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Headless website development (and a straight answer if you don't need it)

Your content lives in a headless CMS your team edits. The front end is static and served from the edge, so pages load almost before the tap lands. And if headless is more than you need, we'll say so.

  • Editors keep a proper CMS
  • Static pages at the edge
96
Lighthouse performance on a launched build
AA
built to WCAG 2.2 on every site
400 +
engineering checks before release
100+ clients
AHPRA and TGA ad policy
Australian owned
Google Partner, certified
Meta Partner, certified
Privacy Act compliant
TikTok Ads, certified

We'd rather show you than tell you.

Partner badges you can look up, numbers straight from client dashboards, and the businesses whose websites we've built. Here's the scoreboard so far.

$6.01 per enquiry on a client build 96 Lighthouse performance score 400+ checks before every release Built to WCAG 2.2 AA

What we do

What is your website for?

What clients say about the build

Two people sitting outdoors looking at a tablet together, one of them using a power wheelchair
“The entire process was seamless, easy, and incredibly user-friendly. They were patient and flexible with all the changes and back-and-forth... Most importantly, they absolutely nailed the brief.”
Read the case study

5 stars Google review

Shallon Duck Google review

What is included

Separate the content from the page, and both get better.

A headless build follows 4 rules with us. They decide whether it's easier to run than the site it replaced.

  1. We model your content as structured types before any page exists. A service, a location or a team member is written once and shown wherever it belongs.

    How a build runs
  2. An edit triggers a build, a check and a deploy. Editors get a preview link before anything reaches the public site.

    See the work
  3. Moving off an old CMS usually changes URLs. We map every one to its new home before cutover, so rankings move with the content.

    The proof we show
  4. Pages are built ahead of time and served from the edge. Speed is built in from day one, so nothing gets bolted on after launch.

    Questions people ask

The argument

Go headless for a reason. Trendy isn't one.

The decision

Website Development Group

Made against your content

Headless when the content model calls for it.

Generalist build

Made because it's new

A simple site with a complicated bill.

Content model

Website Development Group

Modelled once, reused

One entry feeds every page that needs it.

Generalist build

Pages pasted into a CMS

Headless in name, a page builder in practice.

Editing

Website Development Group

Preview before publish

Editors see the page as it will ship.

Generalist build

Fields with no picture

Publish, then check how it looks.

Serving

Website Development Group

Static files at the edge

No server to patch between you and the visitor.

Generalist build

Rendered on every request

The speed headless promised, spent again.

The stack

Website Development Group

Mainstream and documented

A framework plenty of developers know.

Generalist build

A pile of niche tools

Only one contractor can keep it running.

How it runs

From first call to launch, minus the headaches.

You see the page plan before design starts, and the design before we build. So there are no nasty surprises at the end.

Week 1

Fit check

We look at your content, your editors and your channels. Then we decide together whether headless is the right shape.

What we deliver

  • Headless or not, in writing
  • CMS shortlist with reasons
  • Fixed quote with line items
  • Dated build schedule
A business owner laughing during a video strategy call on his laptop, in a light-filled room with a window behind him

Weeks 1 to 3

Content model

We define every type of content with its fields and links. Editors fill in the facts, and the front end decides the layout.

What we deliver

  • Content types and fields
  • Relationships and references
  • Editor roles and workflow
  • Migration plan
A crowd of people crossing a busy city street, shot from above with their movement blurred

Weeks 2 to 4

Design

We draw the front end as components that match the content model. So any entry can appear in any place it fits.

What we deliver

  • Design tokens and type scale
  • Component library
  • Page templates
  • Contrast measured to AA
Three colleagues around a table of laptops, one standing and gesturing at a screen while the other two look on

Weeks 4 to 8

Build

A static front end wired to the CMS, with preview builds, deploy hooks and the forms and tracking you already rely on.

What we deliver

  • Static front end
  • CMS configured and seeded
  • Preview and deploy pipeline
  • Schema and structured data
Blue and lime patch cables plugged into a rack panel and sweeping away in order

Weeks 8 to 10

Cutover

We migrate the content, put redirects in place and warm up the edge. Then we show your editors the whole loop from draft to live.

What we deliver

  • Content migration
  • Redirect map applied
  • Search Console verification
  • Editor training
A shop owner standing in his plant shop holding a potted plant, shelves of plants behind him

The long read

When headless is worth it (and when it's not).

Headless is a good answer to a specific set of problems. Used on the wrong ones, it's an expensive way to build a brochure.

Headless moves the complexity around

Splitting the front end from the CMS keeps all the complexity. It moves the complexity to a new place.

You gain freedom: any design, any framework, content shown anywhere. You take on a build pipeline, a preview setup and 2 systems instead of 1.

That trade pays off when the freedom solves a problem you actually have. For its own sake, it doesn't.

The payback is content used more than once

A team member's profile that lives on one page gains little from being structured.

The same profile written once and shown in 5 places is where headless starts to earn. Think the team page, the location pages, the booking flow, the service pages and an app.

The more outputs you have, the more a single source of truth saves.

Reused content as outputs are added
Shown in more than one place Shown in one place only

Illustrative: how reuse tends to grow with outputs, not a measurement of any content set.

