Next.js with Sanity/Strapi/Contentful: Building a Headless CMS

Sep 24, 2025 |

8 minutes read

Introduction with Context + Problem Statement

In today’s digital-first world, businesses and developers need content platforms that are fast, scalable, and flexible. While traditional CMS platforms like WordPress or Drupal have served well in the past, they often tie content and presentation layers together, limiting creativity and performance. This is where headless CMS solutions like Sanity, Strapi, and Contentful come into play. When integrated with Next.js, they enable developers to build high-performance blogs that are SEO-friendly, dynamic, and easy to maintain. The problem lies in bridging the gap between structured content management and modern frontend frameworks to achieve maximum efficiency.

Challenges with the Traditional Approach

Using a traditional monolithic CMS creates multiple roadblocks for developers and content teams. Some of the common challenges include:

Limited flexibility in creating custom frontends due to tight coupling with templates.
Performance bottlenecks caused by legacy server-side rendering engines.
Difficulty scaling applications to handle high traffic and multi-platform publishing.
Security risks due to outdated plugins or tightly coupled backend/frontend logic.

Step-by-Step Solution (with Code Examples)

To build a headless CMS blog using Next.js with Sanity, Strapi, or Contentful, follow these steps:

Set up a Next.js application using `npx create-next-app@latest my-blog`.
Choose a Headless CMS: Configure Sanity, Strapi, or Contentful as your backend.
Fetch content with APIs: Use REST or GraphQL queries to fetch blog posts.
Render content in Next.js pages: Use `getStaticProps` or `getServerSideProps` for data fetching.
Add dynamic routing for individual blog pages using `[slug].js`.
Optimize SEO with `next/head` for metadata and Open Graph tags.

Example: Fetching data from Contentful in Next.js:[Text Wrapping Break][Text Wrapping Break]export async function getStaticProps() {[Text Wrapping Break] const client = createClient({[Text Wrapping Break] space: process.env.CONTENTFUL_SPACE_ID,[Text Wrapping Break] accessToken: process.env.CONTENTFUL_ACCESS_TOKEN,[Text Wrapping Break] });[Text Wrapping Break][Text Wrapping Break] const res = await client.getEntries({ content_type: “blogPost” });[Text Wrapping Break][Text Wrapping Break] return {[Text Wrapping Break] props: {[Text Wrapping Break] posts: res.items,[Text Wrapping Break] },[Text Wrapping Break] };[Text Wrapping Break]}[Text Wrapping Break]

Best Practices / Recommendations

Use ISR for fresh content – Don’t rebuild the whole site for every change.
Secure environment variables – Never commit API keys.
Optimize images – Use Next.js <Image> for lazy loading and responsive sizes.
Content modeling – Keep schemas flexible for future use cases.
Caching and CDNs – Deliver static content globally for speed.
Accessibility first – Use semantic tags, alt text, and proper headings.
Analytics integration – Add Google Analytics or Plausible for insights.
Version control for content – Sanity supports structured revisions; use it for rollback safety.

Power Your CMS with Next.js and Sanity Today!

The Way Forward

By combining Next.js with Sanity, Strapi, or Contentful, developers can build a future-proof blog that is:

Fast (thanks to SSG and ISR)
Scalable (API-first model allows reuse across web, mobile, and beyond)
SEO-optimized (clean URLs, meta tags, and structured content)
Developer-friendly (modern frameworks, flexible APIs, CI/CD ready)
Content team friendly (editors manage content independently)

Whether you’re a startup, an agency, or an enterprise, the combination of Next.js + headless CMS ensures your blog remains relevant, efficient, and adaptable in the fast-changing digital world.