static site generation (SSG).
• Dynamic routing allows you to create dynamic pages, like blogs or product pages, using Gatsby’s createPages API and Strapi content.

This combination is ideal for building static websites with complex data structures while leveraging Gatsby’s optimization and deployment features.

Strapi + React, Vue, and other frameworks

Strapi’s API-first design ensures compatibility with any frontend framework, offering developers full flexibility in choosing their stack.

• React: Use fetch or axios to consume Strapi’s REST or GraphQL APIs directly. Libraries like react-query or SWR can simplify state management for dynamic content.
• Vue: Integrate Strapi with Vue or Nuxt.js to fetch and display content, whether for static site generation (SSG) or client-side rendering (CSR). Nuxt’s asyncData and fetch methods are perfect for consuming APIs.
• Other frameworks: Angular, Svelte, and others can connect with Strapi via its APIs, making Strapi a versatile choice for any JavaScript-based frontend.

Using WordPress with modern frontend tech stacks

With headless WordPress too, you can use your preferred frontend frameworks and technologies like React, Vue.js, Angular, Gatsby, Next.js, and others to power your frontend. WordPress provides a REST API and GraphQL endpoint (with plugins like WPGraphQL), which makes it easy to fetch content and display it across multiple channels.

WordPress + Next.js: A seamless integration for modern websites

Next.js and WordPress together create a robust solution for building modern websites that can scale seamlessly, combining WordPress’s content management capabilities with Next.js’s flexibility in rendering strategies, performance optimization, and developer experience. Whether you’re building an enterprise multisite network or a dynamically rendered marketing site, this setup provides the best of both worlds.

WordPress + Gatsby

Gatsby integrates with WordPress using the WPGraphQL plugin, offering a smooth data-fetching experience. The setup, again, is fairly straightforward.

1. Setup:
   • Install the gatsby-source-wordpress plugin.
   • Configure the plugin with your WPGraphQL endpoint.
2. Fetching data:
   • Use GraphQL queries in Gatsby to fetch WordPress content during build time.
3. Dynamic routing:
   • Leverage Gatsby’s createPages API to generate pages from WordPress content dynamically.

How APIs work with the frontend stacks in Strapi and WordPress

Strapi operates using REST or GraphQL APIs, enabling developers to fetch and manage content from the CMS. As a fully API-driven platform, with Strapi, the developer controls how the API interacts with the frontend. So while Strapi offers complete flexibility, it also requires more expertise to configure properly, needing significant upfront setup and careful management to optimize its use. Each content entry (e.g., posts, pages) is returned as a JSON object, which then needs to be processed and rendered on the frontend.

Headless WordPress also offers both REST API and GraphQL (via the WPGraphQL plugin), enabling easy integration with frontend technologies. 

The WordPress API also offers structured data and authentication mechanisms, making it easier to integrate across a wide variety of frontend frameworks. WordPress has extensive documentation for both the REST API and GraphQL, and many tools and plugins help bridge gaps between content retrieval and frontend rendering, which simplifies development. For instance, WPGraphQL enables GraphQL queries that retrieve content and metadata in a more optimized and flexible manner than traditional REST.

The role of design systems

For both Strapi and WordPress, design systems standardize presentation and data layers.

When it comes to Strapi, Strapi has invested in a full-blown design system to guide any frontend development that happens for Strapi setups. It allows you to define reusable content structures with components, which can be linked together in dynamic zones to create flexible layouts. However, it doesn’t impose any design or presentation standards on how content is rendered. For design systems, Strapi allows flexibility, but it’s up to the frontend developers to create the design consistency using their preferred CSS frameworks, design systems (e.g., Material UI), or custom solutions. 

Since the data layer in Strapi is decoupled from the presentation layer (like it is for all headless CMSs), any design system or standardized style guide needs to be managed separately.

WordPress, on the other hand, even in a headless setup, can leverage its theme system to help standardize presentation. While the theme is not used for rendering the frontend directly in headless mode, the theme still acts as a set of standards for the way content could be best displayed. 

