August 2021 Summaries

The new version of Strapi's Live Demo, FoodAdvisor V2, has been released, featuring significant updates aimed at demonstrating Strapi's full potential. The front-end has been rebuilt using Next.js, replacing the previous React implementation, to enhance performance and SEO capabilities. The new demo includes improved content architecture with more components and Dynamic Zones, allowing for better content flexibility and structure. It now supports full localization of the front-end and introduces features like content preview and scheduling via Strapi's cron system. These enhancements aim to provide a comprehensive showcase of Strapi's capabilities, inviting users to explore its open-source flexibility for creating robust web applications.

In a rapidly evolving digital landscape, content modeling has emerged as a critical practice for organizations aiming to deliver flexible and responsive content across multiple platforms. This approach involves defining content types and their relationships, enabling content to be reused and adapted for various channels without being tied to a specific presentation layer, unlike traditional content management systems. The atomic content structure, which breaks down content into its smallest components, facilitates this flexibility, allowing organizations to assemble content dynamically to suit different delivery platforms. A headless CMS further enhances this adaptability by decoupling content from its presentation layer, supporting omnichannel delivery through APIs. By fostering collaboration among stakeholders like developers and content creators, a robust content model can optimize customer experiences by providing the right content at the right time. Strapi, with its support for atomic content structure, simplifies the creation and management of content models and APIs, empowering organizations to efficiently serve their audiences across diverse digital environments.

The article provides a comprehensive guide on creating a custom API endpoint using Strapi, with a focus on integrating it with a NextJs frontend to develop a basic version of a gaming statistics site similar to op.gg. It details the steps to establish a Strapi backend, including setting up a project, defining custom routes, creating controllers and services to fetch data from Riot Games' API, and incorporating GraphQL for efficient data querying. The tutorial emphasizes using GraphQL to request only necessary data, enhancing application performance and scalability. Additionally, it covers the setup of a NextJs frontend, highlighting the creation of reusable components and queries to render gaming statistics. The article is aimed at developers interested in web development and data integration, providing insights into combining Strapi and NextJs for building dynamic web applications.

The author, who was hired as the first salesperson at Strapi in November 2020, shares their experiences and insights on how to effectively align sales and engineering teams. They emphasize the importance of respect for the product, understanding trade-offs, and submitting ideas to the Product Team for verification. The author also highlights the value of taking time to explain the product to salespeople, sharing knowledge, and creating a "cross-team hub" to share goals, decisions, and information, which empowers both sales and engineering teams with a vision. By showing gratefulness to their teammates and sharing daily inspiration, salespeople can create positive vibes and transmit daily insights to engineers, ultimately leading to successful outcomes.

npx create-strapi-app my-project` is a command to create a new Strapi project. Content management systems (CMS) have been at the forefront of content creation for nearly two decades, but they've evolved over time. New technologies have introduced changes in how CMSs are used, and some CMSs have decoupled where the content is managed from where it's displayed. To achieve better performance, higher reliability, greater security, and the freedom to display content wherever and however you want, you may need to move to a headless CMS. Headless CMSs can be either Git-based or API-driven. Git-based CMSs are built on the Git version control system (VCS) and allow easy management of content through Git functionalities. API-first CMSs work as unified pieces of software serving content through an Application Programming Interface (API). Each type of headless CMS offers benefits and drawbacks, with pros and cons varying greatly between them. The benefits of powering a CMS through Git include flexibility in content formatting, but also more responsibilities like handling SEO optimizations yourself. On the other hand, API-first CMSs offer scalability, flexibility for future planning, and access to opportunities that aren't possible with Git. However, they drive higher reliance on developers, are more closed, and come with higher costs. Static websites, e-commerce sites, multi-platform products, and content federation are some use cases where headless CMSs can make a huge difference in content creation and management.

The text discusses implementing a preview feature in the Strapi admin using Next.js as the front-end application. The author of the article, Maxime, explains how to create a custom component that generates a random GIF button and injects it into the Strapi admin. He provides step-by-step instructions on how to implement this feature, including creating a new plugin, injecting components, and building a custom URL for previewing content. The article also mentions the importance of flexibility in adapting Strapi to meet specific front-end application needs.

To create a simple hotel booking system using Strapi, first install Strapi by running `npx create-strapi-app my-project --quickstart` or `yarn create strapi-app my-project --quickstart`. Then, configure the backend API and database. Next, create a Nuxt.js project to build the frontend application. Install necessary packages such as `@nuxtjs/auth-next` for authentication and `@nuxtjs/strapi` for integrating Strapi with Nuxt.js. Build components such as the login, logout, and add guest pages. Integrate email functionality using Nodemailer to send emails to guests upon booking. The system allows users to add new guests, check them in and out, and receive notifications when a new booking is made.

In this update, Strapi wrapped up its second webinar on API specifications with Postman, covering content types, OpenAPI specification, and the complete tool-chain for building mock servers and testing with Postman. The webinars are available to view on both Strapi's website and Postman's website, offering resources for those looking to learn how to get the most out of Postman with GraphQL and other APIs. Shada, Program Manager at Strapi, shared a bit about herself outside of work, including her interests in painting, basketball, and traveling.

