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Payload CMS & Headless CMS

A CMS that grows with you – from your first launch to an established business.

Manage your content yourself, without waiting on an agency for every change.

With Payload CMS you get a modern, fast website with no license fees – and your data stays yours.

Trusted by teams at

More than 20 years of experience in web development and design – for startups, mid-sized companies and brands like REWE.

Your website should speed you up, not slow you down.

Many small and mid-sized companies know the feeling: the website has grown – and so has the effort.

Every change needs the agency

New landing page, new copy, new image – another ticket, another quote and another week of waiting.

Plugin chaos and endless updates

Dozens of WordPress plugins, security holes and updates that break something else every time.

Costs that grow with you

SaaS CMSs get more expensive with every user, language and API call – exactly when you’re growing.

Marketing waits on tech

Campaigns launch later than planned because the website isn’t as flexible as your team.

A relaunch every few years

Instead of evolving, the website gets rebuilt every three to four years – expensive and risky.

Unclear data storage

Where do your content and customer data live? With many cloud vendors, the GDPR question has no clear answer.

The problem is rarely your website. The problem is the system behind it.

Book a free intro call

Headless CMS – explained simply

Manage once. Publish everywhere.

In a traditional CMS, content and design are tightly coupled. A headless CMS separates the two: your content is managed in a structured way and delivered to any channel via an interface (API).

Your content for:

  • Your website and landing pages
  • Apps and customer portals
  • Online shops and product catalogs
  • Newsletters and automations
  • AI assistants and internal knowledge search

The result: less duplicate work, more speed and full design freedom.

Diagram: one headless CMS delivering content via API to website, app, shop, newsletter and AI assistant

For startups and mid-sized companies

For startups

Go live fast without boxing yourself in.

✓ Online within a few weeks
✓ Grow without a relaunch
✓ No license fees, even as your team grows
✓ The same backend later powers your app or product
✓ Clean code your future tech team will understand

For small and mid-sized companies

Manage content yourself and plug the website into your workflows.

✓ Your editors work independently
✓ EU hosting, GDPR-compliant
✓ Connected to CRM, newsletter and automations
✓ Predictable, transparent running costs
✓ One partner for design, development and operations

Why Payload CMS?

Payload is a modern open-source CMS. We use it because it benefits editors, developers and the business alike.

€0 license fees

Payload is open source (MIT license). No fees per user, language or page view – no matter how big you get.

Your data stays yours

Payload runs on your own infrastructure, in Germany or the EU if you like. No vendor lock-in.

A page builder for your team

Pages are built from ready-made blocks: text, image, features, FAQ, pricing, forms. New landing pages in minutes, not days.

Preview, drafts & versions

Prepare changes calmly, preview them live, publish – and roll back to an earlier version at any time.

Multilingual from one system

German, English and more languages in one CMS – without duplicate page trees or duplicate maintenance.

Roles & permissions

Decide who can view, edit and publish what – from interns to management.

Fast and SEO-friendly

Built on Next.js: fast load times, strong Core Web Vitals and a clean foundation for search engines.

Stable because it’s built cleanly

Content structure and logic are versioned code instead of a pile of plugins. That makes updates predictable and extensions safe.

Payload compared

Every system has its place. Here’s how the most common options for small and mid-sized companies differ.

WordPress

Cheap to start with a huge ecosystem. As requirements grow, so do plugin dependencies, maintenance effort and security risks. Custom content structures often mean compromises.

SaaS headless CMS

Ready to go quickly with no hosting of your own. But costs rise with users, languages and usage. Your content lives with the vendor, and switching later is costly.

Payload CMS with ThinkForm

No license fees, full data ownership and a content structure that fits your business exactly. Your editors work independently, and the platform grows with you – no relaunch needed.

Is Payload right for you?

Not every company needs a headless CMS. We’ll tell you honestly what makes sense.

