How to Develop Websites Faster and with Maximum Flexibility

I was trying to code my projects in a faster way and with maximum flexibility. I was bored of having to adapt to specific functionalities of usual CMSs that were limiting my job, so I created Codelia. – Edoardo Valenza

Developing websites and e-commerce in a faster and more flexible way is an opportunity to improve your productivity and get more things done during the day. To develop for the web faster, you need to use the right approach while coding and use the right tools.

There are many types of CMSs that make you able to develop websites and e-commerce. Let me introduce you to a new way to develop web projects to code faster and with 100% of flexibility.

Firstly is necessary to analyze what is the process of working with a usual CMS to compare it with a faster and more flexible way.

How is it working with a usual CMS

A usual CMS works with a database and lives in the same place as the website. This means that the core of the CMS supports the website, and all the server resources will be dedicated to both and not only to the website or e-commerce.

When working with a usual CMS you need to get the content by using some prebuilt functions or creating custom queries. In both cases, you are bound to the database structure and you can’t manage your data with maximum flexibility.

In addition to this, usually, the database and the CMS are big and heavy, so the server response time will be increased and you will get a slower website. Just try to test it out on popular tools like GTmetrix and Google Page Speed.

If you need to use prebuilt functions, you also need to code using the programming language with which the CMS is built. So it’s harder to use a specific framework and you can’t use your favorite programming language and tools that help you to code faster and easier.

Usually, a usual CMS works with plugins. If you are a developer - like me - you know how many disadvantages plugins can be brought. By using plugins you make the CMS more complex and heavy, probably reducing the website or e-commerce speed even more.

Develop faster and with the maximum flexibility with a headless CMS

A usual CMS is not the only solution that you can use to develop your web projects. You can code them without a CMS, so without a back-end to manage the content, but in this way, if the website should be updated frequently you need to update the code every time that there is a change. So this solution could be useful for very small websites that don’t need frequent updates.

However, there is another way to develop, another type of CMS. I’m talking about headless CMSs. A headless CMS is a type of content management system that works differently from a usual CMS, and it’s studied to give maximum flexibility and power to developers.

The main difference that a headless CMS has, is that it is separated from the front-end. This feature brings to you different advantages in terms of flexibility and speed of the website, even for your development time.

How is it working with a headless CMS

A headless CMS is a CMS that is separated from the front-end, so it lives in another server. All the server resources where you host your front-end will be dedicated to it, so the website will be faster.

You don’t need to stand on a database and its structure while developing using a headless CMS because it works through an API. Using an API brings to you different advantages.

First of all, developing by using an API makes you able to choose your favorite programming language or framework. You don’t have to stand on a specific programming language and functions, you can build your functions managing the content with maximum flexibility, and creating custom functionalities for your projects.

You get the content in JSON format, so you can manage it with any programming language and framework you want.

Without a database and with a fast API, the server response time is reduced, and you can get scores above 90% on tools like GTmetrix and Google Page Speed.

Also, your projects are more secure because the back-end is separated from the front-end, so there is not a directly accessible login page.

How working with a headless CMS changes my job

As a web designer and web developer, I was working with usual CMSs to develop websites and e-commerce for my clients.

The way of work was the one that I described above. I couldn't get 100% of flexibility while coding, and I was looking for a way that could help me to code faster.

So I created Codelia, a solution that helped me solve these problems.

Codelia is a headless CMS that works through API to develop websites and e-commerce. By using its powerful and flexible back-end it’s possible to create a custom back-end area defining the content structure of your projects. It’s also possible to create and manage multiple websites and e-commerce in just one single place.

In this way, I can manage all the content of all my projects in a single back-end, and I can develop by using any programming language or framework in a faster way and with 100% of flexibility.

Also, I’m able to get powerful scores above 90% on GTmetrix and Google Page Speed. Take a look at the GTmetrix score of our website built with Codelia in the screenshot below.

Codelia can help other developers - like me - to develop their web projects.

Here’s how you can leverage its powerful features to manage the content and to develop faster and with maximum flexibility.

Create a custom back-end organizing all the content structure without limits:

• Create pages adding custom controls to them. Controls define the content structure of a page, so it’s possible to add different controls types, such as textbox, textarea, rich textbox, file, and much more;
• Create elements (also known as content types and custom post types) adding custom controls like for pages. Group them by any value, such as category or something else. Some examples of elements are blog posts and products. The content structure of every blog post and product is the same, but the content changes;
• Track and manage orders and customers defining a custom checkout flow by adding custom checkout fields;
• Manage the inventory to update products with just a few clicks;
• Add payment and shipping methods;
• Add and manage coupons;
• Check and manage SEO to know if there could be some SEO error, such as too long, too short, or missed titles and descriptions;
• Create users and custom user roles to limit access to specific features or sites.

Develop the front-end by using your favorite programming language or framework and keep it separated from the back-end, in this way it’s more secure and faster.

Some examples of programming languages and frameworks that you can use to develop:

• PHP;
• Python;
• React JS;
• Vue JS;
• Laravel;
• Symfony;
• Angular;
• Ruby;
• Django;
• Gatsby;
• TypeScript;
• Next JS;
• Nuxt JS;
• Ember JS;
• Backbone JS;
• Ionic.

Conclusion

Using a headless CMS to develop your web projects can improve your productivity making you able to code faster and with maximum flexibility, this also means no more headaches!

Take a look at how Codelia works watching this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydi7G3lolcQ