Going headless with Magnolia + React
Editors keep their familiar workflow, the frontend ships on its own schedule, and the API stays simple. The three-layer split that made it work.
For Dentsu, a monolithic CMS would have coupled presentation too tightly to the content model. A headless setup, done well, lets multiple frontends consume the same content without rework. We picked Magnolia as the content layer and React as the delivery layer.
Three layers, three release cycles
- Content modeling - reusable Magnolia content types and templates.
- API delivery - REST and GraphQL endpoints with caching.
- React frontend - server-rendered where SEO mattered.
Each layer has its own deploy pipeline. The frontend team can ship a UI change without coordinating with the CMS team; the editorial team can launch a new content type without blocking React releases.
query ArticlePage($slug: String!) {
article(slug: $slug) {
title
body { blocks }
seo { metaTitle metaDescription }
}
}The API contract is the only thing that needs to be stable. Everything else can change.