August 2020 Summaries

This edition of the community digest highlights various innovative projects and contributions from the Sanity community, showcasing the creative use of technology and problem-solving skills. Notable projects include Kevin McAloon's successful replacement of GraphQL with GROQ in Gatsby, enhancing site functionality; Jon Espen's development of a custom input for managing Cloudinary sound file metadata; and Tablet Magazine's launch of a new site using Sanity, built by Sanctuary Computer, focusing on improved editor experience. The digest also features Cameron Chamberlain's Fieldwork plugin for identifying schema inconsistencies, Kristoffer Brabrand's Foodsteps app for food education with dynamic recipe adjustments, and Maxime's Mask DIY app, which utilizes client-side machine learning for creating protective face masks. Additionally, the community is encouraged to join the Sanity Community Slack to share projects and seek assistance.

Simen Svale Skogsrud and Knut Melvær from Sanity.io were featured on the Google Cloud Platform Podcast to discuss the evolution of Sanity.io and the current landscape of content management systems. The conversation was hosted by Max Saltonstall and Mark Mirchandani, and listeners can find the episode by searching for the "Google Cloud Platform Podcast" on their preferred podcast platform.

Sanity Studio has introduced a new feature called Presence, which enables users to view and collaborate with teammates in real-time within the platform, enhancing the collaborative experience by preventing issues such as overwriting and locking. This update also allows users to integrate Presence into custom components by utilizing extension points and the Presence API, with documentation and community support available for assistance. Additionally, this release marks a shift from using Event Stream and HTTP requests to Web Sockets for API consumption, aiming to reduce the number of API requests made by the Studio.

10Clouds undertook a strategic migration of their website from WordPress to a Jamstack architecture using Sanity as their CMS, aiming to enhance editorial autonomy, improve performance, and maintain SEO integrity. This transition enabled content managers to independently create and edit pages, a significant shift from their previous dependence on developers for non-blog content changes. The choice of Sanity was driven by its flexibility, cost-effectiveness, and the ease it provided in defining content structures without the need for self-hosting, while Storybook was utilized to simplify the creation of new pages by content managers through a library of reusable components. The migration resulted in a more efficient content management system, a faster website, and a 25% increase in traffic, validating the decision to adopt Sanity. Future plans involve further enhancing content managers' capabilities to independently edit and expand the website, building on the success and efficiency achieved so far, while a tool developed during the migration to ease blog post transfers has been open-sourced for public use.

The community digest highlights a series of diverse projects and updates within the Sanity ecosystem, covering website launches, portfolio creations, and innovative integrations. Projects include the new MIT Digital Humanities website, a developer portfolio by Adam Chipperfield, Ademusoyo's blog, and a changelog for Linear.app, all utilizing Sanity's capabilities to enhance user experience and content management. The digest also mentions the addition of new team members and acknowledges community support. Notable projects feature unique approaches to web development, such as using Sanity for e-commerce, creating a form builder, and migrating from WordPress to improve site accessibility and SEO. Various creatives and developers have shared their experiences and satisfaction with Sanity's flexibility and support, demonstrating its effectiveness in managing structured content across a range of applications from personal portfolios to professional agency sites.