I had a client with a headless CMS, which is convenient because it’s built on Saas, but on the other hand, there are some troubling things happening, so I put them together.
What is happening?
Recently, there have been a number of headless CMS service price revisions and service suspensions.
The well-known headless CMS microCMS has undergone a price revision of its pricing plan. This is a case that could be quite fatal for those using the system.
Well-funded companies may still be okay. But for start-ups and sole traders, it could be a matter of life and death.
https://blog.microcms.io/pricing-update-2025-06
Newt, a headless CMS that I was also using. What a surprise, the service has ended.
I chose the headless CMS because I want a flexible and future-proof development option, but I’m sad to see it end.
In fact, it’s hard to convert data and think about what to do with the UI. It might be better to implement it on your own using WordPress, etc., although it costs more initially.
But thankfully, Newt has more than a year’s duration and has compiled the data extraction and measures. I can only thank them.
https://www.newt.so/notice/newt-close
Advantages and disadvantages of implementing Saas services.
Once again, the advantages and disadvantages of Saas services should be written down.
Advantages of a headless CMS
- Flexible front-end design is possible.
- Sites and apps can be built with any technology stack, including HTML/CSS/JavaScript.
- Content can be distributed to multiple channels.
- A website, smartphone app, digital signage, etc. can be distributed from a single CMS.
- Increased development speed
- Front-end and back-end are separated, so they can work concurrently.
- High scalability
- API-based, so it is easy to handle large-scale access and functionality expansion.
- Cloud-based SaaS requires no maintenance.
- Security management, updates and server management are handled by the vendor.
- Easy multi-site management
- Content can be managed centrally and only the design can be changed for each site.
Disadvantages of a headless CMS
- Requires engineering skills
- Difficult to operate without knowledge of API operation and front-end development.
- No-code operation is difficult.
- It is basically impossible to create and edit pages using only the administration screen like WordPress.
- Running costs are high.
- Many SaaS-type headless CMSs have a monthly fee, which can be expensive in the long run.
- There is a service dependency risk.
- Possibility of being affected by the provider’s specification change, service suspension, fee revision, etc.
Newt was also free to use on a commercial plan, which was significant. We selected it for its flexibility, but we should have also taken into account when the start-up service ended (we should have managed to have a schedule that didn’t allow us time to consider this).
Summary
Start-up services remain quite a difficult challenge when they are implemented by individuals for their clients, taking into account the possibility of service outages. When using Saas in the future, if the service goes down … should also be taken into consideration.
