Making website maintenance faster: How teams can save time with a headless CMS

How much time do you spend on routine CMS maintenance? For many teams, the answer is close to 40 hours a month, an entire work week lost to updating plugins, patching security vulnerabilities, and troubleshooting conflicts.

As a developer, I’ve built headless CMS systems for companies, including a brand operating globally. For that business, compliance required serving different content in each region. Their traditional CMS setup made the most minor update a massive time drain. So, we turned to platforms like Adobe Experience Manager to break the cycle of maintenance.

The goal was always the same: reclaim time that could be better spent on growth-driving initiatives.

That is why more organizations are moving toward headless CMS architecture. By automating updates, eliminating plugin conflicts, and decoupling the front end from the back end, headless reduces maintenance time. What once required 40 hours a month can realistically be done in as little as four, freeing teams to focus on strategy, creativity, and growth instead of upkeep.

Table of Contents

• The Traditional CMS Maintenance Nightmare
• How a Headless CMS Changes the Game
• Traditional vs. Headless Maintenance Tasks
• Step-by-Step Migration Guide: Moving to Headless CMS
• Frequently Asked Questions

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The Traditional CMS Maintenance Nightmare

Managing traditional CMS platforms presents a big challenge for developers. These systems require time-intensive maintenance, including updating plugins and fixing security vulnerabilities. Localization becomes a high challenge that puts innovation on hold.

As a front-end developer, I’ve had to spend many hours maintaining traditional CMS platforms that could’ve been spent developing new features for other projects. It seemed like the more plugins a system relied on, the more of a headache the maintenance became.

Some of these issues below, I’ve dealt with directly, while others are common challenges that make traditional CMS maintenance even harder.

1. Constant Plugin Updates

Traditional content management systems lean on a number of plugins to fill functional gaps. At first glance, this is flexibility. In practice, it means a ton of updates.

I’ve had projects where a single plugin update triggered a domino effect, breaking layouts, disabling widgets, or forcing me to re-style entire components just to keep the site stable. Instead of shipping new features, I was troubleshooting why something as small as a gallery plugin caused front-end display issues.

2. Security Vulnerabilities

Since third parties manage plugins, development teams have little control over how they evolve. That lack of control creates ongoing compatibility risks, and poorly maintained plugins can introduce vulnerabilities no matter how often your CMS is updated. For hackers, that’s an open invitation.

I’ve been on teams where we had to drop everything to patch last-minute security issues because a single plugin wasn’t updated in time. Those firefights didn’t just cost us hours. They pulled valuable bandwidth away from design and development work that actually moved the business forward.

3. Performance Trade-offs

Traditional CMSs load everything — plugins, themes, and scripts — whether users need them or not. On one project, the site’s load time had increased to nearly ten seconds because of unnecessary plugins. Pages were weighed down with scripts that weren’t really needed.

To fix it, I had to remove each plugin and test the page’s speed one by one to identify the problem child. By eliminating redundant plugins, I was able to drop the load times below three seconds, which is more ideal for users.

That single fix immediately improved the user experience. But, it also highlighted a bigger issue: Performance tuning in traditional CMSs often becomes a recurring maintenance burden rather than a one-time solution.

4. Compliance and Localization Headaches

Compliance and localizing changes can be time-consuming with a traditional CMS. Every change in one region has to be checked against rules in another. A single update could ripple across markets, requiring manual fixes and hours of QA.

When I worked with that global brand that needed to deliver different content in multiple countries, the traditional CMS setup made compliance a nightmare. Plugins weren’t designed for this complexity, which meant more workarounds and more maintenance time.

5. Limited Flexibility Across Channels

Most traditional CMSs were built with websites in mind, not the multi-device world we live in now. That often means content for the website and mobile app has to be updated separately, which doubles the work for marketing and dev teams.

Scaling content across new channels, from mobile apps to smart devices, usually requires heavy customization or new plugins that only add more complexity.

6. Innovation on Hold

The biggest problem with traditional CMS maintenance is the opportunity cost. Every hour spent fixing conflicts, updating plugins, or duplicating content for different platforms is an hour not spent building new features or driving growth. Over time, this stifles business opportunities and keeps dev teams reactive instead of innovative.

That’s what sparked my interest in headless CMS systems. It was so much better for our clients and their workflows to build these types of systems.

