Multi-tenant CMS: One headless CMS, multiple sites- How does it work?

Managing multiple websites, each with its own CMS, can feel like juggling flaming torches. It’s expensive, chaotic, and a nightmare to scale. Between inconsistent branding, duplicated content, and constant developer overhead, businesses waste time and resources.

Enter the multi-tenant CMS, a game-changer that lets you manage multiple sites from a single platform. In this updated article, we’ll break down what a multi-tenant CMS is, how it works, and why BCMS is a top choice for businesses looking to streamline their content operations with its developer-friendly features and seamless integration.

Multi-tenant architecture is like a high-rise apartment building: one structure houses multiple tenants, each with their own private space. In software, it means a single instance of an application serves multiple users or clients (tenants) while keeping their data and configurations separate. Unlike single-tenant systems, where each site requires its own CMS instance, multi-tenancy allows sharing a backend, reducing costs and complexity.

A multi-tenant CMS is a content management system that powers multiple websites or digital properties from one shared backend.

Each tenant—whether a brand, region, or client—gets its own isolated frontend logic, content, and permissions, but the core infrastructure is centralized.

This setup is often paired with a headless CMS architecture, where content is decoupled from presentation, allowing flexible delivery across sites, apps, or other channels, enhancing the overall digital experiences.

Absolutely. A headless CMS shines in multi-tenant setups because it separates content (the backend) from how it’s displayed (the frontend).

This means that with headless capabilities, you can reuse content across multiple sites while customizing the look and feel for each.

Developers love the flexibility to use preferred frameworks and technologies like Next.js, Astro, or Nuxt, while marketers appreciate the ability to manage content without tech bottlenecks. BCMS, for instance, integrates seamlessly with frameworks like Astro, providing pre-configured boilerplates that simplify setup and content fetching.

Why go multi-tenant? Here’s what you gain:

Multi-tenant CMS is a lifeline for organizations juggling complex digital ecosystems. It’s ideal for:

Let’s see multi-tenancy in action with BCMS, a lightweight, headless CMS built for flexibility and developer productivity. Imagine a global restaurant chain like McDonald’s.

Each country needs a website with localized menus, prices, and languages, but the core branding and content types (e.g., menus, promotions) remain consistent.

Here’s how BCMS makes it happen, leveraging its powerful features and seamless integration with headless CMS platforms.

​​Before diving into customization, let’s set up your development environment. BCMS offers starter templates that simplify the process, whether you’re using Next.js, Astro, or another frontend framework.

1. Run the Starter Template

In your terminal, run the following command to create a new Next.js project with BCMS:

2. Install Required Packages

You’ll be prompted to install packages—type y when asked. Once done, a link will appear in the terminal. Click it to open the BCMS dashboard in your browser and log in to your BCMS account. If you don’t have one, you can sign up using Google or GitHub.

3. Name Your Project

After logging in, return to your terminal and name your project, e.g.:

This will clone the starter GitHub repo into a new folder and set up a sample restaurant layout.

4. Install Project Dependencies

Navigate into your project folder and install dependencies:

You now have a working project integrated with BCMS, ready to fetch and display restaurant content dynamically.

BCMS makes multi-tenant setups straightforward with its template and entry system, allowing you to define content structures for each tenant while maintaining a centralized backend.

Create the Tenant Template in the BCMS dashboard:

Save the template.

Create another template, Tenant Item, in the BCMS dashboard:

Create and Publish Entries

Create Tenant Item Entries: Navigate to the Entries section under the Tenant Item template and create entries for each food item, linking them to the appropriate tenant:

Publish the entries to make them available to your app.

Now, let’s fetch the tenant-specific data and apply it in your app.

This code fetches all Tenant Item entries and filters them based on the linked tenant’s slug, matching the URL parameter (e.g., pizza-place).

Here’s a sample page.tsx to fetch and filter tenant-specific items:

The HomeMenu component renders the filtered items:

With the setup complete, your app dynamically renders content based on the tenant’s slug. For example:

Choosing the right multi-tenant CMS is critical. Here’s what to prioritize:

A multi-tenant CMS is a must for businesses managing multiple websites, from global franchises to digital agencies. It saves time, cuts costs, and keeps your brand consistent while allowing local flexibility. BCMS stands out as a lightweight, headless solution built for multi-tenancy, offering developers pre-configured boilerplates, seamless framework integration, and a unified project structure. Marketers benefit from its intuitive dashboard and SEO tools, making it a perfect balance of power and simplicity.

Ready to streamline your content operations? Try BCMS today and see how one CMS can power all your sites with ease.