Headless + static is a common build and deployment architecture for fast, secure and scalable experiences. Yet, while working with this stack offers incredible potential for performance and dev ease, the content preview process becomes more complicated. For many integrated CMS solutions, visual editing and preview links come standard, enabling project editors to know exactly how their envisioned content will appear on the front end. Yet in a headless + static world, this process has to change. One needs to render one way to ensure that content teams feel comfortable and empowered to do their work, even if the final product is in an entirely different render state than what they’re able to see.
The Static Architecture Preview Problem
Static site generators (SSGs) Next.js, for example, pertain to a static architecture because they pre-render the site at build time, but this can introduce a lag in seeing new content that hinders editorial work. Static builds that are pre-rendered create lightning-fast sites. However, if editors want to see content that’s unpublished in preview, there’s no way to see it on the live site without rebuilding after assessment. This can hinder editorial work, whether items are constantly approved and need to be seen in context or merely hopping around to avoid needing to guess and potentially editing blindly or waiting for developers to confirm post-edit. When choosing a headless CMS, it’s critical to consider how well it supports real-time preview workflows and integrates with SSGs to bridge the gap between performance and editorial usability.
The Solution for Dynamic Rendering/Previewing with Demand
Yet there is dynamic, real-time render previewing for many architectures and SSG frameworks. For example, Next.js has it’s own preview mode functionality, allowing for API routes to be constructed that circumvent the static rendering and render drafted content from the headless CMS directly onto the live frontend. This means editors don’t need to wait for a rebuild but can see their changes as they’re making them directly on the pages. By setting up the actions properly, for example, clicking “preview” in the CMS can hit an authenticated request that allows them to view the page while on the page and only for their session without changing the production site for everyone else.
The Frontend Token Advantage
However, the successful execution of this preview operation comes down to integration with the CMS so the connection knows whether or not the content is published or drafted. In other words, passing a preview token/preview API through incoming requests should allow for editors to see their drafts. Developers must set the frontend to allow for this behavior, for it must have access to conditional rendering based on what is received. Therefore, states must be set for whether or not this is viewed in preview mode, which can filter access to content through a different draft query. Some integrations will be easier than others; Contentful and Sanity are two that have authentic draft content APIs readily available.
Preview Access Security in a Headless Workflow
Where there are previews, there is potential access to content that should not be viewed. Generally, draft pages might host any type of content that shouldn’t leave the developer team; therefore, access to preview pages, etc., should be locked down via tokens, role equity, and sessions. Developers must prevent spidering previews or access by nefarious users. Thus, session cookies for a short period of time, preview tokens, encryption and/or access rights via the CMS should be put in place so that only authorized/dev teams can view pages for assessment.
Editor Access/Experience Between CMS and Preview
It’s crucial for an editor to have access to the preview as a non-dev; it’s also essential that editors understand how to view and leverage previews as well. This means access needs to come from the CMS with a subsequent link to the preview that allows the editor to re-enter back the site where they were just at with scroll-to-section functionality or some other highlights. This is especially useful for long-form articles or extensive landing pages compiled of many different modular pieces. The easier an editor can find their way back to where their content lives (whether scrolling down an article or locked currently within a modular block amongst many other blocks), the more confidence they’ll get in the content and quicker they can execute QA in page previews.
Previewing for Localization and Personalization
Many sites don’t simply have one content output; they change based on the market/audience need. Certain content may need to be previewed from different geo locations with translations or reviewed via specific audience types through “personalization.” Therefore, the ability to pass query parameters through the preview URL or allow a URL implementation that can make such diversions needs to happen. Everything that would occur when content goes live, should happen in preview to avoid issues like how something looks in one market and looks completely different in another.
Why It Works for Us Incremental Static Regeneration as a Happy Medium
For in-the-know teams on select frameworks like Next.js, Incremental Static Regeneration (ISR) serves as a happy medium between static output performance and real-time static content adjustment. Developers can configure the site so that it re-renders individual pages should it be requested while serving cached static pages in the majority of cases. Coupled with preview mode, ISR allows the content team to publish and/or preview adjustments within seconds without needing a full site-wide rebuild and should one page or the other need rebuilds, it won’t affect any other published pages. For large content teams who operate with adjustments on a daily basis, this is perfect.
How to Monitor and Debug the Preview Pipeline
Where there’s a preview pipeline, there needs to be monitoring to ensure it works and works properly; broken previews or delayed renders/changes after publication disillusion editors. Tracking previews called, counting API response time to determine how long a preview takes to register (before rendering), tracking error states and failures render afford a team the opportunity to troubleshoot when necessary. Alternatively, rendering warnings and error pages on the frontend give editors a heads up when something has gone wrong, providing enough detail for the editor to explain what’s broken (or what never worked in the first place) to the development team for assistance.
