Best of both worlds
Genuinely headless, genuinely WordPress
Above all, Headup is a cost-efficient means to create a headless website, whose contents the customer can still manage in the familiar and safe WordPress style.
The technical operating model
This is how a Headup website is published
A WORDPRESS SERVER CONTENT MANAGEMENT
WordPress operates in the same way as when it is used as the CMS.
There is communication between content management and the public website only when the user publishes changes.
Data is transferred onto the Headup Export server for processing through the efficient GraphQL interface by loading the database as little as possible.
The Headup Export server can either be managed by the customer or it can be outsourced to a service provider, such as Netlify.
HEADUP EXPORT SERVER
Headup compiles the content into static pages for the display server.
Headup turns the website into pages that consist of React modules by means of Next.js framework and TypeScript. Once the website is ready, it is sent to display servers for public distribution.
The display server can be any server that is capable of distributing static HTML files. The options include self-maintained Apache, AWS S3, and Netlify.
Restricted network
Open network
PUBLIC SERVER REQUEST PROCESSING
Users
The display server distributes the static pages to the users
The display server is the only open part of the solution that can be accessed by the users.
Once the new page views are complete, they are published on display servers as static files.
The display server offers the page views to the users and enables effortless scaling.
Mikko Virenius
CTO
I work as the Chief Technology Officer at Valu Digital Oy and am responsible for the technologies used and for the coordination of product development activities.
My work includes the design of technical solutions, producing descriptions of the technical solutions offered, and supervising the implementations where required.
I have worked with WordPress since 2008. I have participated in the development of Headup mainly in the role of a WordPress expert.
Headless implementations without a mad budget
Scalability
Unrestricted scaling with a reasonable cost: only the static display server is being scaled.
Effortless to develop
Only 1.2 times more work compared to the traditional WordPress development, without having to make any compromises on the benefits of the headless model.
No license fees
A totally open source code without licence fees or dependencies on third parties.
Headup is open for all – in the spirit of WordPress
WordPress is not suited to headless projects as such, for which reason we decided to create the headless solution needed by the WordPress community and to share it, so that others can benefit of it, too.
Esa-Matti Suuronen / Lead Developer
Esa-Matti Suuronen
Lead Developer
I am the Lead Developer of Valu Digital and work as the technical architect and principal designer of Headup. In addition to Headup, I held a similar role in the product development of Valu Search and in Valu’s internal WP hosting projects.
In Headup customer projects, I mainly work as an internal consultant by helping project developers to use Headup in the best possible manner. This way, I also receive important feedback from other developers, which helps develop Headup in the right direction as a development tool.
I have worked in the ICT sector in different positions for over ten years. My expertise is also based on my interest in the field, which dates back to my teenage years. I still participate actively in the development of several open source projects in my leisure time. My open source projects can be found in my Github profile.
FAQ for partners and developers
Frequently asked questions
As the public website is not connected to WordPress, some of the functions cannot be implemented in the same way as on traditional websites.
Examples of this include user login features, such as intranets, and the production of forms by using publishing system tools, such as Gravity Forms. An external solution, such as Jotform, is needed to process the forms.
The online stores that are to be linked with the Headup website must be, e.g., Javascript-based, meaning that WooCommerce, for example, cannot be used.
Headup is here to stay
There is a demand for WordPress on markets where the traditional version cannot be used. The demand for headless WordPress will increase in larger projects in the future.
For this reason, Headup has come to stay and we have made decisions regarding future updates and further development far into the future.
Mikko Virenius / CTO