Default CMS editors work until they don’t. As products scale, teams often run into limitations around customization, workflow fit, and content control. Markdown-only editors solve some problems but create others, especially for non-technical users who need rich formatting and media support.
That’s why many teams choose to implement a CMS rich text editor tailored to their product. The goal isn’t to build an editor from scratch, but to create a custom blog editor that integrates cleanly with the CMS, the frontend, and real publishing workflows.
Key takeaways
A CMS rich text editor is not a monolithic feature. It’s a system composed of an editor layer, a CMS API, and a clear content workflow.
Building a custom blog editor does not mean writing an editor from scratch. It means assembling proven components in a way that fits your CMS and frontend architecture.
Clean, predictable HTML output is critical for long-term maintainability, previews, and content reuse across platforms.
The editor layer has a direct impact on author experience, content quality, and technical debt inside the CMS.
Choosing the right HTML editor software early simplifies integration, reduces edge cases, and keeps publishing workflows flexible as your product grows.
What “custom blog editor” really means
A “custom blog editor” doesn’t mean building a text editor from scratch. That would be slow, risky, and unnecessary. In practice, it means assembling a system where each part has a clear responsibility.
You start with an editor layer in the frontend. This is where authors write, format, and manage content. Next comes your CMS, which handles storing posts, managing metadata, and controlling access. Between them sits an API layer that moves content back and forth in a predictable way.
Content storage is another key decision. Most teams store blog content as HTML, sometimes alongside structured fields like titles, tags, or excerpts. Publishing workflows, drafts, previews, approvals are then built on top of that foundation.
This is where html editor software plays a critical role. It provides the editing experience without forcing you to build complex behavior yourself. Instead of solving cursor handling, formatting rules, or content sanitization, you focus on how content flows through your system.
The result is a custom editor experience, built from well-defined, reusable parts.
Core architecture of a CMS rich text editor
At a high level, a CMS rich text editor is made up of a few core components working together.
The editor lives in the frontend. It handles text input, formatting, embeds, and media interactions. As users write, the editor produces output, most commonly HTML, that represents the content in a portable format.
That output is sent to your CMS through an API. The CMS doesn’t need to understand how the content was created. It just stores and retrieves it. Alongside the main body, you’ll usually store structured fields such as titles, slugs, authors, and publish status.
Storage format matters. HTML is often the simplest choice because it renders easily on the frontend and works across different systems. Some CMSs use block-based or JSON formats, but those still need to be converted for display. Choosing a clean, predictable format early reduces complexity later.
Preview and publishing complete the loop. When an author edits an existing post, the CMS returns the saved content to the frontend, where it’s loaded back into the editor. Drafts, previews, and published versions are usually just different states of the same content.
When this loop is clean, everything else becomes easier to build.
Choosing the right HTML editor software
Once you understand the architecture, the editor layer becomes the most important decision. You need to consider the points below when choosing an HTML editor.
HTML output quality: The editor should generate clean, predictable markup that your CMS can store safely and your frontend can render without surprises.
Framework compatibility: Framework compatibility matters just as much. Whether you’re working in React, Vue, Angular, or a custom setup, the editor should integrate cleanly without forcing unusual patterns or heavy wrappers.
Plugin architecture: A strong plugin architecture is another signal of a production-ready editor. Image handling, embeds, tables, and custom content blocks shouldn’t require rewriting core logic.
Performance: A lightweight bundle and fast load time directly affect author experience, especially in large CMS interfaces.
Security and maintainability: Your content editor should have sanitization, updates, and long-term support.
Learn how Froala’s CMS rich text editor is designed for secure, high-performance content workflows.
Step-by-step: creating a custom blog editor connected to your CMS
Let’s walk through the steps involved in creating a custom blog editor and connecting it directly to your CMS.
Step 0: What we’re building
Before diving into code, it’s important to be clear about what this example actually demonstrates.
In this walkthrough, you’re building a custom blog editor that connects directly to a real CMS. Froala acts as the rich text editor layer in the frontend, while Strapi serves as the CMS and source of truth for storing and managing content.