Editors decide whether it worked

A fast site with a miserable editing experience is a failed project, just a slow-burning one.

Many headless builds give visitors speed and give a worse experience for the people who publish. Editors get forms with no preview, no idea where an entry appears, and a developer for every new page.

We treat preview, clear field labels and sensible roles as part of the build. They're never extras.

When we'll talk you out of it

Starting a business, or running one site with a small team and pages that change a few times a month? A well-built traditional site will serve you better and cost less to run.

Headless makes sense in 3 cases. Content is shared across outputs, the front end needs freedom a theme can't give, or speed at scale is the whole point.

If none of those apply, we'll say so in the first week.

Tell us what the content has to do.We'll tell you if it needs headless.

  • Editors keep a proper CMS
  • Static pages at the edge

Case studies

Our work, so you can
judge for yourself.

Speech Clinic

A speech therapy website built to rank in the suburbs it serves

A search-led structure giving each therapy and each mobile service area its own page to land on.

Scope of work

  • Search architecture
  • Page templates
  • Local SEO
Read the case study
7areas
a page each
10suburbs
service areas

MedPrescribe

An e-prescribing platform website that sells like a product

An e-prescribing platform positioned as a product, automating booking through to delivery.

Scope of work

  • Product positioning
  • UX writing
  • Design system
Read the case study
6steps
booking to delivery
70%
less admin, their figure

First Class First Aid

A first aid course website employers can book in one go

A booking site built around the codes employers send, not the course names.

Scope of work

  • Booking flow
  • Course templates
  • Schema
Read the case study
6units
accredited, a page each
3yr
certification explained

Ovaya

A fertility treatment website that answers every question before the consult

An at-home fertility treatment page answering what arrives, when, and who watches each cycle.

Scope of work

  • Content strategy
  • Page design
  • Compliance review
Read the case study
2min
to self-administer
1wk
consult to doorstep

Full Body MRI

A full body MRI website patients find by the condition they search

A whole-body screening scan surfaced by the organ or condition people actually search for.

Scope of work

  • Information architecture
  • Copywriting
  • Technical SEO
Read the case study
14organs
in a single scan
500+
conditions screened

Search proof

The scoreboard, straight from client dashboards.

SEO dashboard showing organic traffic climbing from near zero to 273,770 monthly visitors with 57,773 ranking keywords
SEO: organic traffic grew from near-zero to 273,770 monthly visitors and 57,773 ranking keywords in under 12 months.
Google Search Console graph showing impressions surging from near-zero to over 3,000 per day within 10 weeks
Search Console: impressions surged from near-zero to over 3,000 a day within 10 weeks of engagement (2022).
SEO dashboard showing organic traffic spike from near zero to 34,163 monthly visitors with 15,741 ranking keywords
SEO: organic traffic grew from near-zero to 34,163 monthly visitors with 15,741 ranking keywords.
Google Search Console graph showing clicks rising from under 50 to over 300 per day within three months
Search Console: clicks grew from under 50 a day to over 300, and impressions from 2K to 18K, within 3 months.
SEO organic keywords chart showing growth from under 500 to 6,870 ranking keywords between 2020 and 2021
SEO: organic keywords grew from under 500 to 6,870 ranking keywords between March 2020 and December 2021.
Google Analytics chart showing sessions growing from 1,200 to over 20,000 per month over approximately five years
Analytics: sessions grew from 1,200 a month to over 20,000, a 1,567% increase (2015 to 2018).
Rank tracker chart showing organic keyword rankings growing from near-zero to over 26,000
Rank tracker: organic keywords grew from near-zero to over 26,000 tracked keywords by 2018.
Organic traffic chart showing recovery from near-zero to over 3,000 monthly visitors after intervention
Rank tracker: organic traffic recovered from near-zero to over 3,000 monthly visitors after we were brought in to fix it (2017 to 2019).

Shopify Partner

Shopify stores built so search can read the whole catalogue, with tracking on every sale.

Google Partner

Partner status you can look up in Google's own directory. Every result above comes with the screenshot behind it.

Book a free strategy call

Where we work

Which industry are you in?

Engagements

Two shapes, depending on where the content goes.

  • Content model
  • Component library
  • Redirect map
  • Structured data
  • Edge hosting
  • WCAG 2.2 AA

One site, built fast

Headless website

For a content-heavy site that has outgrown its CMS and needs to be fast everywhere.

  • Content model and CMS setup
  • Static front end at the edge
  • Preview builds for editors
  • Content migration and redirects
  • Core Web Vitals pass at handover
Book a free strategy call

One source, many outputs

Content platform

For organisations publishing the same content to several sites, apps or locations.

