Slack webhooks and headless CMS integrations are game-changers for teams managing content. They deliver instant notifications directly to your Slack channels whenever content is updated, published, or deleted in your CMS. This eliminates the need for constant dashboard checks and ensures everyone stays informed in real-time.
Here’s a quick breakdown:
How It Works:
This setup helps teams stay aligned, reduces manual follow-ups, and improves content workflows. Follow the steps to connect your tools and start receiving actionable updates directly in Slack.
Before diving into the integration between Slack and your headless CMS, make sure you’ve got all the tools, accounts, and permissions lined up. This prep work ensures that everything runs smoothly.
The backbone of this setup is having active accounts on Slack and your chosen headless CMS platform. Both accounts should have the right access levels to manage webhooks and integrations.
For Slack, you’ll need access to a workspace where you can create and manage apps. Ideally, this should be a workspace your team already uses for daily communication and project updates. You’ll either need to be an admin or have permission to install and configure apps.
On the CMS side, platforms like Strapi, Agility CMS, or Amplience are great options, as they support webhooks that can send notifications when content is published, updated, or deleted. Make sure you have admin or developer-level access to configure these webhooks and manage API settings.
To set up Slack webhooks, you’ll need specific permissions within your Slack workspace. This involves creating a Slack app, which requires admin rights or approval from your workspace administrator. Once you’re authorized, enable the "Incoming Webhooks" feature for your app.
The key permission here is the incoming-webhook scope. This allows the app to send messages to specific channels via webhooks. It also makes the setup easier by providing a channel picker during the OAuth 2.0 installation process, so you can quickly authorize the channels where notifications will appear.
Choose a channel that your team actively monitors - something like a #content-updates channel or your main project coordination channel works well. This ensures that important notifications don’t get missed.
On the CMS side, you’ll need admin or developer access to set up webhooks. This will allow you to define which events (like publishing or updating content) trigger notifications and where those notifications are sent. Most headless CMS platforms provide an admin dashboard for configuring webhooks, so make sure you have the necessary permissions to access these tools.
Consistency in formatting can make a big difference, especially when it comes to notifications. For US-based teams, use familiar date, time, and currency formats.
To set up Slack webhooks, you'll need to create a Slack app, configure notification channels, and test everything to ensure it works smoothly.
Start by heading to the Slack API website and clicking "Create New App." You’ll be given two options: "From scratch" or "From an app manifest." Choose "From scratch" to build your app step by step.
Give your app a clear and descriptive name (e.g., "CMS Content Notifications") so it’s easy to identify later. Next, select the workspace where you want the app installed - this should be the workspace your team uses regularly.
Once the app is created, go to the "Incoming Webhooks" section in the left-hand menu. Enable Incoming Webhooks, then add a new webhook to your workspace.
You'll be prompted to select a channel where the webhook messages will be sent. Pick a channel that’s monitored regularly, like #content-updates or a similar channel relevant to your team. After that, Slack will generate a unique webhook URL. Copy this URL and store it securely - it’s what you’ll use to send messages to Slack.
The channel you selected during webhook setup becomes the default notification channel. However, you can customize how notifications are displayed and even create a dedicated channel for specific updates.
If you don’t already have one, consider creating a dedicated channel for CMS-related notifications, such as #content-updates, #cms-notifications, or #publishing-alerts. This helps keep these messages organized and easy to find.
Make sure your Slack app has the necessary permissions to post in the selected channel. For private channels, a team member will need to invite the app. Public channels, on the other hand, usually don’t require any special steps.
You can also enhance the appearance of your webhook messages by customizing your app’s display settings. In the app settings, navigate to "Basic Information" and then to "Display Information." Here, you can upload a custom icon, add a description, and even set a background color to make your notifications stand out.
Once you’ve configured your notification channel, it’s time to test your webhook. Start with a simple test using cURL to ensure everything is working.
Open your terminal and run the following command, replacing the URL with your webhook URL:
curl -X POST -H 'Content-type: application/json' \
--data '{"text":"Hello, world."}' \
https://hooks.slack.com/services/T00000000/B00000000/XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
If the test is successful, you’ll get an HTTP 200 response with a plain text "ok" confirmation. Check your Slack channel to confirm the message appears.
"Great work, you've set up incoming webhooks for your Slack app and made a successful test call, and you're ready to start making those messages more interesting and useful." – Slack
To test more advanced functionality, try sending a formatted JSON payload. For example:
{
"text": "Content Update Test",
"blocks": [
{
"type": "section",
"text": {
"type": "mrkdwn",
"text": "*Blog Post Published*Title: Sample ArticleAuthor: Marketing TeamPublished: 08/25/2025 at 2:30 PM EST"
}
}
]
}
If the test fails, check for common errors:
Keep a record of your test requests and responses to make troubleshooting easier. This will also ensure your webhook integration consistently connects your headless CMS to Slack without any hiccups.
Set up your headless CMS to send notifications directly to Slack using your webhook URL. While each platform has its own setup process, the steps are generally similar. Below, you'll find instructions for configuring Slack notifications for Strapi, Agility CMS, and Amplience.
To link Strapi with Slack, go to Settings > Webhooks in your Strapi dashboard and click "Create new webhook". Give it a name like "Slack Content Notifications" and paste your Slack webhook URL into the URL field.
Next, choose which events will trigger notifications. In the Events section, you can select options such as:
For full notification coverage, select Entry.create, Entry.update, and Entry.publish. Once you've made your selections, enable the webhook using the toggle switch, save the configuration, and test it by creating or updating content in Strapi.
Agility CMS also allows you to integrate Slack notifications through webhooks. To set this up, go to Settings > Webhooks and click "Add Webhook". Name your webhook something like "Slack Notifications" and enter your Slack webhook URL in the Endpoint URL field.
