The future of headless CMS: How Contentful’s move makes personalization mainstream

Some things are just not meant to be together like oil and water. But sometimes, things that CAN work together are mistakenly kept apart.

For example, people once thought solar power couldn’t fuel entire cities, or that online shopping would never replace physical stores. These ideas seemed fixed, until innovation showed otherwise, changing how we live.

The same misconception existed in headless web development: that content management systems (CMSs) and personalization couldn’t coexist in one system. For years, they were treated as separate worlds. Businesses often had to integrate multiple tools—CMSs, customer data platform (CDP) , and personalization engines—to deliver customized digital experiences. This process was complex, costly, and time-consuming, requiring heavy developer involvement. As a result, many digital teams avoided it, thinking it was too complicated and expensive.

However, this view is changing.

Advances in headless CMS platforms are bringing these two functions together, making personalization easier to implement and accessible for businesses of all sizes, not just the few who can afford it, and enabling the creation of personalized web experiences on a mainstream scale.

Personalization has long been a cornerstone of industries like e-commerce, where platforms like Amazon or Spotify have set high standards for tailored user experiences. However, this trend is rapidly expanding to other sectors. Today, more industries—from media to healthcare and education—are beginning to embrace the value of personalization.

A McKinsey report found that 71% of consumers now expect personalized interactions across all online experiences, not just when shopping or streaming content. What was once a differentiator is quickly becoming a baseline expectation for users, regardless of the website's purpose. Whether visiting a news site or an educational platform, users now want content that is tailored to their preferences, needs, and behavior.

Consumers are increasingly frustrated when their online experiences feel generic or irrelevant, with 76% of users are dissatisfied when personalization is lacking. In the next five years, personalization is expected to become the standard across all industries, not just within e-commerce or big tech.

Because of this growing demand for personalized experiences, many headless CMS platforms are now integrating personalization capabilities directly into their systems, enabling businesses to deliver adaptive content without relying on third-party tools or complex workflows.

In August 2024, Contentful, a leading content platform, announced its acquisition of Ninetailed, a Berlin-based company specializing in content personalization. This move is being seen as a major step toward integrating personalization as a core feature within headless CMS platforms, streamlining the process for digital teams looking to improve their digital experiences.

Along with Contentful, other major players have also introduced integrated personalization features, indicating a broader shift in the industry.

In June 2024, Contentstack, another leading headless CMS platform, announced the launch of its personalization capabilities, aiming to provide brands with a more streamlined approach to creating personalized content experiences.

Prepr, an early innovator in this space, has long prioritized personalization, launching personalization capabilities in 2023, demonstrating its long-standing focus on delivering relevant content at scale.

These developments are a response to industry-wide recognition that content and personalization must go hand in hand.

As Forrester’s 2023 CMS selection guide predicted, headless CMS platforms are moving beyond content management to become orchestrators of personalized digital experiences. Forrester analysts highlighted that businesses would need to prioritize personalization to remain competitive, as monolithic CMS systems reach a dead end and are replaced by more modern, flexible, and integrated solutions.

The recent advancements in the headless CMS market - driven by platforms like Contentful, Contentstack, and Prepr - have shown how easily personalization can now be integrated into a single, unified system. This shift enables businesses of all sizes to bring personalization in-house, eliminating the need for separate tools and simplifying the process of delivering customized content. These platforms make personalization not only more accessible but also mainstream, breaking down the barriers that once restricted personalized experiences to only the most resource-rich companies.

As Chuck Gahun, Principal Analyst at Forrester, noted, “CMSes have been preparing for this shift to ‘intelligent orchestration’… Welcome to the beginning of the next generation of CMSes.”

The integration of personalization into headless CMS platforms not only transforms how businesses engage with their audiences but also offers a range of tangible benefits:

• Simplicity for developers and product owners
• Lower costs for business owners
• Ease of use for editors and marketers.

These are just a few of the key benefits. With these platforms, everything becomes simpler and more efficient.

With headless CMS platforms that include built-in personalization, developers and product owners benefit from a streamlined process. Instead of managing multiple systems, everything is integrated into one platform, which simplifies development, reduces maintenance, and lowers overall costs. This also enhances security—fewer systems mean fewer vulnerabilities.

What used to be a complex process with multiple systems is now easy to manage. For editors and marketers, these platforms make personalization much easier to implement. They can manage content optimization, including personalization and A/B testing, without relying on developers. This empowers teams to make changes quickly and independently, saving time and resources.

As more CMS platforms adopt personalization, the question remains: how will other players in the market respond? Will they follow the trend and integrate personalization capabilities, or will they prioritize other innovations, such as AI-driven content creation or advanced analytics?

In addition to personalization, artificial intelligence is becoming an important area of focus within the headless CMS space. AI-powered tools can help automate content creation, deliver predictive insights, and enable more sophisticated targeting. Some platforms are already incorporating AI alongside personalization to further improve the user experience.

Malcom X once said: "The future belongs to those who prepare for it today”.

The recent developments in the headless CMS market serve as a wake-up call for digital teams responsible for creating websites. The choice between developing a generic website or a personalized experience is no longer constrained by budget or resource limitations; instead, it has become a crucial strategic decision that can define the long-term success of digital initiatives.

As organizations develop their digital strategies, digital teams must choose a headless CMS that includes personalization features from the start. By prioritizing personalization in their next project, digital teams can ensure they remain relevant and competitive in the market, ultimately transforming how they connect with their users and drive business growth.

The future is here, and it demands a personalized approach to content management.