Rolling a Custom Docs CMS with Slate and Django REST Framework

In 2019, Stream faced challenges with its outdated and difficult-to-update documentation for Feeds and Chat, prompting a search for a modern content management system (CMS) that could support multi-language code, real-time collaboration, and white-label functionality. After exploring various CMS options like Contentful, Django CMS, and GitBook, none fully met their needs until they discovered Slate, a customizable framework built with React that allowed them to create a robust CMS tailored to their requirements. By leveraging Slate's plugin ecosystem and integrating it with Django REST Framework for the backend, Stream successfully developed a functional and visually appealing CMS featuring real-time collaboration, custom editor blocks, and advanced content serialization. This innovative solution enabled seamless documentation updates and improved team collaboration, showcasing the potential of Slate for building custom CMS platforms.