How a Headless CMS Changes the Game

Headless CMS flips the script on everything that makes traditional systems hard to maintain. Instead of relying on plugins, patches, and workarounds, it’s designed for speed, flexibility, and scale from the start.

Here’s how it makes life easier.

Automated Updates, No Plugin Drama

Headless CMS eliminates the plugin treadmill. Updates happen automatically at the platform level, so developers are never chasing compatibility issues or scrambling to patch last-minute vulnerabilities. With HubSpot CMS Hub, security and updates are handled for you, reducing the risk of downtime and freeing teams to focus on actual growth initiatives.

One Content Hub for Every Channel

Instead of updating content separately for websites, apps, and other platforms, headless CMS delivers content through APIs. That means one central update is pushed everywhere it needs to go. HubSpot’s CMS Hub takes this further with native CRM integration, making it easy to personalize content across multiple touchpoints without duplicating effort.

Built-in Performance and Optimization

Headless CMS doesn’t weigh pages down with unnecessary plugins or scripts. With HubSpot, optimization is built in — from caching and CDN delivery to SEO recommendations and adaptive testing. Teams don’t have to spend hours performance-tuning just to keep load times competitive. It’s already baked into the system.

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Scale Without the Stress

Headless CMS systems are designed ot operate at scale. HubSpot makes growing straightforward by combining global CDN infrastructure with enterprise-grade governance tools. Content managers can handle localization while developers focus on innovation, not maintenance.

In short, HubSpot’s CMS Hub can reduce maintenance time — from updates, to content delivery, to optimization, to scale. What used to take 40 hours a month can be done faster, giving teams back their time to build, create, and grow.

Traditional vs. Headless Maintenance Tasks

Step-by-Step Migration Guide: Moving to Headless CMS

First, audit existing content.

Auditing content should be a thorough process where a web developer reviews the infrastructure the site already has and its current performance. Here’s the complete process.

1. Catalog existing content.

Start by cataloging everything on the current website, including:

• Web pages.
• Blog posts.
• Product descriptions.
• Landing pages.
• Forms
• Media assets.

Next, dive deep into the metadata and custom fields that make the content work. Ask the following questions:

• Do you have custom fields or call-out boxes that include product pricing?
• What’s the taxonomy of your site, and where does that information live?
• How do you link similar pages across your site?

Map out how content is categorized and tagged. These organizational systems will need to be recreated in the new headless structure.

2. Understand how content is connected.

The most complex part of content auditing involves mapping relationships between different pieces of content. Document how:

• Blog posts link to author profiles.
• Products connect to categories and related items.
• Landing pages reference specific campaigns.
• Nav menus are structured.

According to CloudDevs, these relationships represent years of content strategy. You don’t want to lose these carefully crafted best practices during a migration.

Finally, identify all dynamic content that changes based on user behavior or real-time data. This includes reviews, personalized recommendations, and location-based content. Dynamic content requires special consideration in headless architecture because it needs to be delivered through APIs, rather than generated by the CMS itself.

3. Take a look at integrations.

Conduct a thorough analysis of all third-party integrations that keep the current website running. Document every plugin, widget, and external service.

Write everything down. Each integration will need to be reimplemented in the new headless architecture, often requiring API connections rather than simple plugin installations. This is a lot of upfront work, but it creates a more secure experience with less risk of breaking long term.

Pro tip: HubSpot CMS streamlines this process with native integrations for marketing automation, CRM, and analytics tools.

4. Audit current performance.

Then, run an SEO audit to ensure the migration doesn't damage search rankings. Identify which URLs need to be preserved versus which can be changed with proper redirects. Web teams should have an idea of the website’s current traffic and performance. The team can then better measure the success of the headless CMS.

Pro tip: HubSpot CMS includes built-in SEO tools and performance monitoring so web teams can track the migration’s success.

5. Note important workflow.

Document the entire content workflow from creation to publication. Map out how different team members currently create, edit, review, and publish content. Note any approval processes, scheduled publishing needs, and user permission levels.

Knowing these workflows will help web teams recreate experiences in the new headless CMS. Headless CMS platforms often have different editorial interfaces and may require workflow adjustments to match what the team is used to.

Pro tip: HubSpot CMS makes the setup process easy. The platform offers pre-built content to save time. The platform also offers content modeling for standard website elements while allowing teams to add custom properties.

Then, choose the new headless CMS.

