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Tag: CMS

  • More and More Enterprises Go Headless

    More and More Enterprises Go Headless

    IT faces high expectations for building and supporting omnichannel digital experiences. Simultaneously, web developers hold an evolving toolkit of architectural approaches to deliver content. One such framework gaining mindshare is headless, a style that decouples front end user experiences from back end application logic.

    Legacy options for content delivery can be somewhat cumbersome in that they don’t apply well to scenarios beyond websites. On the other hand, a headless framework uses web APIs to communicate with clients, making it a more adaptive model to support new devices and use cases.

    WPEngine recently released global research on the state of headless. Below, we’ll review the top findings from The State of Headless: A Global Research Report. I also met with Matt Landers, developer relations manager, and Jason Bahl, principal software engineer at WPEngine to discuss the evolution of headless and its future implications for developers.

    What is Headless?

    First off, what is headless? Headless decouples the front end from the back end, thus separating the user interface (UI) from the data and code that powers it. The headless movement represents a shift from traditional content management systems (CMSs) such as WordPress, Squarespace and Wix.com. These platforms are less extensible, as they intrinsically unite the back end with user-facing representations. Traditional CMS is “typically not that easy to scale,” noted Landers.

    Headless challenges the status quo by offering more flexibility. As headless adopts API-based content negotiation, it could essentially deliver highly personalized experiences to any connected device. This could help support emerging platforms, like mobile, voice assistants or augmented reality (AR).

    Simply put, headless is “a CMS that is not responsible for rendering the site,” Landers explained. “What attracts people to headless is component-based architecture and the ability to build isolated components,” he added. For example, a headless framework could include an author bio component that is reused in any custom style across devices. By deploying to a CDN, headless could enable high-speed performance, as well.

    Headless Adoption Surges

    Interest in headless is increasing across the board. Currently, 64% of enterprises surveyed adopt a headless approach, representing about a 25% increase from 2019. Furthermore, headless use is expected to grow: over 90% of organizations not currently using a headless setup plan to evaluate a headless option in the coming year.

    The strong interest in headless likely represents a growing necessity for large enterprises to support various digital channels in a consistent manner. In fact, 92% of organizations credit headless with delivering a more consistent content experience, the report found.

    Benefits of Headless

    A key benefit to introducing headless is the decoupled nature of the approach. This makes it possible to support multiple platforms, such as websites, mobile apps, IoT devices, connected kiosks, smartwatches, voice assistants, AR and virtual reality (VR) from the same source.

    Respondents also cited additional benefits to adopting headless such as increased performance, quicker time to market and rapid innovation. These positive attributes make sense because, with headless, applications only request the data they need. Therefore, headless could certainly facilitate more dynamic applications and custom-tailored user experiences. If used effectively, headless setups reduce bloat to create fast-loading digital experiences that further the SRE agenda.

    Tech Choices and Use Cases

    An average organization is spending $2.6 million on their headless implementation, found the report. So, what are they spending it on? Well, some common headless frameworks and SaaS platforms include Contentful, GraphCMS, Atlas, DatoCMS, Cosmic, Netlify, Sanity.io and Prismic, among others.

    While the report didn’t query respondents on their exact headless stack, it revealed a general satisfaction with headless solutions, with relatively high net promoter scores (NPS). When selecting a headless provider, respondents tend to consider performance (41%), e-commerce (35%), scalability (33%) and APIs and extensibility (30%).

    Though headless spans many use cases, e-commerce is clearly a primary use case for the headless stack, with 51% of respondents adopting headless to support e-commerce. Other top use cases for a headless approach include a website (52%), IoT (47%) and progressive web apps (40%).

    Drawbacks of Headless

    Though headless provides impressive malleability, it does require a shift in thinking, and implementors must inevitably overcome certain drawbacks. API security, for example, is at stake as API attacks and threats increase.

    Headless could also require additional administrative burden in terms of data integration and upkeep. With headless, instead of using plugins, IT must enlist front-end developers to integrate data and build front-end behaviors. Debugging a decoupled front end and back end can also be an added development burden. “There is an opportunity in the headless ecosystem in general to mature the experience for the content publisher,” describes Bahl.

    Future of Headless

    Within today’s remote economy, most acknowledge that digital experiences are now crucial to supporting business at large. In fact, 92% of organizations believe digital experiences are vital to their organization’s success, found the report.

    Headless architecture promises to retain a stable back end to support these escalating digital demands — especially useful considering the ever-changing nature of front end clients. On that note, the report found that 32% and 31% of respondents adopt headless for VR and AR experiences, respectively. Therefore, the headless approach appears to be a valuable technique to future-proof current investment against emerging digital trends.

    The State of Headless: A Global Research Report, conducted by Vanson Bourne between January and February 2021, surveyed 400 IT/technical employees with knowledge of headless. For more insights, you can read it in full here.

