September 2021 Summaries

"Creating multilingual applications requires internationalization and localization techniques to reach a broader audience. Internationalization involves building products that support multiple languages, while localization focuses on adapting content for specific regions or countries. Strapi, a leading open-source headless CMS, offers customizable solutions for managing and localizing content with its plugin. Flutter, another popular library, also supports internationalization with features like plurals and number-and-date formatting. Ionic and React libraries provide additional options for developers to create multilingual applications. By implementing these techniques, developers can increase their product's global reach and accessibility."

StrapiConf, a global user conference for the Strapi community, is set to take place virtually on March 16-17, 2022, following the success of the previous year’s event which attracted over 5,000 participants from more than 100 countries. This year's conference promises to be larger and more engaging, featuring a two-day agenda that includes in-depth technical sessions, networking opportunities, and keynotes from industry leaders on the first day, followed by hands-on workshops on the second day. It aims to connect users, customers, and contributors from the Strapi ecosystem, as well as partners from the Jamstack and open-source communities, to share knowledge and best practices. The event will cover topics such as the latest V4 release, marketplace updates, and trends in the Headless CMS industry, all while utilizing a new event platform for enhanced interaction. Pre-registration is open, and the call for papers has been announced for those interested in contributing talks, with the program manager, Shada, expressing excitement about the upcoming event.

The fourth webinar in a series hosted by Daniel Phiri, a Developer Relations professional at Strapi, featured Srushtika Neelakantam, Developer Relations and Partner Engineer at Ably, as a guest. This interactive one-hour session focused on dispelling the myth that Jamstack sites are limited to static content, demonstrating how tools like Ably can be utilized to incorporate real-time data capabilities into Jamstack projects. The event saw significant engagement, with over 140 registrants, 45 attendees, and the exchange of more than 100 messages, including five questions. Participants who missed the live session can access a full recording, and the audience is encouraged to stay informed about future webinars by subscribing to Strapi's newsletter or following them on Twitch. Shada, the Program Manager at Strapi, has a diverse range of interests, including computers, painting, basketball, and traveling.

Jamstack is a modern web development architecture that emphasizes better performance through prebuilt markup, JavaScript, and reusable APIs, offering a faster and more secure alternative to traditional web development. It involves using static site generators like Gatsby and Next.js to create static assets served via CDNs, which enhances scalability and reduces server-side vulnerabilities. A key component of Jamstack is the use of headless CMSs, such as Strapi, which allows developers to manage content efficiently while integrating seamlessly with the architecture. Strapi, an open-source headless CMS, enables easy API management and integrates well with various static site generators, allowing developers to use familiar tools and frameworks. Jamstack's approach allows for rapid deployment, atomic deployments to ensure consistency, and easy collaboration through Git, making it simple to build, maintain, and scale websites without being tied to specific infrastructure. Features like webhooks and branch deployments further streamline the development process, enabling real-time updates and collaboration across teams.

The tutorial provides a comprehensive guide for building a REST API using Strapi and integrating it with a Next.js application to manage and generate invoices. It starts with setting up a Strapi project, creating an invoice collection with various field types, and configuring roles and permissions to allow data access from the Next.js app. The frontend is developed using Next.js and styled with Tailwind CSS, featuring a form interface for entering invoice details which are dynamically managed using React's useState and useReducer hooks. The tutorial covers functionalities such as adding, removing, and calculating total invoice items, and demonstrates how to send invoice data to the backend using Axios, as well as generating printable invoices. The complete code is available on GitHub, and the tutorial emphasizes the ease and power of using Strapi for backend development.

Strapi is a headless CMS that acts as a centralized content hub, enabling efficient management and publication of content across multiple channels while supporting both multichannel and omnichannel strategies. Multichannel publishing focuses on distributing content through various independent channels to maximize reach, whereas omnichannel publishing creates a seamless, integrated user experience across all platforms. By using Strapi, content creators can manage content as structured components, allowing updates to be easily propagated across all channels, reducing errors and ensuring consistency. This approach is particularly beneficial for mobile platforms, which have seen a significant increase in usage, requiring content to be adaptable to various devices and future technological advancements. Strapi's modular content structure offers flexibility, enabling businesses to deliver personalized, cross-channel experiences while leveraging analytical insights to optimize their content strategy and enhance customer engagement.

The text provides a comprehensive overview of using Strapi and Laravel together to manage data and build web applications. Strapi, a headless content management system based on Node.js, and Laravel, a PHP web framework, are described as complementary technologies that can be integrated to create efficient systems. The guide outlines the process of setting up Strapi to manage data through its graphical user interface and then connecting it to a Laravel application using the laravel-strapi package. This integration allows for seamless data management and distribution, with Laravel serving as the front-end interface. The tutorial includes detailed instructions on setting up projects, creating and managing database schemas, and ensuring data accessibility for public users. It concludes by emphasizing the ease of use and security benefits provided by these technologies, highlighting their potential for further customization and application development.