Here is a summary of the text in 1 paragraph: To create pages on the fly with Strapi and Next.js, start by creating a Strapi project using `npx create-strapi-app my-project`. Define your page fields, including localization, and enable Dynamic Zones to dynamically include components. Create a Next.js application and define useful functions for rendering pages, such as `getStrapiURL` and `getData`. Build the BlockManager component to render dynamic zones, including hero and pricing components. Add a pricing page with repeatable pricingCards and perks components. With this setup, you can create pages on the fly by adding or removing Dynamic Zones, making it easy to customize your website's content without requiring extensive coding knowledge.

This tutorial provides a comprehensive guide on developing a quiz application using Strapi as the backend server and Angular for the frontend. Strapi, an open-source headless CMS, simplifies backend API creation by generating APIs and offering an admin panel to manage content types, significantly reducing development time. The tutorial details setting up Strapi, creating content types for quizzes and questions, and integrating them with Angular. The Angular app consists of modules for core functionalities, data models, and features, enabling users to view available quizzes, answer questions, and receive a score. The application is styled using ng-bootstrap and involves setting up routing for different pages. By the end of the tutorial, readers will have built a functional quiz app that can serve quizzes from a Strapi API and display results, enhancing their understanding of integrating Strapi with Angular applications.

The Strapi team is launching a new marketplace called Market.strapi.io, which will provide a structured ecosystem for finding and installing plugins and integrations for the open-source content management framework Strapi. The marketplace aims to make it easy for users to find what they need, with features such as a centralized list of plugins, links to GitHub and npm pages for support and contribution, and an analytic dashboard for plugin creators. The platform will initially offer free plugins, but plans to introduce monetization options in the future. The Strapi team is working on improving technical and design documentation, setting up a validation process, and enhancing the user experience through a new Plugin API and Design system.

The creator of the project invites users to create their first Strapi project by running `npx create-strapi-app my-project`. The Jamstack ecosystem has been covered in a series of webinars, including Modern Search Solutions. A webinar on implementing search experiences into Jamstack apps was attended by Charlotte Vermandel from MeiliSearch and Daniel, with a video recording and Q&A session available for those who missed it. Users seeking to store the Strapi JWT securely in an app using Flutter are directed to packages such as `flutter_secure_storage`. To add a dynamic zone under a component, users must manually modify the JSON file holding model settings due to performance limitations of Content Type Builder. The creator also shares some personal information about Shada, Program Manager at Strapi.

The detailed tutorial outlines the process of building a voice recorder service using a Strapi backend and a React Native frontend. The guide begins with instructions on setting up a Strapi application, including database configuration and modeling application data with content types through the Strapi Admin dashboard. Users learn to enable GraphQL API and perform file uploads via GraphQL. The tutorial then shifts to creating a React Native mobile application using the Expo CLI, demonstrating how to connect it to the Strapi GraphQL API. Key functionalities such as user authentication, voice recording, and data storage are implemented with the help of various libraries, including Apollo Client for GraphQL operations and AsyncStorage for token management. The tutorial concludes with building navigation screens for the mobile application, allowing users to create accounts, log in, and manage their voice recordings. The entire process is documented with code snippets and explanations, providing a comprehensive guide for developers looking to integrate similar functionality into their applications.

Creating a full-fledged e-commerce website is a complex task that requires expertise in various areas of software development, including frontend and backend development, database management, security, and performance optimization. In this tutorial, we rebuilt the MDN Express local library website using Strapi and NextJS, two popular frameworks for building web applications. We installed Strapi with MongoDB locally, customized our API endpoint to our needs, created a NextJS app, and communicated with our API to perform CRUD operations using NextJS built-in functionality and environment variables to deploy our application to Heroku and Vercel.

The text discusses creating a headless CMS solution using Strapi, an open-source Node.js-based platform. It explains the concept of headless CMS systems and how they can be used for various applications such as e-commerce and content management. The article then focuses on building a tailored headless CMS solution using Strapi, covering topics like GraphQL, schema customization, and mutation resolvers.

The tutorial explains how to create a desktop quiz application using Next.js and Strapi, a headless CMS that allows content management through RESTful or GraphQL APIs. Strapi is fully customizable and JavaScript-based, enabling developers to focus on building applications without backend concerns. The guide walks through setting up a Strapi application using a quiz template, creating content types, and exposing a public API endpoint to access quizzes. It further details building a desktop application using Nextron, a framework for creating Next.js-based desktop apps, and incorporating TailwindCSS for styling. The process includes creating a home page to display quizzes, setting up dynamic routing for individual quizzes, and implementing state management to track user progress and scores. The application allows navigation between quiz questions and displays the user's score upon completion, with suggestions for future enhancements like result persistence and user management.

Creating a localized website is crucial for global success as it allows businesses to appeal to customers in different cultures by presenting content that resonates with them. To achieve this, one must appreciate the cultural differences across various regions and tailor their content accordingly. This includes using local keywords, phrases, and backlinks, revising SEO strategies, and utilizing native languages. Additionally, businesses should consider factors such as currency, tax rates, and numeric formats to ensure a smooth user experience. Effective localization also involves testing for cultural relevance, monitoring performance, and using language management systems to track results. By following these best practices, businesses can build websites that do not discriminate and appreciate cultural differences, ultimately leading to increased sales and product success in different locations.