Building a Tech Conference Platform with Storyblok and AI

This is a submission for the Storyblok Challenge

What I Built

I built a modern tech conference platform that demonstrates the power of headless CMS architecture combined with AI-powered content generation. The platform uses Storyblok and Vue.js to create a dynamic website for technology conferences, showcasing real-time content management and seamless integration between a headless CMS and a modern frontend framework.

The project solves common problems with traditional conference websites:

• Rigid content management that requires technical knowledge
• Slow update cycles that can't keep up with changing event details
• Manual content creation that's time-consuming and error-prone
• Poor developer experience with tightly coupled frontend and backend

Key features include:

• 🎯 Headless CMS Architecture: Complete separation of content management and presentation
• 🤖 AI-Powered Content: Generate conference details using Amazon Bedrock's Nova Premier model
• 🔐 Secure Authentication: AWS Cognito integration with signup/login functionality
• 📱 Modern Frontend: Responsive Vue.js application with real-time updates
• ☁️ Cloud-Native: Built on AWS Amplify Gen2 with serverless architecture
• 📊 Real Data: Fetches actual AWS Summit events from live APIs
• ⚡ Fast Development: One-command setup and deployment

Architecture Overview

┌─────────────────┐    ┌──────────────────┐    ┌─────────────────┐
│   Vue.js App    │    │   Storyblok CMS  │    │  AWS Backend    │
│                 │    │                  │    │                 │
│ • Admin Panel   │◄──►│ • Content Mgmt   │    │ • Cognito Auth  │
│ • Public Site   │    │ • Real-time API  │    │ • Lambda + AI   │
│ • Auth System   │    │ • Visual Editor  │    │ • Bedrock Nova  │
└─────────────────┘    └──────────────────┘    └─────────────────┘

Demo

🔑 Login Credentials (for Admin - Storyblok Headless CMS Management and AI Generation):
• URL: http://storyblok.viaan.tech
• Username: [e-mail]
• Password: DemoUser123!

Storyblok Space:

https://app.storyblok.com/#!/me/spaces/285427027016038

Code Repository:

https://github.com/awsdataarchitect/tech-conference-demo

Demo Screenshots

Tech Stack

• Frontend: Vue.js 3 with Composition API and Vue Router
• CMS: Storyblok Headless CMS with Visual Editor
• Authentication: AWS Cognito with enterprise-grade security
• AI: Amazon Bedrock (Nova Premier model) for content generation
• Serverless Functions: AWS Lambda for secure AI integration
• Backend: AWS Amplify Gen2 with CDK TypeScript
• Deployment: AWS Amplify with automatic scaling
• Styling: Custom CSS with responsive design
• Real Data: AWS Summit API integration

Technical Implementation

Frontend: Vue.js 3

We chose Vue.js 3 for its:

• Composition API for better code organization
• Reactive system for real-time updates
• Component architecture for reusability
• Excellent developer experience

Key components include:

• AdminView.vue - Conference management interface with AI integration
• SummitCard.vue - Conference display component
• AuthService.js - Authentication handling with Cognito

Backend: AWS Amplify Gen2

AWS Amplify Gen2 provides:

• Serverless architecture with automatic scaling
• CDK TypeScript for infrastructure as code
• Integrated authentication with Cognito
• Lambda functions for AI integration

Content Management: Storyblok

Storyblok offers:

• Visual editor for non-technical users
• Component-based content for consistency
• Real-time API for instant updates
• Multi-environment support for development workflows

How I Used Storyblok

Storyblok served as the backbone of this project, providing a flexible and powerful content management system:

1. Custom Content Types: I created specialized components for conferences, speakers, and pages, allowing for structured content that's easy to manage.

2. Visual Editor: Content managers can see real-time previews of their changes, making it intuitive to update conference information without technical knowledge.

3. Content Delivery API: The frontend fetches content dynamically, ensuring users always see the most up-to-date information.

4. Management API for Initial Data Loading: I leveraged Storyblok's Management API to programmatically create content types and populate the CMS with initial conference data. This automation saved hours of manual content entry and ensured consistent data structure.

5. Webhooks: I set up webhooks to trigger builds when content changes, keeping the site fresh without manual intervention.

6. Multi-language Support: The architecture supports multiple languages, making it easy to create international conference sites.

7. Nested Components: I used nested components to create reusable content blocks, improving maintainability and consistency.

8. Asset Management: Storyblok's asset manager handles all images and media files, with automatic optimization for different devices.

