Decoupled architecture
In web content management, a decoupled architecture is one in which the back-end authoring environment is separated from the front-end publishing environment by a firewall and, at times, geographically (such as by servers being placed in two separate buildings with a secure connection).
Thus, publishing content involves transferring it from one environment to another, making it a highly secure setup, as it’s much harder for hackers to access the authoring environment when hacking the website.
Key benefits
- It creates a much more secure authoring environment
- Authoring can continue seamlessly in the background even when the front-end publishing environment is undergoing maintenance or is not functional
- Vice versa, the website can stay operational, even when the authoring environment is offline
- It’s much easier to scale the front end
- It’s easier to upgrade since the front end and back end can be upgraded independently
- It makes it possible to set up multiple publishing locations (e.g. one behind the Great Firewall of China) and deploy content easily from a single authoring environment