Modern web projects require a CMS that goes beyond content management. Payload CMS is not just a headless CMS - it’s a complete backend solution that seamlessly integrates into our architecture. With an API-first approach, a fully customizable data model, and a flexible user management system, Payload gives us full control over how we structure and manage content. Plus, it’s fully open-source (MIT license), ensuring freedom from vendor lock-in.
Seamless Integration with Next.js
Starting with version 3, Payload is fully integrated into Next.js, meaning the backend and frontend no longer exist as separate systems. Instead of managing a standalone Express backend, all API routes and the admin panel are embedded directly within the Next.js project. This keeps the entire codebase in one place, simplifying development, deployment, and maintenance.
This deep integration makes Payload more than just a headless CMS - it feels like a native part of the Next.js ecosystem. Developers can access the Payload database directly, manage API endpoints, and control content all from within the same codebase. No extra overhead, no unnecessary dependencies.
Effortless Deployment & Scalability
Since Payload CMS runs directly inside Next.js, a single deployment is all it takes to push both the backend and frontend live. It integrates seamlessly with modern serverless hosting platforms like Vercel, making scaling effortless.
Key Advantages of This Integration:
- Less infrastructure overhead - No need for a separate backend or API layer
- Automatic scaling - Runs serverless and adjusts to demand
- Seamless CI/CD pipelines - Unified deployment workflow
With this setup, Payload CMS and Next.js is not just faster to develop but also easier to deploy and scale.
Optimized Performance with SSR, SSG & ISR
With Payload deeply integrated into Next.js, developers can directly access the local Payload API to fetch or update data without additional HTTP requests. This makes Payload feel less like an external system and more like a built-in data source within Next.js.
Additionally Next.js ensures highly optimized content delivery, adapting to different use cases:
- Server-Side Rendering (SSR): Renders content on demand for pages with frequently updated or personalized data.
- Static Site Generation (SSG): Pre-generates pages after content changes and delivers them instantly via the Edge network, with zero additional server load.
- Incremental Static Regeneration (ISR): Selectively regenerates static pages without requiring a full redeployment.
This architecture ensures efficient content delivery, minimal server load, fast data fetching, and optimized performance for both dynamic and static pages.
Why This Matters to Us
The deep integration between Payload CMS and Next.js makes it one of the most efficient and flexible solutions for modern web applications. Having backend and frontend unified in a single architecture allows us to:
- Reduce complexity in development and operations
- Speed up development with built-in integrations and rich features
- Deploy faster with automatic scaling
- Maximize performance, whether using static or dynamic content
By fully integrating Payload within our Next.js applications, we treat it as a native part of our system rather than an external service and that makes all the difference.
The main arguments at a glance
Benefits
Instead of working with rigid CMS structures, we can define data models directly in code and tailor them to our needs. Any changes to the schema automatically generate migrations, which are executed during deployment. This reduces development time, simplifies maintenance, and ensures a clean, structured codebase.
Payload CMS follows an API-first architecture, allowing content to be managed via REST or GraphQL APIs. This ensures a clean separation of backend and frontend, without limitations in data processing or retrieval.
Since both Payload and Next.js natively support TypeScript, we get end-to-end type safety across our entire project. Payload automatically generates TypeScript types based on our data models, saving time and ensuring clean, maintainable code.
One of Payload’s biggest advantages is how quickly it’s ready to use. Within minutes, we can set up a fully functional CMS and Next.js frontend, without complex configurations or setup overhead.
In addition, Payload has many features that make our lives easier, such as a generated admin UI for content management, integrated authentication and user roles, media management and multilingual support.
These features work out of the box, eliminating the need to build basic CMS functionality from scratch. Instead of spending time on authentication, role management, and content handling, we can focus on what really matters: our application’s core functionality.
For us, Payload is not just a Headless CMS, it’s a scalable platform that evolves with our needs. Whether we’re building a web app, digital platform, or custom enterprise solution, Payload gives us full control over our backend and content, without unnecessary restrictions.
Drawbacks
Payload is relatively new and not as feature-rich as other headless CMS platforms that have been around for years. While the community is growing rapidly, it remains smaller than those of Strapi or Contentful. This means fewer plugins, integrations, and community resources, often requiring developers to build their own solutions.
For a long time, Payload only supported MongoDB, making relational database setups impossible. While PostgreSQL is now officially supported, this implementation is still relatively new and not yet fully optimized for large content-heavy applications.
Payload is under active development, which brings continuous improvements and a lot of new features but also occasional breaking changes. In some cases, documentation lags behind, meaning developers may need to do additional research and testing to integrate newer versions smoothly.
The Payload Admin UI is functional but not as refined and user-friendly as alternatives like Contentful or Strapi. Larger editorial teams might miss more customization options and a more intuitive experience when managing content.
Our Conclusion as an Agency
Therefore, for us, Payload CMS is not just a headless CMS but the natural backend for our Next.js applications. Its deep integration eliminates the usual separation between CMS and application - content, APIs, and business logic merge into a unified, high-performance, and scalable architecture. This not only makes our development process faster and more efficient but also more sustainable and future-proof.