After the audit is done, web teams should know the back-end elements a site needs to offer. That will help the team choose the right headless CMS for the business. Check out demos and read reviews for different headless options. Web developers should watch each platform's content modeling capabilities and API performance to guarantee compatibility.

Next, choose one type of API for the site. There are two options:

• REST APIs offer simplicity and widespread familiarity.
• GraphQL works best for complex queries and offers developers more flexibility. But, these APIs are more complicated and require more expertise to manage.

(HubSpot CMS supports both REST and GraphQL, giving development teams the flexibility to choose the best approach for their needs.)

Other considerations include the site’s hosting strategy. The site’s hosting setup shapes long-term costs, technical capabilities, and operational responsibilities. Teams can pick between:

• Cloud-hosted solutions. These options have monthly pricing and don’t charge infrastructure costs upfront. However, costs can skyrocket if the site has a lot of content and growing API usage.
• Self-hosted solutions. This strategy requires significant upfront investment in server infrastructure and ongoing maintenance. However, once teams establish that hosting infrastructure, their costs scale more gradually with actual resource usage rather than platform-specific metrics.

Now is also the time to choose the site framework based on what developers already know and what the website needs to do well.

• Next.js is versatile and works well with Google. It's perfect if a business publishes lots of blog posts and online content that they want people to discover through search engines.
• Gatsby creates incredibly fast websites, but it works best if the site doesn’t need to update content very often. This is great for company websites that mostly stay the same.
• React or Vue offer a fully customizable toolkit. Developers can build exactly what they want if they know how to use advanced tools.

A team’s budget will influence which headless CMS they choose. Be sure to consider factors beyond the CMS licensing costs. Consider the costs of custom integrations, any setup fees, and time lost to the migration process. Teams will want to choose an option that falls squarely in their budget.

Next, design the headless CMS architecture.

After picking a headless CMS, teams need to configure the new system. That means including the features teams need to get work done. For the best results, work with a developer in-house and any onboarding team that the headless CMS offers.

Remember that big list of all the website’s content and how they connect? This information will be used to design the site’s architecture. Developers will decide structured schemas that define how each content type will be organized in the headless CMS. Some common organization schemas include:

• Fields like title, body, author, publication date, and SEO metadata for blog posts.
• Inventory tracking, shipping details, and relationships to cross-sell items for products.

Teams can also create organized templates that make getting content on the site easier. Think about a blog post. Each one needs:

• The basics: Article title, the main text, who wrote it, when it was published
• SEO information: The description that shows up in Google search results
• Extra features that improve the user experience: A main photo for the article, a short preview snippet, an estimate of how long it takes to read, and connections to other related articles

When working with a new headless CMS, web teams need to create a content model that includes all of that information. Then, web teams can repeat the process for products, landing pages, and any interactive platforms on the site.

Pro tip: HubSpot CMS includes pre-built content schemas for blogs, products, and landing pages, plus the flexibility to create custom fields.

Now is also the time to plan for mobile and search engines. Start by designing how the website will look on a phone, then figure out how it expands to work on tablets and computers. Think about:

• Touch vs clicking: People tap with their fingers on phones instead of clicking with a mouse.
• Slower internet: Phone users often have slower connections, so pages need to load quickly.
• Different behaviors: People browse differently on phones (often while distracted) vs sitting at a desk.

Make sure the images automatically adjust to look good and load fast on whatever device someone is using.

Search engines also need to understand site content. So, the site needs lightweight infrastructure that’s easy for engines to crawl. This means making sure the site loads quickly and that pages are organized in a way that’s easy for Google to understand.

Then, integrate marketer-friendly editing tools.

Marketing team and content creators shouldn't need to call a developer every time they post on the site. Set up editing tools that work like programs they already know. Sites will need:

• Visual editors that let people see their changes as they make them. When someone adds a heading or changes text formatting, they can see exactly how it will look on the website. For example, HubSpot CMS has a drag-and-drop visual editor with a real-time preview.
• Pre-built components so creators can drag and drop elements like “customer testimonial boxes,” “product feature lists,” or “call-to-action buttons” without worrying about making the site look messy or unprofessional.
• Drag-and-drop page building that lets marketers rearrange page layouts like moving furniture around a room, but with guardrails that prevent them from accidentally breaking the design or making pages look unprofessional.

