What is Headless WordPress and GraphQL?

Traditionally, users have implemented WordPress as an all-in-one solution, meaning that the front-end and back-end of the website are inextricably linked to one another. On the other hand, because headless architectures are becoming more popular, programmers are progressively separating the front-end from the back-end of their applications. This results in increased flexibility and customization options.

What really is Headless WordPress and GraphQL?

Headless WordPress is a setup where the front-end of a website is decoupled from the back-end, which means that the content management system (CMS) only provides the content and data, while the front-end application is responsible for rendering the content in a user-friendly way. In other words, the back-end of the site, which is traditionally responsible for both managing and displaying content, is separated from the front-end, which is responsible for the visual presentation of the content to users.

When a website’s back-end and front-end are separated, it gives developers the opportunity to use the most recent front-end frameworks and technologies like React, Angular, NextJS, or Gatsby without having to worry about the back-technical end’s challenges. With headless WordPress, the content management system (CMS) transforms into a content hub, offering an API that can be used to import data and content from WordPress into any application or platform that can utilize the API.

This strategy is becoming more and more common since it enables greater flexibility and customization, allowing developers to create front-ends specifically tailored to their project’s or website’s demands. Moreover, since modifications to the front-end may be made independently of those to the back-end, it enables a quicker and more efficient development process.

An open-source query language called GraphQL offers a strong and adaptable method for creating APIs. It was created by Facebook in 2012, and an increasing number of businesses, such as GitHub, Shopify, and Yelp, have subsequently embraced it. Developers may specify just the data they want using GraphQL, and clients can only request that data, which reduces bandwidth use and speeds up page loads.

Why not just use the REST API?

GraphQL is a query language that provides a more flexible and efficient alternative to traditional REST APIs. Here are some reasons why GraphQL may be a better choice than REST:

  1. Reduced Overfetching and Underfetching: In a traditional REST API, each endpoint has a fixed response structure, which can result in either overfetching or underfetching of data. Overfetching occurs when the API returns more data than the client needs, which can lead to increased bandwidth usage and slower load times. Underfetching, on the other hand, occurs when the API does not return enough data, requiring the client to make additional requests. With GraphQL, the client can specify exactly what data it needs, reducing both overfetching and underfetching.
  2. Increased Flexibility: In a REST API, adding new features or changing existing endpoints can be difficult, as it requires changing the API structure and potentially breaking existing clients. With GraphQL, the schema can evolve over time without breaking existing clients, as clients can choose which fields to request.
  3. Single Endpoint: In a REST API, each endpoint represents a specific resource or collection of resources, which can result in a large number of endpoints. With GraphQL, there is only one endpoint, which accepts all queries and mutations. This can simplify the development process and reduce API maintenance.
  4. Strongly Typed: In a REST API, the structure of the response is not defined, making it difficult for clients to know what to expect. With GraphQL, the schema is strongly typed, which means that clients can easily determine what data is available and how to query it.

Overall, GraphQL provides a more efficient and flexible approach to building APIs compared to traditional REST APIs. While REST APIs have been the dominant approach for many years, GraphQL is gaining popularity and is being adopted by a growing number of organizations.

How is GraphQL used in WordPress?

To use GraphQL with WordPress, you can use the WPGraphQL plugin. This plugin provides a GraphQL API for WordPress, which allows developers to query the WordPress database using GraphQL. The plugin exposes all of the core WordPress data, such as posts, pages, categories, tags, and users, as well as custom post types and taxonomies. Additionally, the plugin has an addon for Advanced Custom Fields (ACF) compatibility, which allows developers to easily integrate custom fields into their GraphQL queries. The plugin is constantly maintained and is the de-facto method of using GraphQL in WordPress and it has impeccable reviews.

To get started with WPGraphQL, you need to install and activate the plugin. Once activated, you can access the GraphQL endpoint at /graphql on your WordPress site. The plugin also provides a GraphiQL interface, which is a graphical user interface for exploring and testing the GraphQL API.

Using WPGraphQL, you can query the WordPress database using GraphQL syntax. For example, to get a list of all posts, you can use the following query:

query GetPosts {
  posts {
    nodes {
      id
      title
      date
    }
  }
}

This query will return a list of all posts, including their IDs, titles, and content. You can also filter and sort the results using arguments, and you can use fragments to reuse common fields across multiple queries.

Here’s another example of fetching posts by a particular author:

{
  posts(where: {author: 1}) {
    nodes {
      id
      title
      author {
        node {
          name
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

As you can see, it’s very easy to read GraphQL queries as it’s in very plain English language.

Wrapping it up

In conclusion, using GraphQL with WordPress can provide a powerful and flexible way to build headless WordPress sites. With the WPGraphQL plugin, developers can easily query the WordPress database using GraphQL syntax, and the plugin’s ACF compatibility addon allows for easy integration of custom fields. If you’re looking to build a headless WordPress site, give GraphQL and WPGraphQL a try!