Define the types of content changes that should trigger alerts in the Events section. Options include:
Pick the events that match your workflow. Before saving, use Agility CMS's Test button to send a sample payload to your Slack webhook and confirm everything is working correctly.
For Amplience, head to Development > Webhooks in your dashboard and click "Add webhook". Label it "Slack Content Alerts" and paste your Slack webhook URL.
Amplience supports custom JSON payloads, allowing you to tailor Slack notifications. In the Events section, select triggers such as:
You can also use template variables to make your Slack messages more dynamic. For example:
{
"text": "Content Update from Amplience",
"blocks": [
{
"type": "section",
"text": {
"type": "mrkdwn",
"text": "*{{contentItem.label}}* has been {{event.name}}*Author:* {{contentItem.lastModifiedBy}}*Time:* {{event.timestamp}}"
}
}
]
}
After setting up the webhook, use Amplience's testing feature to confirm both the webhook and the custom payload are working as expected.
Once you've set up webhooks, the next step is customizing payloads to deliver the right details for immediate action. Here's how you can refine those notifications to keep your team informed and efficient.
Your webhook payloads should provide more than just a generic "content updated" message. Instead, include specific details from your CMS to make notifications clear and actionable.
Platforms like Slack offer tools like Block Kit, which help structure payloads with sections, fields, and markdown formatting. If you're using systems like Amplience, you can take advantage of custom payload features with templating languages like Handlebars to generate Slack-specific JSON payloads dynamically.
Here are some key elements to include in your JSON payload for better clarity:
Below is an example of how you can structure a notification payload:
{
"text": "Content Update Alert",
"blocks": [
{
"type": "section",
"text": {
"type": "mrkdwn",
"text": "*{{payload.label}}* has been *{{status}}**Type:* {{payload.body._meta.schema}}"
},
"accessory": {
"type": "image",
"image_url": "{{payload.body.image.defaultHost}}/{{payload.body.image.endpoint}}/{{payload.body.image.name}}",
"alt_text": "{{payload.body.imageAltText}}"
}
}
]
}
This setup ensures your team gets a clear, visually organized notification with all the necessary details at a glance. Next, let's focus on making these notifications even more actionable.
The way you write your notifications can make or break their effectiveness. Clear alerts should explain what happened, who was involved, when it occurred, and what needs to happen next.
Timing is also critical. If you're sending alerts for both draft saves and final publications, make sure to clearly distinguish between these states. This way, your team knows which notifications require immediate attention.
If managing notifications feels overwhelming, consider working with professionals to keep things running smoothly. Midday | WebOps for Marketing Teams specializes in helping mid-market and enterprise teams optimize their headless CMS workflows. Their team of senior developers, designers, and project managers can ensure your Slack notifications stay effective as your content processes evolve.
With the right setup and support, you can create notifications that are not only clear and actionable but also seamlessly integrated into your team's workflow.
Integrating Slack webhooks with your headless CMS is a game-changer for automating real-time content notifications. By following a few straightforward steps - creating a Slack app, enabling incoming webhooks, obtaining your unique URL, configuring your CMS webhook, and testing the setup - you can significantly enhance your content workflow.
When combined with thoughtful customization, this integration reshapes how marketing teams manage content. Instead of relying on email updates that can easily get overlooked, Slack notifications deliver instant alerts whenever content is created, updated, published, or deleted. This ensures teams stay on top of their tasks and can act quickly.
This integration simplifies content workflows by introducing several practical advantages:
Whether you're using platforms like Strapi or Amplience, the webhook setup process is similar, making it accessible no matter your CMS choice. A little initial effort can lead to immediate improvements in efficiency.
To get the most out of this integration, start by identifying the content events that matter most to your team. It could be new blog posts waiting for approval, product updates going live, or asset changes affecting campaigns. Focus on automating these critical notifications first. As your team becomes more comfortable, expand the system to cover additional workflows.
If your team lacks the technical expertise to implement or maintain these integrations, consider partnering with Midday | WebOps for Marketing Teams. Their experienced developers and project managers specialize in helping marketing teams optimize their headless CMS setups. They can ensure your Slack notifications remain reliable and aligned with your growing content needs.
The key is to start small, test thoroughly, and gradually build a notification system tailored to your team’s unique workflows and priorities.
To make sure Slack notifications from your headless CMS reach the right people, set them up to target specific Slack channels or individual team members. Consider creating dedicated channels for various teams or projects, and use @mentions like @channel or @here when you need to alert everyone in a group.
Another option is to integrate your CMS with Slack through custom workflows or apps. This approach automates alerts, sending notifications directly to the most relevant individuals. It’s a great way to keep the right people informed without cluttering everyone else’s feed. These steps can help your team stay on the same page and manage updates more effectively.
If your Slack webhook notifications aren't showing up as they should, the first step is to confirm that the webhook URL is accurate and correctly set up. Try sending a simple test payload to check if the webhook is functioning, and ensure the payload format aligns with Slack's specifications.
Other potential culprits could be issues like SSL certificate errors, rate limits, or network connectivity problems. Checking your webhook setup logs can often reveal useful details about what's going wrong. If the problem continues, make sure your payloads comply with Slack's formatting rules and verify that all settings match the configuration of your headless CMS integration. These steps can help you pinpoint and fix the issue effectively.
You can tailor Slack notifications from your CMS to include specific details and formats that suit your team's workflow. Slack offers options to format messages with features like bold text, lists, and links, helping make notifications clearer and more actionable.
Many CMS platforms also come with built-in integrations or plugins that let you create custom notifications. These can be adjusted to match your communication style and ensure your team gets updates with the right context - whether it's about content changes, approvals, or other important updates.