Beyond that, build automatic workflows that send different types of content to the right people for approval. A simple blog post might just need a marketing manager's okay, while a new product page or legal policy update might need approval from multiple departments.

Pro tip: HubSpot CMS includes workflow automation and approval processes that integrate within the existing team structure.

Once you set up these features, your team should be set. No more waiting for developers or worrying about breaking the website.

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Roll out the headless CMS in stages.

Don't switch the entire website at once. Instead, start with less important pages like the “About Us” section or older blog posts that don't get much traffic. This way, if something goes wrong, the web team can catch those errors before launching at scale

Website teams will want to make sure everything works smoothly before transitioning completely. As team members get more comfortable with how the new system works, developers can gradually move the most important pages — like the homepage and best-selling product pages.

Keep the old website running alongside the new one during this transition. If something breaks on the new system, the web team can quickly switch back to the old one while troubleshooting problems.

Monitor whether people are actually having a better experience on the new system. Track things like:

• Are customers spending more time reading online content?
• Are prospects buying more products?
• Are customers completing contact forms or signing up for newsletters?

Pro tip: HubSpot CMS provides built-in analytics and A/B testing to measure user experience improvements during the migration.

Set up simple ways for visitors to flag if something isn't working right, like a “Report a Problem” button. And, keep track of customer service complaints to see if the new system is causing any new issues.

Keep improving the headless CMS site.

Once the new headless CMS is running, don't just set it and forget it. Schedule regular check-ins to look at the numbers and see what's working well. Look at things like:

• Which blog posts are people reading the most?
• Are product pages loading fast enough?
• Are people actually completing contact forms?

Use this information like a report card to understand where you can make improvements.

Regularly ask the people who use the system every day how it‘s working for them. Use these conversations to decide what improvements to work on first. If the marketing team says publishing content takes twice as long as before, that’s probably more urgent than adding new features.

Finally, stay current with updates and new features from the CMS provider. These updates often include security patches and features that can make the team's work easier.

Pro tip: HubSpot CMS updates automatically, ensuring sites stay current.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does a headless migration take?

The timeline varies significantly based on site complexity and team resources, but most migrations follow this pattern:

Small to Medium Sites (10-50 pages): 4-8 weeks

• Week 1-2: Planning and content audit
• Week 3-4: Development and API setup
• Week 5-6: Content migration and testing
• Week 7-8: Launch and optimization

Large Sites (100+ pages): 12-20 weeks

• Additional time for complex content modeling
• Phased migration approach
• Extensive testing and QA requirements
• Team training and process documentation

Factors that extend timelines:

• Complex third-party integrations
• Custom functionality requirements
• Large content volumes requiring automated migration tools
• Team learning curve with new technologies

What about complex third-party integrations?

Headless CMS often simplifies third-party integrations rather than complicating them. The API-first approach creates cleaner data flows and better error handling. Direct API connections eliminate the plugin dependency chains that plague traditional systems, making integrations more reliable and easier to debug.

HubSpot CMS makes the process even easier, featuring built-in CRM and marketing tool connections. HubSpot users get native support for forms, analytics, and automation workflows. HubSpot also offers an extensive API ecosystem, so teams don’t need to jigsaw together

Can non-developers manage a headless CMS?

While teams will want developers to help throughout the migration, headless CMS platforms are easy to use when they’re finally set up. Most platforms now offer drag-and-drop component assembly so teams can build pages without knowing how to code.

That’s true in HubSpot CMS. The platform includes smart content and personalization tools that work out of the box.

When is a traditional CMS a better option?

While headless CMS is a better long-term solution for teams, the migration process is complicated. Teams with limited technical resources may struggle with the initial setup. That’s especially true for smaller organizations without front-end development expertise.

Simple content needs, like basic blogs or brochure sites, might not justify the additional development investment. That’s especially true when teams have a tight budget.

However, hybrid approaches can provide middle-ground solutions. Some traditional CMS have API capabilities that offer some headless benefits while maintaining familiar editing experiences.

Headless helps teams move faster.

Shaving hours off your monthly CMS maintenance isn’t just about saving time — it’s about unlocking momentum. When teams aren’t buried in updates and fixes, they can ship campaigns faster and experiment with new experiences. That allows businesses to actually keep pace with customer expectations.

That’s the real value of a headless approach, and it’s exactly what HubSpot’s CMS Hub is built to deliver.

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• Pre-built themes and templates.
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