  • WordPress Hacks: Best Ways to Protect WordPress from Hacking

    WordPress Hacks: Best Ways to Protect WordPress from Hacking

    When it comes to website security, even an iota of prevention is really worth a large pool of measures to restore a website from its affected state. WordPress websites are most vulnerable to security attacks from sophisticated hackers as well as the bots that are capable of exploiting security vulnerabilities. These security vulnerabilities range from weak passwords, outdated themes and plugins, and poor-quality web hosting.

    But, there are several time-tested measures that can prevent such security compromises and risks and keep a website performing and secure. 

    Make Use of Strong Passwords

    Weak passwords often cause security risks for websites. You can prevent such risks by using strong passwords and for this, you can use tracking tools such as 1Password that can track all the passwords and prevent you from using the same password on all your internet accounts. The tool also prevents you from using easy and easily rememberable passwords. Thanks to the tool you can only use unmemorable, long, difficult passwords.

    Using this tool you can easily test the strength of the existing passwords and can create passwords that are long, complex and not easy to guess. The tool helps you maintain all your web accounts with strong passwords. 

    Updating WordPress Core, Themes and Plugins

    Most updates of the WordPress core, or the themes and plugins, come to mitigate the security loopholes and risks. This is why making updates once a month is far from enough. Whenever a vulnerability will surface, your non-updated website can be the first victim of the security risk. This is why one must update as soon as there is an available update. For all the plugins that don’t come with important features and functions, one can use a Shield WordPress Security plugin to auto-update. 

    Insist on WordPress Hardening 

    There are several WordPress hardening methods that can easily prevent hacking from taking place. Let’s have a quick look at these hardening methods.

    • Add extra allow/deny rules through your .htaccess file.
    • Keep login URLs restricted to specific IP range(s).
    • Safeguard your wp-config file.
    • Prevent image hotlinking and mobile directory browsing.
    • Do not use public WiFi or VPN to log in to the website.
    • Remove unused WordPress plugins and files.
    • Keep the server clean.

    Prevent a WordPress Hack with a Website Firewall

    A vast majority of WordPress websites are frequently hacked as they are more vulnerable to security risks than other CMS platforms. A common issue that security experts stumble upon often is that WordPress version update is often not possible, thanks to the incapabilities of plugins or themes. This is when a WordPress website can easily become vulnerable to hacks.

    For such cases, enabling a WordPress firewall is strongly recommended to provide security patches for your website. A Web Application Firewall (WAF), when enabled, can take on such security risks. A WAF basically works like a pass for your website visitor traffic, and effectively filters out bad requests comprising hack attempts, exploits, DoS attacks and many more.

    A WordPress firewall does the following things to strengthen WordPress security:

    • Prevents all future hacking attempts by detecting and thwarting all hacking methods and behaviors, thus keeping your WordPress website protected against malicious attacks. 
    • The firewall provides a virtual security update for your WordPress website software, even when the website doesn’t have any new security updates.
    • A WordPress firewall also blocks brute force attacks or any unwanted visitors from accessing the wp-admin or wp-login page and makes use of brute force automation to detect your password.
    • It deals with Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks that basically try to overload a web server or the resources of an application with too many requests. By blocking DDoS attacks, a WAF ensures constant accessibility and performance of a WordPress website in all circumstances. 
    • A WordPress firewall helps boost WordPress performance by storing website caches and keeping bounce rate lower. This also ensures optimum website engagement, business conversions and steady search engine ranking. 
    • The cloud-based WordPress firewall solutions, besides preventing attacks, also boost WordPress website speed by using a Content Delivery Network (CDN). 

    Make Sure You Have an SSL Certificate Installed

    This is a basic and very important security measure for most websites. It safeguards data by encrypting the data you and users use and transfer via a website. For example, when one submits a contact form or uses login in web pages, the data that is transferred remains encrypted. With SSL installed on a website, secure login can be ensured even while traveling. While some hosts and hosting plans provide this for free, with some you need to use a separate SSL plugin for the purpose. 

    Avail Better Web Hosting

    Choosing good hosting companies can also be crucial for your WordPress security. Some hosting service providers such as WP Engine, Kinsta, Site Ground and a few others are great for WordPress security. These service providers take care of routine security scans and provide cleaning of hacked websites for free. Apart from performance, one should also consider security aspects for website hosting. 

    Taking Backup of Your Site

    Though taking regular backups may not always be effective for preventing a WordPress hack, they can sometimes play a great role in disaster recovery. It is particularly useful in preventing a website database from damages due to malicious attacks. 

    Continuous Website Monitoring

    Finally, continuous monitoring of websites can help greatly in tracking and mitigating security risks of all types. Setting Google Search Console alert is important concerning all issues on your website. Apart from that, you should monitor the error logs on your website through the cPanel File Manager or FTP (SFTP). You should also see the Raw Access Logs on the server to keep track of the users accessing website files on the site. You should also use a plugin called Shield WordPress Security plugin and use its Audit Trail feature to keep track of all the file changes and website accessibility issues. 

    Conclusion

    All the above-mentioned ways are time tested as successful to prevent security attacks and keep security vulnerabilities at check. These measures, besides a meticulous choice of plugins and themes, can help a WordPress website perform well and remain secure.