Additionally, even in a headless implementation, WordPress’s Gutenberg block editor can act as a bridge between content structuring and design systems. Its block-based editing with pre-designed and reusable blocks allows editors to build or update content without needing to involve developers all the time. Moreover, design tokens and CSS frameworks (e.g., Tailwind CSS) can be tied to Gutenberg blocks, ensuring a cohesive look across multiple channels. Furthermore, WordPress integrates with design systems like Figma to ensure consistency across various projects.

The combination of WordPress’s block editor (Gutenberg) and design systems ensures that both the presentation and data layers are consistently standardized and easily managed. For enterprises, this approach can reduce design inconsistencies and simplify how content is structured, making it easier to scale.

Previewing the frontend(s)

Both Strapi and WordPress (in a headless implementation) don’t come with frontend previewing (as there’s no frontend).

Strapi relies on third-party or custom-built tools for live previews, which can delay feedback loops during design iterations. Integrating frontend preview tools requires additional setup and maintenance.

WordPress, too, will need custom coding to enable previews. However, configuring the same in WordPress will be a lot easier than it would be for Strapi. 

Versioning and iteration

Strapi doesn’t natively include tools for versioning content or designs, but version control for design systems can be implemented through external repositories. Integrating tools like Figma for UI collaboration alongside Strapi can support iterative design and development processes.

WordPress benefits from its revision history and versioning capabilities, which extend even to custom post types. This allows teams to iterate on content and design changes without risking inconsistencies. Paired with frontend design systems and block-based editing, WordPress enables rapid prototyping and refinement without significant downtime. By the way, WordPress also integrates seamlessly with Figma—quite handy if you’re looking at a hybrid setup.

Design tokens and cross-channel consistency

Both platforms can leverage design tokens—centralized repositories of design variables like color palettes, typography, and spacing—to ensure consistency. 

However, WordPress often integrates these tokens more seamlessly due to its ecosystem of plugins and extensions that simplify the process. Plugins and tools like Theme JSON can standardize design tokens in WordPress, allowing developers to propagate design changes across the site and frontend applications with minimal effort.

Implementing design tokens with Strapi, in contrast, requires custom pipelines to connect the tokens to both frontend frameworks and content models. This adds flexibility but also increases complexity.

Localization and global design standards

Localization is a critical aspect for global enterprises aiming to maintain consistent content across multiple languages and regions. While Strapi offers localization through its official Internationalization (i18n) plugin, its implementation is unclear. Unfortunately, we were unable to fully evaluate the plugin as the demonstration videos are private, and the provided links did not work. From the available information, it appears that localization in Strapi still requires considerable effort to match enterprise needs. In contrast, WordPress provides mature and battle-tested solutions for localization, setting it apart as a stronger choice.

WordPress—with its mature multilingual plugins like WPML and Polylang—offers a more streamlined solution for managing localized content. These plugins not only allow for the seamless translation of content into multiple languages but also ensure that the content adheres to global design standards. The ability to use a single platform for both content creation and localization ensures consistency in design, layout, and branding across all language versions, making it easier for organizations to maintain a unified global presence. 

When paired with a headless setup, WordPress takes this a step further. Headless WordPress separates the content management from the frontend presentation, giving enterprises the flexibility to manage content in any language while allowing design and functionality to be tailored to specific regional or cultural needs. Since content is pulled via APIs, it can be presented in various formats across different frontend technologies (e.g., websites, mobile apps, or digital signage). This decoupling ensures that localization efforts are scalable, as teams can manage content independently without worrying about interfering with the frontend structure. 

Moreover, WordPress’s robust design system integration allows global enterprises to maintain a consistent, unified look and feel across all localized versions of their site. Whether it’s ensuring typography is uniform or that colors and imagery align with brand guidelines, the combination of localization tools and WordPress’s flexibility ensures a cohesive experience for users across different regions.

In all, headless WordPress simplifies many of the aspects associated with integrating frontend(s), facilitating rapid development while still supporting the scalability and flexibility enterprises need.

Cost and time considerations

While Strapi’s flexibility allows for highly tailored design systems, the cost in terms of time and technical resources can be significant. This is particularly relevant for enterprises that need rapid deployment or frequent updates across channels.

WordPress’s ecosystem and pre-built tools reduce the time and cost associated with implementing design systems. With plugins for nearly every aspect of design standardization, teams can focus on customization where it matters most.