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Headless CMSNYC AgencyDecoupled Architecture

Your Content Team is Stuck in Review Hell While Your Competitors Ship Daily

If you're a NYC marketing lead watching developers bottleneck every campaign launch, you've hit the headless inflection point.

We build headless CMS platforms for New York City businesses that need fast, flexible, multi-channel content delivery.

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50ms
Avg. TTFB
Edge-cached content
98+
Lighthouse Score
Performance target
40%
Faster Publishes
vs. monolithic CMS
0
Vendor Lock-in
Portable content models
What Headless CMS Actually Fixes -- And What It Won't

Your editor hits publish. The content ships to your site, your app, your kiosks -- instantly, no deploy wait. That's headless: your content lives in a structured repository (Sanity, Contentful, Strapi) and delivers via API to any frontend your business needs. Your editorial team gets a clean authoring studio. Your developers build Next.js frontends that pull data at build time, revalidate on webhook triggers, and serve pages in under 800ms. The tradeoff: you need a real frontend. Headless won't magically fix bad information architecture or content strategy -- but it stops your CMS from being the bottleneck that kills launch velocity and buries your Core Web Vitals in the red.

What is holding your current website back?

Common gaps we find in nearly every audit.

Your WordPress site takes 4+ seconds to load and your Core Web Vitals are red
Risk: Google penalizes slow sites in rankings, and in the most competitive market in the country, that costs you organic traffic.
Content editors are stuck waiting for developer deployments just to publish updates
Risk: Missed campaign windows, stale content, and your competitors in Manhattan are moving faster.
You need to push the same content to your website, mobile app, and in-store displays
Risk: Running three separate content silos wastes budget and creates inconsistent brand messaging across the board.
Your monolithic CMS buckles during NYC events and traffic spikes
Risk: Downtime during a product launch, sale, or PR wave directly costs you revenue.
Your current agency built a custom CMS that only they can maintain
Risk: That vendor lock-in means inflated maintenance costs and no real negotiating power when contracts come up for renewal.
Your dev team spends more time fighting the CMS than shipping features
Risk: Engineering talent in NYC is expensive -- burning $200K+ salaries on CMS workarounds is not a good use of anyone's time.

How We Build This Right

Every safeguard, built in from Day 1.

Structured Content Modeling

We design portable, reusable content schemas that match your editorial workflow. Every field, reference, and validation rule is deliberate -- no bloated generic templates.

API-First Architecture

GraphQL or REST APIs serve content to any consumer. Your Next.js site, React Native app, and third-party integrations all pull from a single source of truth.

Editorial Experience Design

We customize the authoring interface so your content team actually enjoys using it. Live previews, conditional fields, and role-based access are all built directly into the CMS studio.

Edge Caching & ISR

Content is statically generated and cached at the edge via Vercel or Cloudflare. Incremental Static Regeneration means updates go live in seconds without full rebuilds.

Migration & Content Porting

We extract, transform, and migrate content from WordPress, Drupal, or legacy systems into your new headless CMS -- zero data loss, preserved URL structures.

Performance Monitoring

Post-launch dashboards track TTFB, CLS, LCP, and API response times. Alerts go out before your users ever notice a problem.

What We Build

Purpose-built features for your industry.

Build custom Sanity Studios with real-time collaboration and GROQ queries shaped to your data model

Your editors publish without waiting on developer deploys -- content goes live in seconds, not sprints

Configure Contentful multi-space architectures that scale across brands, markets, and locales

Your frontend loads in under a second with ISR patterns that keep Core Web Vitals green and rankings high

Deploy self-hosted Strapi instances on your infrastructure with full data sovereignty and zero seat fees

Your brand stays consistent across every channel because one content source feeds all your touchpoints

Wire Next.js App Router with Server Components that pull CMS content at build and revalidate on demand

Your infrastructure scales through NYC traffic spikes without buckling or burning extra compute budget

Deliver one content model to web, mobile, email, signage, and third-party platforms simultaneously