AI Integration Deep Dive

The AI integration is the most innovative aspect of our platform. Here's how it works:

1. User Interaction

Users click "Prefill with AI" in the admin interface.

2. Lambda Function Execution

A secure Lambda function processes the request:

export const handler = async (event) => {
  const bedrock = new BedrockRuntimeClient({ region: 'us-east-1' });

  const response = await bedrock.send(new InvokeModelCommand({
    modelId: 'us.amazon.nova-premier-v1:0',
    body: JSON.stringify({
      messages: [{
        role: 'user',
        content: 'Generate a realistic tech conference with complete details...'
      }],
      max_tokens: 2000,
      temperature: 0.7
    })
  }));

  return JSON.parse(response.body);
};

3. AI Content Generation

Amazon Bedrock's Nova Premier model generates comprehensive conference data including:

• Title and description
• Start/End dates
• Location, country, and venue
• Technologies and tracks
• CFP deadline and status
• Registration URLs
• Keynote speakers
• Expected attendance

4. Human Review

The generated content is presented to users for review and editing.

5. Content Publishing

Approved content is saved to Storyblok and immediately available.

Real-World Data Integration

The platform doesn't just generate fake data - it integrates with real APIs:

// Fetch real AWS Summit data
const response = await fetch('https://aws.amazon.com/api/dirs/items/search');
const realConferences = await response.json();

This provides:

• Authentic content for demonstrations
• Real-world testing scenarios
• Immediate value for users

1. AI-Powered Conference Creation: I added a "Prefill with AI" button in the admin interface that generates complete conference details using Amazon Bedrock's Nova Premier model (us.amazon.nova-premier-v1:0). This feature dramatically speeds up the content creation process.

2. Enterprise-Grade Architecture: I implemented a secure, enterprise-grade architecture using:

   • AWS Amplify Gen2 for hosting and deployment using CDK TypeScript
   • Amazon Cognito for user authentication and authorization
   • AWS Lambda for secure, serverless execution of AI integration
   • Amazon Bedrock for AI content generation using Nova Premier model

3. Comprehensive Data Generation: The AI generates all required fields for a conference:

   • Title and description with realistic details
   • Start/End dates with proper formatting
   • Location, country, and venue information
   • Technologies and conference tracks
   • CFP deadline and status
   • URLs (CFP, website, registration)
   • Keynote speakers with backgrounds
   • Event highlights and key topics
   • Expected attendance numbers

4. Human-in-the-Loop Workflow: The AI generates the initial content, and humans review, edit, and approve before publishing, creating an efficient workflow that combines AI capabilities with human judgment.

5. Secure Authentication: The admin interface is protected by Amazon Cognito authentication, ensuring that only authorized users can access the AI features and content management.

Development Experience

One-Command Setup

We prioritized developer experience with a simple setup process:

# Clone and setup
git clone https://github.com/awsdataarchitect/tech-conference-demo.git
cd tech-conference-demo
cp .env.template .env
# Add your Storyblok credentials
./run.sh

Deployment Made Easy

Production deployment is equally simple:

# Deploy to production
./run.sh deploy

This command:

• Deploys the AWS backend using Amplify Gen2
• Builds the frontend for production
• Generates configuration files
• Provides hosting instructions

Performance and Security

Frontend Performance

• Code splitting for faster initial loads
• Lazy loading for images and components
• Caching strategies for API responses
• Responsive design for all devices

Backend Scalability

• Serverless architecture scales automatically
• CDN distribution for global performance
• Database optimization for fast queries
• Caching layers for frequently accessed data

Security Implementation

• AWS Cognito for enterprise-grade user management
• JWT tokens for secure API access
• CORS policies for cross-origin requests
• Input validation for all user data
• IAM roles with minimal permissions

Storyblok API for Initial Data Loading

One of the most powerful aspects of this project is how I used Storyblok's Management API to automate the initial setup and data loading:

1. Programmatic Content Type Creation: I wrote a script that uses the Management API to create all necessary content types (components) in Storyblok, ensuring consistent structure across environments.

2. Automated Data Population: The script fetches real conference data from external APIs and uses Storyblok's Management API to create entries for each conference, complete with all metadata.

3. Content Relationships: The script also establishes relationships between content pieces, such as linking conferences to their respective tracks and speakers.

4. One-Command Setup: This automation allows anyone to set up a complete, data-populated Storyblok space with a single command, making development and testing much more efficient.

