Combining WordPress as a headless CMS with Gatsby.js gives you the best of both worlds: WordPress’s content management capabilities and Gatsby’s blazing-fast static site generation. This approach lets you leverage WordPress’s familiar interface for content creators while delivering lightning-fast websites with modern React components and GraphQL queries. You’ll learn how to set up this architecture, handle authentication, optimize performance, and troubleshoot common issues that arise when decoupling WordPress from its frontend.

How the WordPress-Gatsby Architecture Works

The headless WordPress approach separates content management from presentation completely. WordPress serves as a backend API that delivers content via REST API or GraphQL, while Gatsby fetches this data during build time to generate static HTML files. This JAMstack architecture eliminates database queries on the frontend, resulting in faster load times and better security.

Here’s the technical flow:

• WordPress stores and manages content through its admin interface
• Content is exposed via WP REST API or WPGraphQL plugin
• Gatsby’s build process queries WordPress APIs and pulls content
• Static pages are generated with content baked in
• CDN serves static files globally for maximum performance

The key advantage is that your frontend becomes completely independent of WordPress’s PHP stack, allowing for deployment on fast CDNs while maintaining WordPress’s content editing experience.

Setting Up WordPress as a Headless CMS

First, you’ll need a WordPress installation configured for headless operation. Whether you’re using a VPS or dedicated server, the setup process remains consistent.

Install and configure the WPGraphQL plugin for better query capabilities:

wp plugin install wp-graphql --activate
wp plugin install wp-graphql-acf --activate  # If using Advanced Custom Fields

Add this to your WordPress theme’s functions.php to expose additional post data:

function enable_cors_headers() {
    header("Access-Control-Allow-Origin: *");
    header("Access-Control-Allow-Methods: GET, POST, OPTIONS");
    header("Access-Control-Allow-Headers: Content-Type");
}
add_action('init', 'enable_cors_headers');

// Enable featured images in REST API
add_theme_support('post-thumbnails');

// Add custom fields to REST API
function add_custom_fields_to_rest() {
    register_rest_field('post', 'custom_fields', array(
        'get_callback' => function($post) {
            return get_post_meta($post['id']);
        }
    ));
}
add_action('rest_api_init', 'add_custom_fields_to_rest');

Configure permalink structure to “Post name” in WordPress admin for cleaner URLs, and ensure your GraphQL endpoint is accessible at /graphql.

Creating the Gatsby Application

Initialize a new Gatsby project with the necessary plugins:

npx gatsby new wordpress-gatsby-site
cd wordpress-gatsby-site
npm install gatsby-source-wordpress gatsby-plugin-image gatsby-plugin-sharp gatsby-transformer-sharp

Configure gatsby-config.js to connect with your WordPress installation:

module.exports = {
  siteMetadata: {
    title: "WordPress Gatsby Site",
    siteUrl: "https://yoursite.com"
  },
  plugins: [
    {
      resolve: "gatsby-source-wordpress",
      options: {
        url: "https://your-wordpress-site.com/graphql",
        verbose: true,
        develop: {
          hardCacheMediaFiles: true,
        },
        production: {
          hardCacheMediaFiles: false,
        },
        debug: {
          graphql: {
            writeQueriesToDisk: true,
          },
        },
        html: {
          useGatsbyImage: true,
        },
      },
    },
    "gatsby-plugin-image",
    "gatsby-plugin-sharp",
    "gatsby-transformer-sharp",
  ],
};

Create dynamic pages by adding gatsby-node.js:

const path = require('path');

exports.createPages = async ({ graphql, actions, reporter }) => {
  const { createPage } = actions;

  const result = await graphql(`
    query GetWordPressData {
      allWpPost(filter: {status: {eq: "publish"}}) {
        nodes {
          id
          slug
          uri
        }
      }
      allWpPage(filter: {status: {eq: "publish"}}) {
        nodes {
          id
          slug
          uri
        }
      }
    }
  `);

  if (result.errors) {
    reporter.panicOnBuild("Error loading WordPress data", result.errors);
    return;
  }

  const { allWpPost, allWpPage } = result.data;

  // Create post pages
  allWpPost.nodes.forEach(post => {
    createPage({
      path: post.uri,
      component: path.resolve('./src/templates/post.js'),
      context: {
        id: post.id,
      },
    });
  });