Your team owns the stack -- no vendor lock-in, no inflated maintenance contracts, just portable code

Automate webhook-driven workflows with build triggers, Slack alerts, and approval pipelines on publish

Your devs ship features instead of fighting monolithic CMS quirks that waste $200K salaries on workarounds

Built on a Modern, Secure Stack

Next.jsSanityContentfulStrapiVercelGraphQLTypeScriptTailwind CSS
Working with New York City clients

New York City-specific delivery

New York City market context

NYC's density of SaaS startups, fintech platforms, and media companies makes headless CMS a common requirement. Teams here need content infrastructure that scales across mobile apps, web platforms, and third-party integrations simultaneously. Compliance demands--SOC 2, GDPR for EU customers, CCPA--mean CMS architecture can't be an afterthought. The pace is different: NYC clients expect fast iteration cycles, Slack-first communication, and deploys that don't block editorial teams. We see a lot of Contentful and Sanity migrations from WordPress or legacy Drupal monoliths, driven by engineering teams who want API-first workflows and marketing teams tired of waiting on dev tickets for content updates.

How we work with New York City

We've shipped 30+ headless CMS projects for NYC-based clients since 2017. EST overlap with our London HQ means morning standups work for both sides; LA team handles late-afternoon coverage. Most projects run fully remote via Slack, Linear for tickets, Loom for async demos, and bi-weekly Zoom syncs. For discovery or kickoff, Aryan or a senior dev can meet in-person in Manhattan if timing aligns with US travel. Day-to-day: you'll work directly with the engineer building your CMS, not account managers. We're comfortable with your existing tools--Figma, Notion, GitHub, whatever your team already uses.

Recent New York City project

Hudson Media Collective

digital publishing

Mid-sized digital publisher managing 12 editorial verticals, each with distinct content models and publishing workflows. Their WordPress multisite setup couldn't handle the volume--editors waited 8+ seconds for admin pages to load, and mobile app developers had no clean API. We migrated them to Sanity Studio with custom content models per vertical, built a Next.js frontend with ISR for article pages, and integrated their existing Fastly CDN. Editorial team got custom input components for rich media embeds, SEO meta, and scheduled publishing. Mobile app team now pulls JSON directly from Sanity's Content Lake via GraphQL.

Editorial load times dropped from 8s to under 1s. Mobile app dev cycle shortened--no more waiting for backend API changes. CMS hosting cost fell 60% versus managed WordPress. Lighthouse performance score hit 94 mobile, 99 desktop. Editors publish directly without dev tickets, saving roughly 12 dev hours per week.

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Budget context for New York City projects

NYC headless CMS projects typically range $28k–$75k depending on content model complexity, integrations, and migration scope. A straightforward Sanity or Directus setup with 5–8 content types, basic workflows, and a Next.js frontend starts around $28k. Add custom editorial UI, multi-language support, complex permission models, or migration from a legacy CMS with 10k+ posts, and you're closer to $50k–$75k. Retainer support for ongoing content model changes and feature dev runs $6k–$12k/month. NYC clients often have budget for proper implementation--we'd rather spec it right than under-scope and rework later.

Our Development Process

From discovery to launch. Quality at every step.

01

Content Audit & Architecture

Week 1

We map your existing content, identify relationships, and design a schema that reflects how your team actually thinks about content -- not how your old CMS forced you to think about it.

02

CMS Setup & Customization

Week 2-3

We stand up your headless CMS, configure roles and permissions, build custom input components, and set up preview environments so editors can see changes before they go live.

03

Frontend Development

Week 3-5

Next.js frontend built with your design system, connected to the CMS via typed API clients. Every page is statically generated with on-demand revalidation.

04

Content Migration & QA

Week 5-6

Automated migration scripts port your existing content into the new schema. We run URL redirect mapping, visual regression tests, and performance benchmarks against your current site.

05

Launch & Optimization

Week 7

We deploy to production with edge caching, monitoring dashboards, and editorial training included. Thirty days of post-launch support covers any content workflow adjustments that come up.