Payload pays off if …

✓ your content, languages or pages are growing
✓ marketing wants to build its own landing pages quickly
✓ the website should connect to CRM, shop or automations
✓ data ownership and GDPR matter to you
✓ you don’t want to rebuild every few years

Probably not if …

✗ you only need a simple business-card site with a few rarely changing pages
✗ an off-the-shelf builder like Squarespace or Wix already covers everything
✗ you’re only looking for a standard online shop without custom content

What we use Payload for

Company website & landing pages

A website whose pages your team assembles from a block library – campaign landing pages included.

Multilingual websites

Multiple languages and markets from one system, with a clean translation structure and SEO per language.

Startup MVP & product backend

Website, admin interface and API from one codebase – ideal for starting fast and expanding later.

Customer & partner portals

Protected areas with login, roles and individual content for customers, partners or employees.

Connected to your systems

Forms, leads and content flow automatically into CRM, newsletter and workflows – for example with n8n.

Content as a foundation for AI

Structured content is the best basis for AI assistants, internal search and RAG systems.

This website runs on Payload.

We use what we recommend: thinkform.de is built with Payload CMS and Next.js – bilingual, with its own block library.

20+

years of experience

in web development and design

REWE.de

Design & development

for one of Germany’s largest e-commerce platforms

18

brands & organizations

including Telekom, Lufthansa, Deutsche Bahn and Mercedes-Benz Tech Innovation

35

content blocks

in this website’s block library – all built with Payload

Your new CMS in four steps

You focus on your business – we take care of the rest.

1

Get to know each other

A 30-minute call: we understand what you need and tell you honestly whether Payload fits.

2

Fixed-price quote

A clear plan with a fixed price and timeline. No surprises.

3

We build it

We handle design, development and moving your content. You just give feedback.

4

Go live & manage it yourself

After a short training, your team runs the website on its own – and we’re happy to stay on board.

Ready for the first step?

Move without starting over

Already running a website on WordPress, TYPO3 or a SaaS CMS? You don’t have to start from scratch.

✓ Content is migrated largely automatically
✓ Redirects and SEO structure are preserved
✓ Your team is trained before the new website goes live
✓ Step by step instead of a big-bang relaunch, if you prefer

Ask about migration

Three packages. One clear starting point.

Transparent starting prices – you get the final quote after the Payload Check.

Clarity before code.

PAYLOAD CHECK

For companies who want to know whether Payload fits and what it costs – before they invest.

From €1,490

  • Workshop (half day, remote or on-site)
  • Analysis of your existing website and content
  • Content model outline
  • Hosting and running-cost recommendation
  • Migration effort assessment
  • Roadmap with fixed-price quote
  • Fully credited towards Launch or Growth
POPULAR

Live fast. Manage it yourself.

PAYLOAD LAUNCH

For startups and small companies who want a modern website they can manage themselves.

From €7,900

  • Payload CMS + Next.js, ready to go
  • Design based on your brand
  • Block library (hero, text/image, features, FAQ, CTA, forms and more)
  • Up to 10 pages filled with content
  • SEO basics & top performance
  • GDPR-compliant EU hosting
  • Training for your editors
  • 30 days of support after go-live
  • Live in 4–6 weeks

A platform that grows with you.

PAYLOAD GROWTH

For SMEs with an existing website or growing demands on content, languages and systems.

From €16,900

  • Everything in Launch
  • Custom content model & custom blocks
  • Migration from WordPress, TYPO3 or a SaaS CMS
  • SEO preservation incl. redirects
  • Multilingual setup
  • Roles, permissions & approval workflows
  • Integrations (CRM, newsletter, n8n automations)
  • 60 days of support after go-live
  • Live in 8–12 weeks

Hosting & maintenance from €149 / month: EU hosting, updates, backups and monitoring – optionally with a block of hours for further development.

Not sure which package fits?

In a free intro call we look at your situation together and recommend the right starting point.

Frequently asked questions

Let’s find out whether Payload is right for you.

30 minutes, no obligation – afterwards you’ll know which path makes sense for your website.

Tell us briefly about your project.

The better we understand your situation, the more concrete we can get in the intro call.

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Just pick a time that works for you.

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