  // Create static pages
  allWpPage.nodes.forEach(page => {
    createPage({
      path: page.uri,
      component: path.resolve('./src/templates/page.js'),
      context: {
        id: page.id,
      },
    });
  });
};

Building Dynamic Templates

Create a post template at src/templates/post.js:

import React from "react";
import { graphql } from "gatsby";
import { GatsbyImage, getImage } from "gatsby-plugin-image";

const PostTemplate = ({ data }) => {
  const post = data.wpPost;
  const featuredImage = getImage(post.featuredImage?.node?.localFile);

  return (
    

      

        
{post.title}
        
Published: {post.date}
        {featuredImage && (
          
        )}
      
      

      
    
  );
};

export const query = graphql`
  query GetPost($id: String!) {
    wpPost(id: { eq: $id }) {
      title
      content
      date(formatString: "MMMM DD, YYYY")
      featuredImage {
        node {
          altText
          localFile {
            childImageSharp {
              gatsbyImageData(
                width: 800
                placeholder: BLURRED
                formats: [AUTO, WEBP, AVIF]
              )
            }
          }
        }
      }
      categories {
        nodes {
          name
          slug
        }
      }
      tags {
        nodes {
          name
          slug
        }
      }
    }
  }
`;

export default PostTemplate;

For handling custom fields and ACF data, extend your queries:

export const query = graphql`
  query GetPostWithACF($id: String!) {
    wpPost(id: { eq: $id }) {
      title
      content
      acfFields {
        customHeading
        customContent
        customImage {
          localFile {
            childImageSharp {
              gatsbyImageData(width: 600)
            }
          }
        }
      }
    }
  }
`;

Performance Optimization and Best Practices

Here’s a performance comparison between traditional WordPress and the headless approach:

Metric	Traditional WordPress	Headless WordPress + Gatsby	Improvement
Time to First Byte (TTFB)	800ms – 1.2s	50ms – 150ms	85-90% faster
Lighthouse Performance Score	60-75	90-100	30-40% improvement
Database Queries per Page	20-50+	0	100% reduction
CDN Compatibility	Limited	Full static assets	Complete

Implement these optimization strategies:

• Enable Gatsby’s image processing for automatic WebP/AVIF conversion
• Use gatsby-plugin-manifest for PWA capabilities
• Implement proper caching headers on your WordPress API endpoints
• Utilize Gatsby Cloud or Netlify for optimized builds and deployment
• Configure incremental builds to reduce build times for large sites

Add this caching configuration to your WordPress .htaccess:

# API Caching

    Header set Cache-Control "public, max-age=300"
    Header set Access-Control-Allow-Origin "*"


# GraphQL Caching

    Header set Cache-Control "public, max-age=300"
    Header set Access-Control-Allow-Origin "*"

Handling Authentication and Private Content

For member-only content or authenticated areas, you’ll need a hybrid approach since Gatsby generates static files. Implement client-side authentication:

// src/components/ProtectedContent.js
import React, { useState, useEffect } from "react";

const ProtectedContent = ({ children }) => {
  const [isAuthenticated, setIsAuthenticated] = useState(false);
  const [loading, setLoading] = useState(true);

  useEffect(() => {
    const checkAuth = async () => {
      try {
        const token = localStorage.getItem('wp_token');
        if (!token) {
          setLoading(false);
          return;
        }

        const response = await fetch('https://your-wp-site.com/wp-json/wp/v2/users/me', {
          headers: {
            'Authorization': `Bearer ${token}`
          }
        });

        if (response.ok) {
          setIsAuthenticated(true);
        }
      } catch (error) {
        console.error('Auth check failed:', error);
      }
      setLoading(false);
    };

    checkAuth();
  }, []);

  if (loading) return 
Loading...
;
  if (!isAuthenticated) return 
Please log in to view this content.
;

  return children;
};

export default ProtectedContent;

Real-World Use Cases and Examples

This architecture excels in several scenarios:

• Corporate websites: Marketing teams use WordPress while developers deploy on modern infrastructure
• E-commerce blogs: Product content managed in WordPress, integrated with Shopify or WooCommerce APIs
• Multi-site networks: Single WordPress installation feeding multiple Gatsby frontends
• Mobile app backends: WordPress content consumed by both web and mobile applications

A practical example for an e-commerce integration:

// gatsby-node.js - Creating product pages from WordPress + external API
exports.createPages = async ({ graphql, actions }) => {
  const { createPage } = actions;

  // Get WordPress posts
  const wpData = await graphql(`
    query {
      allWpPost {
        nodes {
          id
          slug
          acfFields {
            productId
          }
        }
      }
    }
  `);

  // Fetch additional product data from e-commerce API
  const productsWithDetails = await Promise.all(
    wpData.data.allWpPost.nodes.map(async (post) => {
      if (post.acfFields?.productId) {
        const productResponse = await fetch(
          `https://api.shopify.com/products/${post.acfFields.productId}`
        );
        const productData = await productResponse.json();
        return { ...post, productData };
      }
      return post;
    })
  );

  // Create pages with combined data
  productsWithDetails.forEach((post) => {
    createPage({
      path: `/products/${post.slug}`,
      component: path.resolve('./src/templates/product.js'),
      context: {
        id: post.id,
        productData: post.productData,
      },
    });
  });
};

Common Issues and Troubleshooting

Here are the most frequent problems and their solutions:

Build failures due to missing images:

// Add error handling in gatsby-node.js
exports.createSchemaCustomization = ({ actions }) => {
  const { createTypes } = actions;
  
  createTypes(`
    type WpMediaItem implements Node {
      localFile: File
    }
  `);
};

// Handle missing images in components
const featuredImage = post.featuredImage?.node?.localFile 
  ? getImage(post.featuredImage.node.localFile)
  : null;

CORS issues during development:

# Add to WordPress .htaccess
Header always set Access-Control-Allow-Origin "*"
Header always set Access-Control-Allow-Methods "GET, POST, PUT, DELETE, OPTIONS"
Header always set Access-Control-Allow-Headers "Authorization, Content-Type"

# Handle preflight requests
RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_METHOD} OPTIONS
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ $1 [R=200,L]

Slow build times with large content volumes:

// Enable incremental builds in gatsby-config.js
module.exports = {
  flags: {
    INCREMENTAL_BUILD: true,
    FAST_DEV: true,
  },
  plugins: [
    {
      resolve: "gatsby-source-wordpress",
      options: {
        // Limit content during development
        develop: {
          nodeUpdateInterval: 5000,
          hardCacheMediaFiles: true,
        },
        production: {
          hardCacheMediaFiles: false,
        },
      },
    },
  ],
};

Memory issues during builds:

# Increase Node.js memory limit
export NODE_OPTIONS="--max-old-space-size=4096"
gatsby build

# Or add to package.json scripts
"scripts": {
  "build": "NODE_OPTIONS='--max-old-space-size=4096' gatsby build"
}

Alternative Approaches and Comparisons

While WordPress + Gatsby is powerful, consider these alternatives based on your requirements:

Solution	Best For	Pros	Cons
WordPress + Gatsby	Content-heavy sites, familiar CMS	WordPress ecosystem, fast frontend	Complex setup, build times
Strapi + Gatsby	Custom content structures	Modern API, flexible	Learning curve, smaller ecosystem
Contentful + Gatsby	Teams wanting hosted CMS	Hosted, developer-friendly	Cost scales with usage
WordPress + Next.js	Server-side rendering needs	Dynamic rendering, API routes	More complex deployment

For maximum flexibility, consider implementing webhook-triggered builds for near real-time content updates:

// WordPress webhook function
function trigger_gatsby_build($post_id) {
    if (wp_is_post_revision($post_id)) return;
    
    $webhook_url = 'https://api.netlify.com/build_hooks/your-build-hook-id';
    
    wp_remote_post($webhook_url, array(
        'method' => 'POST',
        'body' => json_encode(array(
            'trigger' => 'content_update',
            'post_id' => $post_id
        )),
        'headers' => array(
            'Content-Type' => 'application/json',
        ),
    ));
}

add_action('save_post', 'trigger_gatsby_build');
add_action('delete_post', 'trigger_gatsby_build');

This setup provides the content management benefits of WordPress with the performance advantages of static site generation, while maintaining the flexibility to scale and adapt as your requirements evolve. The key is starting simple and adding complexity only when needed, ensuring your content creators can work efficiently while your frontend delivers optimal user experience.

For more advanced implementations, explore Gatsby’s official WordPress documentation and the WPGraphQL documentation for deeper integration possibilities.

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