Ask HN: Is It Worth Building the Next Headless CMS? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Is It Worth Building the Next Headless CMS?

6 pointsspikey_sanju7 comments

I've been diving deep into content management systems lately, and I'm thinking about building something new – a platform that's all about making content work easier, super user-friendly, and smooth as silk.

Imagine a place where writers, bloggers, marketers, and businesses can effortlessly handle their content and subscriptions.

We're talking about a space where a friendly interface, making money from subscriptions, working together on edits, and getting real insights all come together like magic.

Others do this too. But spicing up with fresh ideas or refining the writing journey would boost the process. Think interactive blogs, AI writing help, and unique reading experience etc...

But before I jump into the deep end, I'd love to hear from you. Have you ever run into tough times trying to sort out your content online?

Do you think there's room for some new ideas in how we do content management? Would you be excited about a fresh, next-gen CMS?

Your thoughts really matter here. So, what do you think?

That's all – Sanju

Winning over customers in this arena is about familiarity, developer buy in and ecosystem. There have been dozens of "better" CMS built over the last decade but few succesful projects.

You would have to either win over developers so much they evangelize your product to clients, or market to clients with a massive budget in order to get them nagging their team to try it. The reality I have faced for over a decade now, everyone wants wordpress. We all know it has technical and UX faults, so really dive into that phenomenon, why does everyone want wordpress, and how can I convince people to use my product instead?

If you want to convince businesses to try it you have to integrate with the software they use as well. You need importers/exporters, and I would even recommend developing your own plugins for some of the more popular integrations. Get a Google Analytics integration, find the top performing Wordpress plugins and pick a few important ones, figure out how someone can sell something from your CMS (stripe, paypal?) etc.

A good way to do the above might be to take on clients as if you were an agency, build them sites in your CMS and start building out plugins they need.

If you were trying to make it a business I might aim for a niche and go B2B. The CMS for {industry here}.

Hey Sanju - would love to know what you think about Payload (https://payloadcms.com).

We were in YC S22 and we've done a lot of what you've mentioned. Our ambitions are the same as yours. Maybe we could collaborate?

Not sure I count as having an opinion that matters, but the answer is yes, always.

Yes there is always room (there are ten BILLION people on Earth and most of them aren't even fully online yet)(America isn't the only country in the World, we just act like it), yes, it is always worth it..if only for the learning experience and yes, you should take all the previous responses with a grain of salt.

Yes, even mine. There will always be someone to turn you down, discourage you (actively or sneakily) there will always be an Edison, and you will always find folks in your way simply for the sheer h*k of it.

But if you really think there is something necessary in what you are attempting, then only opinion that truly matters is yours.

Don't let them stop you.

Short answer :no. A bit longer: no, all your mentioned problems have been solved. In both many COTS solutions as well as many FOSS solutions. Take one and improve the pain points that your potential users struggle with. Why not join a large FOSS cms project that is already working on these issues?

Many FOSS CMS platforms follow a standard approach, lacking openness to innovative solutions.

Coming from a design and tech background, I see numerous opportunities for CMS improvements that address a clear need gap.

You don't want to use php you'd rather rewrite it in JS

I am putting words in your mouth

What does your proposed CMS do that can't be done as a plugin for some existing CMS?

Reply on news.ycombinator.com