When Your Team Grows Scaling Preview Workflows Across Teams and Projects
When branding efforts grow, so do contributors and content types that desire exposure across more deployment ecosystems. A preview system must be scalable to allow multiple teams to work on different pieces concurrently without overriding each other. This may come in the form of multiple staging areas, role-based preview access, etc. project-specific routing logic, etc. Documentation and configuration scripts that automate everything can quickly make changes project-over-project standardized which saves time in the long run as well as ensures consistency across brands/business units.
Preview Workflows Specific to Content Type
Content doesn’t always function the same way and preview needs change based on content type. For instance, a blog entry is probably fine to only see in full page preview; yet a more modular page made of dynamic components may need several blocks to be brought together in a layout. Therefore, developers need to adopt a fluid logic for such integrations that compile differently depending upon what is being edited. Such a system remains true to what is ultimately being published and allows editors to feel confident in their evaluations without further back-and-forth to ensure they know what’s happening.
Preview Workflows Relative to Approval Workflows
Preview capabilities need to exist as part of the overall content experience, especially where content approval workflows exist. For instance, if there is an approval step to finalize something in the CMS or a task board for edited content with a means for data compilation, being able to link previews from these opportunities allows for access never before seen. Custom Task/Approvals systems or Trello, Asana and Jira can benefit from integrated preview experiences, which allow for the most contextual review and content approval at the time of deadline. This improves the quality of governance and efficiency.
Advantage of Being Able to Preview the Product Page in a Headless Commerce Universe
When working within a headless CMS structure with Static Site Generators, being able to preview product detail pages beforehand benefits merchandisers, marketers, and content developers, alike. Product pages don’t stand alone as arbitrary pieces of content; they are the final products of respective dynamic offerings powered by data content management pieces (product description, product name, specs, SEO tags) blended with other systems reliant upon real-time influx powered by pricing on the commerce platform, real-time qualities, customer feedback and ratings, referrals from outside recommendation engines (PIMs, CRMs) and beyond.
Because much of the data won’t even be stored in the same place, it’s complicated to preview because the rendering has to access appropriate content/data points in real-time to simulate almost like production the view a customer would receive in real-time access to the product detail page. This means merchandisers and marketers will need to view not only copy and pictures but pricing changes due to geo/localization factors, in-situ promotions indicating discount accumulations, availability based on size and color selection, shipping estimates based upon zip code and vendor estimates, and real-time badges for low in-stock or newly added to catalog items.
Previewing allows teams managing geographically-based campaigns, time-sensitive contests, and other localized or storefront specific experiences the opportunity to see how products would function in various scenarios (for inventory and promotional opportunities) before anything goes live. It’s the last checkpoint that acts as quality assurance prior to going live.
Therefore, the enablement of preview options makes it easier for merchandising and marketing teams to sanction new/additional shopping experiences, any layout or potential exclusions (fields that didn’t render/integrate) without having transparent development assessment occur every single step. Over time, this fosters efficiencies for expedited time-to-market for product uploads, decreased likelihood of going live errors (and costly fixes) and greater ability to go live and make corrections more quickly. As commerce continues to fragment into an API-driven commerce match-making network, access to such rich previews within the structure helps make daily functioning of digital commerce that much easier.
Educating Content Teams on Preview Capabilities
It doesn’t matter how robust a preview system is; without the content teams trained to use them effectively, it will fail. Upon releasing a formal preview, organizations should have documentation, video walkthroughs, and live presentations on how to enter preview mode, what the preview pages indicate and what will happen if certain pages or images do not appear. Training is valuable for onboarding and when products are refreshed to ensure utilization. When editors feel confident in a preview system, they’re more invested in the content creation process, create high-quality content, and spend less developer time on validation.
Conclusion: Making Previews an Editorial Priority
Being able to preview content with static site generators connected to a headless CMS requires extensive architecture, logistics, and collaboration between dev and editorial teams. Static Site Generators have a beautiful architecture and performance efficiencies that cannot be matched from charged load times to low server costs to increased security but these bonus features come at a cost, particularly regarding seamless content creation. Editors need the ability, instantly, to see how their content will render and behave on the front-end when working within many headless CMS systems. If they don’t have it, published content could be unusable, misaligned, or ineffective, especially with modular/alternative configurations.
The best preview solutions address the needs of both parties. For developers, it must be secure, scalable, and manageable. For editors, it must be fluid, instantaneous, and dimensional rendering something into reality as not published yet in draft state made possible through preview APIs, rendering logic for in-the-moment previews, and access control measures via roles based on authentication tokens that ensure no unfinished work goes public.
If organizations have the funds to develop extensive, real-time preview functionality via token-based authentication, dynamic routing, and contextual linking while previewing, they have an editorial utopia. Editors can adjust content and approve it, having instant access without waiting on a full build or staging push. It decreases turnaround time and increases trust across teams while allowing for a more agile publishing process.
When successful, preview options take the static nature of static site generators and transform them into a preview palooza they create bridges between backend functionality and frontend usability, making once-headless CMS solutions the platform that truly empowers editors with no sacrifice on scalable coding benefits. Ultimately, it makes the whole solution faster, smarter, and more valuable for digital teams that evolve on a continuous basis.