DatoCMS: Connecting and Integrating a Headless CMS.

What is DatoCMS?

DatoCMS is a cloud-based, API-first headless CMS. It began in 2015 as an internal tool at the Italian web agency LeanPanda and continued in 2019 as an independent product under Dato srl in Florence. Today, more than 25,000 organizations worldwide use it.

What sets DatoCMS apart is the combination of a streamlined content model and a robust delivery layer. You build the structure of your content yourself using reusable blocks and deliver it via an API that runs on a global CDN. For content managers, this means a well-organized environment in which to work. For developers, it means freedom: they retrieve the content using the framework of their choice and build the front end exactly as the solution requires.

What is a headless CMS?

In a traditional CMS, the content and the design are part of the same system. A headless CMS separates the two. The content (the “body”) is separate from the front end (the “head”) and is made available via an API. This allows you to use the same content on your website, in an app, or on a digital platform, without duplicating effort.

That’s what makes a headless setup appealing whenever content needs to be published in more than one place. If you’d like to learn more about this broader approach, check out how we build custom websites and CMS. And check out the other CMS platforms we work with, such as Storyblok and Statamic.

The key features of DatoCMS.

GraphQL Content Delivery API.

DatoCMS delivers content via GraphQL: a query language that lets you retrieve exactly what a page needs—no more, no less. The delivery API is read-only and runs on a CDN, so content loads quickly. A separate read-write API is available for administration.

Images and video via a CDN.

Images are served via an image CDN (Imgix). With a single API call, you can transform an image into a responsive, WebP-optimized, and lazy-loaded version, including a blur-up placeholder. Video is handled via a built-in Mux integration with adaptive streaming. This means you don’t have to arrange for image processing or video hosting yourself.

Multilingualism and localization.

Multilingual support is built right into DatoCMS. You can manage the same content in multiple languages from a single interface, with validation and fallback options for each language. This is useful if you want to serve multiple countries or brands from a single source.

Modular content and structured text.

You build pages using individual, reusable blocks. The structured-text editor is intuitive and keeps content and formatting separate, ensuring that content remains consistent throughout.

Plugins, webhooks, and workflows.

With plugins, webhooks, and multiple environments (sandbox and staging), you can configure DatoCMS to fit your own workflow. Webhooks allow us to have integrations automatically respond to changes in the content.

When is DatoCMS a good fit for your organization?

DatoCMS is most effective when content needs to be managed in multiple locations or in multiple languages. Here are a few situations where it’s a good fit:

• A website and app powered by a single content source, allowing you to manage text and images in one place.

• Support for multiple languages or countries from a single platform, without separate systems for each market.

• A custom platform with specific front-end requirements where standard templates fall short.

• A content-rich online store alongside a separate e-commerce platform, where content and the ordering process each remain in their own system.

Whether DatoCMS is the right choice depends on your goals, your team, and your digital environment. That’s why we first assess the solution’s requirements and then select the CMS that best fits those needs.

Connecting and integrating DatoCMS with Cube.

This is where the real value lies for most organizations. Because content and technology are separate, we integrate DatoCMS directly with your existing systems, such as product data, an ERP, PIM, or CRM. We build these integrations to be bidirectional , so that content is managed in one place and automatically ends up where it’s needed. This way, the CMS isn’t a standalone component, but rather a management layer within your larger platform.

We build the front end to your specifications. DatoCMS delivers content via GraphQL and also offers a REST API for management and integrations. It works with any modern framework, such as Vue, Next.js, Nuxt, and Astro. We build the front end to suit your organization and your existing tech stack.