Here's a snippet of how I used the Management API to create content:

// Create a conference entry in Storyblok
async function createConference(conferenceData) {
  try {
    const response = await storyblokClient.post(`/spaces/${spaceId}/stories`, {
      story: {
        name: conferenceData.title,
        slug: slugify(conferenceData.title),
        content: {
          component: 'conference',
          title: conferenceData.title,
          date_start: conferenceData.date_start,
          date_end: conferenceData.date_end,
          location: conferenceData.location,
          description: conferenceData.description,
          // Additional fields...
        }
      }
    });

    console.log(`Created conference: ${conferenceData.title}`);
    return response.data;
  } catch (error) {
    console.error(`Error creating conference: ${error.message}`);
    throw error;
  }
}

This approach demonstrates how Storyblok can be used not just as a CMS but as a complete content platform with powerful API capabilities.

Learnings and Takeaways

Building this project taught me several valuable lessons about headless CMS architecture, AI integration, and modern web development:

What Worked Well:

1. Headless Architecture: Provided the flexibility we needed for custom frontend experiences
2. AI Integration: Dramatically reduced content creation time from hours to minutes
3. Real-time Updates: Improved user experience significantly with instant content changes
4. Developer Experience: One-command setup was a game-changer for development workflow
5. Storyblok's API-first approach made it easy to create custom experiences while maintaining robust content management
6. Visual Editor: Game-changer for content management, accessible to non-technical team members
7. Management API: Invaluable for automating content setup and population

Challenges Overcome:

1. AWS SDK Compatibility: Required careful version management and dependency resolution
2. Authentication Flow: Needed custom handling for Amplify Gen2 integration
3. AI Prompt Engineering: Took iteration to get quality, consistent output
4. Build Configuration: Required optimization for production deployment
5. Finding the right balance between structured content and flexibility in content models
6. Performance optimization with real-time content updates required thoughtful caching strategies

Technical Insights:

• Amplify Gen2 uses "sandbox" deployment for backend resources, which is the correct approach
• AWS SDK v3 requires different import patterns compared to v2
• Vue.js component architecture provides excellent maintainability when properly structured
• Environment variable management is critical for multi-environment deployments
• AI-generated content maintains quality when combined with human oversight

Future Improvements:

1. Multi-language Support: Internationalization for global conferences
2. Advanced AI Features: More sophisticated content generation and analysis
3. Analytics Integration: Better insights into user behavior and content performance
4. Mobile App: Native mobile applications for better user experience
5. Performance Monitoring: Real-time performance metrics and optimization

I'm particularly proud of how the AI integration enhances the content creation workflow without replacing the human touch. The system generates high-quality initial content that editors can then refine, creating an efficient human-AI collaboration that leverages the strengths of both.

The combination of Storyblok's flexibility, Vue.js's developer experience, and AWS's scalable infrastructure created a platform that's both powerful for developers and intuitive for content creators. This project demonstrates the potential of modern web technologies when thoughtfully integrated.

Getting Started

Want to try it yourself? Here's how:

Prerequisites

• Node.js (v14+)
• AWS CLI configured
• Storyblok account

Quick Start

git clone https://github.com/awsdataarchitect/tech-conference-demo
cd tech-conference-demo
cp .env.template .env
# Add your Storyblok credentials to .env file
./run.sh

Visit http://localhost:8080 to see the frontend and http://localhost:8080/admin for the admin interface.

Deployment

./run.sh deploy

Then set up hosting using AWS Amplify Console or your preferred platform.

Key Features to Try

1. Browse Conferences: View real AWS Summit data on the homepage
2. Admin Interface: Sign up and access the admin panel
3. AI Generation: Click "Prefill with AI" to see content generation in action
4. Real-time Updates: Make changes in Storyblok and see them reflected immediately

Conclusion

Building this tech conference platform demonstrated the power of combining headless CMS architecture with AI-powered content generation. The result is a platform that's both powerful for developers and intuitive for content creators.

Key takeaways:

1. Headless CMS architecture provides unmatched flexibility
2. AI integration can dramatically improve content workflows
3. Developer experience should be a top priority
4. Real-world data makes demos more compelling
5. Security must be built in from the start

Whether you're building a conference platform, corporate website, or any content-driven application, the patterns and technologies demonstrated here provide a solid foundation for success.

Comments

[Dotallio]

Love how you've balanced AI automation with human review here - it makes the workflow both fast and trustworthy. Any tips for adapting this human-in-the-loop AI content system outside of conferences?