WordPress

The world's most popular CMS

CMSOpen SourcePHPREST APIPlugin EcosystemSelf-Hosted

Overview

WordPress powers over 40% of the web. Can be used as a headless CMS with its REST API or GraphQL via WPGraphQL plugin.

License

MIT

Best for:

BlogsBusiness websitesE-commerce (WooCommerce)News sites

Features

REST API
GraphQL (plugin)
Block Editor
Plugins Ecosystem
Themes
Multisite
User Roles

Pricing

Free TierNo
Free LimitUnlimited, open source
Cloud Starting$4/mo
Self-hostedYes

Compatible Technologies

Technical Features

GraphQL API
REST API
Webhooks
Headless
Visual Editor
Live Preview
Media Library
Image Optimization
CDN Included
i18n
Version History
Drafts
Role-Based Access
Multi-Tenant
Audit Logs
TypeScript
Official SDK
CLI Tool
Plugin Ecosystem
SSO / OAuth
CI/CD Integration
Caching
Edge Deployment
Auto Scaling

Community

20900

GitHub Stars

496/week

NPM Downloads

Enterprise Features

Multi-tenant Support

Manage multiple sites or projects from a single instance

Scalability

Horizontal scaling and high-availability deployments

Dedicated Support

Priority support with SLA guarantees for enterprise plans

Security & Compliance

WordPress is an open-source CMS built with PHP that can be configured to operate as a headless CMS by decoupling its admin backend from the front-end presentation layer. Maintained by Automattic and a large contributor community, it provides a mature content management interface paired with API-driven content delivery for modern front-end frameworks.

Key Features of WordPress

  • Built-in REST API with full CRUD access to posts, pages, taxonomies, users, and custom content types
  • GraphQL support available through the WPGraphQL plugin for flexible, query-based data fetching
  • Self-hosted on any PHP-compatible server with support for MySQL and MariaDB databases
  • Extensive role-based access control with six default user roles and customizable capabilities
  • Rich plugin and theme ecosystem for extending content modeling, i18n, and editorial workflows

Who Should Use WordPress

WordPress in headless mode suits teams that want to leverage an established editorial experience while delivering content through decoupled front ends built with React, Next.js, Vue, or other frameworks. It is a practical choice for content-heavy projects — publishing platforms, media sites, or multi-channel applications — where editors need a familiar authoring environment and developers require API-first content access.