Localizing a website for international markets can be complex, requiring expertise in language, culture, and legal aspects, but using a content management system like Strapi can streamline the process. Strapi's Internationalization plugin and Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) feature facilitate content management across different locales, allowing for the creation, modification, and standardization of content while maintaining security. Effective localization involves not only translating content but also adapting it culturally and contextually, which can be achieved by preparing localization kits, involving local experts, and ensuring content adheres to market-specific preferences such as currency, calendar, and measurement units. The process includes the roles of managers, localizers, and reviewers, who collaborate to ensure content meets the standards of each target market. Strapi's features allow businesses to expand globally by integrating translation workflows, managing user permissions, and ensuring that localized content doesn't affect other markets, ultimately strengthening brand presence and increasing market reach.

Daniel Phiri, a Developer Relations professional at Strapi, recently hosted an interactive webinar with Tamas Piros, a Developer Experience Engineer at Cloudinary, focusing on Performant Media Management within the Jamstack framework. The session provided insights into optimizing CMS assets to enhance the performance of web applications. The event saw 80 registrants, over 30 attendees, and generated more than 80 messages and two questions. The webinar is available for viewing, and Strapi encourages those interested in future events to join their newsletter and follow them on Twitch. Shada, a Program Manager at Strapi with a passion for technology, painting, basketball, and traveling, is also part of the team.

A headless CMS is a backend-only content management system that acts as a content repository, storing data in JSON format via RESTful or GraphQL APIs. It provides omnichannel control, allowing developers to work with their preferred tools and technologies, and has a low learning curve for content teams. Headless CMS also offers security benefits, such as lower risk of malware attacks, and enables faster delivery of content to new channels. When choosing a headless CMS, consider factors like productivity, security certifications, templates and themes, internationalization support, API documentation, plugin creation capabilities, image optimization, authentication, tech ecosystem support, open-source options, SDKs, data center locations, customer support, cost implications, e-commerce integrations, scalability, and system development. By considering these factors, you can make informed decisions and reduce the risks involved in choosing a headless CMS that meets your business needs.

The article introduces Deno, a new JavaScript and TypeScript runtime by the original creator of Node.js, Ryan Dahl. It explains how to replace Node.js with Deno in Strapi projects using ES Modules (ESM) support and Deno Deploy, a serverless service that allows for out-of-the-box support for TypeScript and ES Modules. The tutorial guides users through creating a new Strapi app, setting up the environment, and deploying it to Deno Deploy, resulting in a static server-side React web app with minimal code. The article highlights Deno's features, including its ability to manage dependencies with first-class support for ES Modules, and Deno Deploy's capabilities as a serverless HTTP server that translates HTTP requests into FetchEvents and forwards them to the listener function.

The article explores the integration of the headless CMS Strapi with a Git version control workflow, focusing on the use of GitHub flow, which balances simplicity and robust collaboration. It begins by guiding users through the Strapi setup process using NPM and npx, emphasizing the importance of choosing the right Git workflow to avoid common pitfalls like bugs in the main branch. The text explains how Strapi's configuration and routing files, written in JSON and JavaScript, facilitate straightforward version control, unlike many other CMS platforms. It highlights the ease of collaboration through pull requests and reviews, and the ability to manage different environments with Strapi's configuration files. The article concludes by noting the benefits of Strapi's open and flexible structure for DevOps enthusiasts like the author, who appreciates working with diverse technologies.

Strapi, a popular open-source headless CMS, is transitioning to a new subscription model based on the number of admin users, which aligns with user feedback indicating that per-user pricing is more predictable and fair. The Bronze plan has no minimum user requirement, while the Silver plan requires at least five users to cover customer support costs. This change, effective September 2, 2021, aims to make Strapi more affordable for smaller teams, with existing customers given a transition period and potential discounts for larger teams with more than ten admin users. While Strapi continues to grow its customer base, including major companies like IBM and Toyota, its focus remains on empowering the broader community by offering significant features such as Content Internationalization for free in the Community Edition. The company anticipates future revenue growth from a hosted version of Strapi, while continuing to support the open-source project and expanding features in the Enterprise Edition, focusing on content collaboration, security, and analytics.

To integrate Shopify into a Strapi website, start by creating a new Strapi project using the `npx create-strapi-app` command, then run `npm run develop` to launch the admin dashboard. Create a new collection type named "Product" and add fields for product name, description, image, and shopifyID. Allow public users to view products by their ID and set up a private Shopify store account with API access. Install the `shopify-api-node` package to connect Strapi to Shopify's API. Modify the `findOne` controller function to retrieve product metadata using Shopify's API details. Create a product entry in Strapi that matches the product from Shopify, then publish it to see the integrated metadata.