  • Everything in the headless website
  • Shared model across properties
  • Per-site roles and permissions
  • Content API documentation
  • Build pipeline per output
Book a free strategy call
  • Astro
  • WordPress
  • Shopify
  • Next.js
  • React
  • Vue.js
  • Svelte
  • Node.js
  • Tailwind CSS
  • Vercel
  • Netlify
  • Cloudflare
  • WooCommerce
  • Sanity
  • Vite
  • npm
  • Figma
  • Sketch
  • Framer
  • Webflow
  • Adobe
  • Google
  • Google Analytics
  • Google Search Console
  • Google Tag Manager
  • Google Ads
  • Google Fonts
  • Google Cloud
  • Lighthouse
  • Google Gemini
  • OpenAI
  • Anthropic
  • Claude
  • Perplexity
  • Midjourney
  • Hugging Face
  • Visual Studio Code
  • JetBrains
  • Sublime Text
  • Git
  • GitHub
  • GitLab
  • Docker
  • HubSpot
  • Xero
  • Stripe
  • Notion
  • Linear
  • Best Practice
  • Cliniko
  • Coreplus
  • Evermed
  • GetScripted
  • Halaxy
  • HealthEngine
  • HealthShare
  • HICAPS
  • HotDoc
  • Klaviyo
  • Mailchimp
  • MailerLite
  • Medical Director
  • Medirecords
  • Nookal
  • ShiftCare
  • SmartRecruiters
  • Sparrowhub
  • Splose
  • Zanda Health

Tools and integrations

Your website talks to the software you already run.

We pick the platform that suits your business. Then we connect the site to your booking system, your CRM and your ad accounts, so every enquiry lands where your team already works.

Talk through your setup

Client results

Straight from the people who hired us.

babybub Client testimonial
“Up until working with Casey, we had only had poor to mediocre experiences outsourcing work to agencies... instead of needing babysitting like the other agencies we worked with, he was not only completely dependable but also gave us sound suggestions on how to get better results.”
Chris Jellis Domain Health
“Since going with Casey and his team, we have had nothing but wins! They are great communicators, but more importantly, have got awesome results with low lead costs.”
Anneke Founder, Gentle Wombat
“As an experienced health professional I am a hard sceptic. Casey and his team over delivered on my project with an A+ website design having actively listened to every point I was seeking.”
Monica T Google review
“Casey has been an absolute standout! His personalised approach has been nothing short of incredible. We have had amazing results from the get-go.”
Allan Tomlinson Google review
“Excellent company to deal with and their web design is incredible. Would use them again and again.”
Stephanie Poma Google review
“Casey was so empathetic and patient in listening to my ideas. He asked all the right questions and got me thinking on aspects I hadn't considered. He goes above and beyond.”

5.0

5-star Google rating

Book a free strategy call
Jack Duke Care Speech Pathology
“If you're looking for a highly experienced, knowledgeable and ideas-driven marketing agency, look no further... He's helped transform our business from a fairly humble start-up to a fast growing and highly regarded service provider.”
Storm Parker Google review
“We have worked with Casey on a number of website projects and are super impressed with his promptness, communication, professionalism, and knowledge of the full suite of digital marketing... You and your team are second to none!”
Mark Anthony Valle Google review
“[They have] truly exceeded my expectations... They handle every detail with care, addressing any concerns or inquiries I had with remarkable responsiveness and genuine accommodation. The end result was nothing short of fantastic.”

Research & Articles

Worth a read before you hire anyone.

All articles
Blue and green network cables running into a patch panel

Development 6 min read

Headless CMS or WordPress: which one suits you?

Headless CMS or WordPress? A plain comparison of cost, speed, editing, security and upkeep, plus the 5 questions that decide which suits your business.

Hands holding a phone showing a short form with a blue submit button

Conversion 7 min read

Conversion tracking that survives cookie consent

Conversion tracking breaks when people decline cookies or block scripts. How consent mode and server-side events keep your lead numbers useful and private.

Ceramic and brass vases on a stone table in slatted window light, styled like a product shot

Ecommerce 7 min read

Product page design that answers the buyer

Product page design for online stores: what to show, in what order, and what Australian Consumer Law expects of your prices, returns and reviews. A checklist.

Questions

What people ask before going headless.

What you need to know before we start a conversation.

Not answered here? Ask us directly

Which headless CMS do you use?

The one that fits your content and your editors. We shortlist from widely used options during the fit check and explain the choice in writing. We don't push one platform on every client, because every content model is different.

Can our team still edit the site without a developer?

Yes, and that's the test we build against. Editors create and update pages from components, with a preview link before anything goes live. We also train your team and leave a written guide at handover.

Is headless better for search?

Not by itself. Static pages load fast and that helps. But rankings still come from site structure, content and correct markup. We build all 3 into every site we make, headless or traditional, so you're covered either way.

Does headless cost more?

Usually more to build than a traditional site of the same size, and sometimes less to run. Every build gets a fixed quote with line items. The fit check shows which side of that line you're on before you commit.

Can you move us off WordPress to headless?

We can, and we plan the move around your rankings. We export the content, clean it and map it into the new model. Every changed address gets a redirect, so the move doesn't cost you rankings. We record your positions before launch, so any movement is visible.

What happens if the CMS goes down?

Visitors keep seeing the site. The front end is static files at the edge, so an outage on the CMS only pauses publishing until it returns. Your customers won't notice a thing.

Does headless suit multi-location businesses?

Often. Locations, team members and services are shared content by nature. A model that holds each one once keeps every location page in step, whether you run 3 clinics or 30 branches.

Book a free strategy call