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Frequently Asked Questions

No physical office here, but we've delivered 30+ projects for NYC clients remotely since 2017. Our London HQ operates in GMT, so EST morning = their afternoon--standups and syncs align well. LA team covers your late afternoon. Aryan or a lead dev can meet in-person in Manhattan for discovery or kickoff if timing works with US travel, but day-to-day work happens via Slack, Zoom, and Linear. Most NYC clients prefer this--no commute to an office, just direct access to the engineers doing the work.
Depends on your team and content complexity. Sanity is our default for startups with developer resources--React-based Studio, excellent DX, real-time collaboration, and generous free tier. Contentful if you need enterprise features like role-based workflows and localization out of the box, though it's pricier. Directus if you want open-source flexibility and your data stays in Postgres. Strapi if you're running Node.js everywhere and want full code control. We'll scope your content models, editorial workflows, and integrations during discovery, then recommend the CMS that fits--not sell you one we're partnered with.
London team (GMT) overlaps 9am–1pm EST--perfect for morning standups or quick syncs. LA team (PST) covers your afternoon and evening. Most communication happens async in Slack and Linear, with Loom videos for demos or feedback. We schedule one or two weekly Zoom syncs at a time that works for both sides, usually 10am–11am EST. Critical launches or deploys get scheduled coverage so someone senior is online during your business hours. We've done this for years--NYC clients don't notice friction.
8–16 weeks for most projects. Discovery and content modeling: 2 weeks. CMS setup, custom editorial UI, and initial migration scripts: 4–6 weeks. Content migration, QA, and editor training: 2–3 weeks. Buffer for unforeseen data cleanup or workflow tweaks: 1–2 weeks. Timelines stretch if you're migrating 10k+ pieces of content with complex taxonomies, or if stakeholder feedback cycles are slow. We'll give you a detailed project plan after discovery with milestones, dependencies, and realistic dates--not aspirational deadlines that slip.
Yes--several fintech clients needed headless CMS for knowledge bases, investor portals, and compliance documentation that updates frequently. Media clients wanted multi-platform publishing: web, mobile app, AMP, newsletter, all from one content source. Both industries care a lot about uptime, content versioning, and audit trails. We've integrated Sanity and Contentful with Stripe billing portals, Auth0 user systems, and Fastly CDN setups. If you're in a regulated space, we can scope CMS workflows that support your compliance requirements--audit logs, role-based publishing, staged content review.
It depends on your team size, budget, and content complexity. Sanity is ideal for custom editorial workflows and real-time collaboration. Contentful works well for enterprise teams managing content across multiple brands. Strapi is the move if you need self-hosted open-source with no per-seat costs. We'll recommend the right fit during your free assessment.
Our headless CMS projects start at $8,000 for a standard marketing site with content migration. Larger builds with custom integrations, multi-channel delivery, and complex content models typically land between $14K and $25K+. Every project is fixed-fee — no hourly surprises.
Yes. We run automated migration scripts that extract your WordPress posts, pages, media, and metadata into structured content models in Sanity, Contentful, or Strapi. URL redirects are mapped one-to-one so you preserve your SEO equity. Most WordPress migrations wrap up within two weeks.
No. Headless CMS platforms provide visual editing interfaces that are often simpler than WordPress. We customize the studio with live previews, drag-and-drop components, and conditional fields so your team can publish confidently without touching code or waiting on a developer.
Decoupling the frontend from the content layer lets us statically generate pages and cache them at edge nodes globally. This eliminates server-side rendering bottlenecks, brings TTFB under 50ms, and consistently produces Lighthouse scores above 95 — which matters a lot when you're trying to rank in competitive NYC search results.
Every project includes 30 days of post-launch support covering bug fixes, content workflow adjustments, and performance tuning. After that, we offer monthly retainer plans for ongoing development, CMS schema updates, and frontend feature work. You're never locked into a contract.
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Your Designer Ships in Framer. Your Developer Wants Next.js. We Build Both.

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