The setup looks like this:
React frontend renders the editing interface
Froala provides the rich text editing experience
Strapi (REST API) stores blog posts and metadata
Blog content is saved and retrieved as HTML
The same content can be edited, saved, and reloaded without transformation issues
This mirrors how modern SaaS platforms, marketing sites, and headless CMS frontends handle content in production. The editor does not replace the CMS. Instead, it integrates cleanly with it, allowing each layer to focus on what it does best.
A complete, runnable example of this setup is available in the accompanying GitHub repository, which you can clone and run locally to follow along.
Step 1: Set up Strapi as the CMS
This guide uses Strapi with its REST API as the backend CMS.
Create the post content model
In Strapi, create a collection type called Post. This collection represents blog posts authored through the custom editor.
The model includes four core fields:
Title — the human-readable post title
Slug — a UID generated from the title for routing
Content — the HTML body generated by Froala
Status — a simple draft/published workflow
Create a Strapi project locally
From your project root (or a cms/ folder):
npx create-strapi-app@latest cms
\You don’t need to sign up for a Strapi account for this example. Strapi runs locally without signing up, and you’ll only create a one-time local admin user during setup.
Then:
cd cms
npm run develop
This will:
Start Strapi at http://localhost:1337
Open the Strapi Admin UI in the browser
One-time admin setup
The first time Strapi runs, it will ask you to:
- Create an admin user (email + password)
This is local only, not a Strapi account.
How to create the Post content model
There are two ways to create the Post content model.
For this example, I recommend the below option (creating it via Strapi admin UI). The other option is creating the model using JSON.
Step-by-step in the UI
1. Open Strapi admin:
2. Go to Content-Type Builder
3. Click Create new collection type
4. Set:
Display name: Post
5. Then click ‘Continue’ and add fields one by one:
Field 1: Title
Type: Text
Name: title
Required: ✅
Field 2: Slug
Type: UID
Name: slug
Attached field: title
Required: ✅
Field 3: Content
Type: Rich Text
Name: content
Required: ✅
This field will store HTML output from Froala
Field 4: Status
(Strapi will create this column automatically)
6. Click Save
7. Wait for Strapi to restart
Your Post collection is now created.
This model intentionally keeps things simple. The CMS is responsible for managing structure, metadata, and workflow state, while the editor focuses purely on content creation.
In this setup, Froala outputs clean HTML, which is stored directly in the CMS.
Enable REST API access (important)
By default, Strapi blocks public access. Enable public access to these endpoints for local development and demonstration purposes. In a production setup, authentication and role-based permissions would be applied, but the integration pattern remains the same.
For the demo:
1. Go to Settings → Users & Permissions → Roles
2. Click Public
3. Enable permissions for:
find
findOne
create
Update
4. Save
Standard Strapi REST endpoints
These are the standard Strapi REST endpoints:
POST /api/posts to create a new post
GET /api/posts/:id to load an existing post
PUT /api/posts/:id to update content
GET /api/posts to list posts
At this point, Strapi is ready to act as the CMS layer. In the next step, you’ll integrate Froala into the React frontend and connect it directly to some of these endpoints.
Step 2: Integrate Froala into the React editor page
With the CMS in place, the next step is to build the editor layer in the frontend. This is where authors create and edit blog content, while the CMS remains responsible for storage and workflow.
In this setup, Froala is used purely as the rich text editor, not as a CMS. It lives inside a React page that represents a “create or edit post” screen, similar to what you’d see in a real admin interface.
Install Froala and the required assets
In your React project, install the Froala editor and its React wrapper:
npm install froala-editor react-froala-wysiwyg
Next, load Froala’s core files and plugins once at the application entry point. This ensures all toolbar actions and formatting features work correctly.
In src/main.jsx:
import "froala-editor/js/froala_editor.pkgd.min.js";
import "froala-editor/js/plugins.pkgd.min.js";
import "froala-editor/css/froala_editor.pkgd.min.css";
import "froala-editor/css/froala_style.min.css";
Without the plugins bundle, toolbar buttons will render but not function, which is a common integration mistake.
Your completed src/main.jsx should be like the following example :
import React from "react";
import ReactDOM from "react-dom/client";
import App from "./App";
// Froala core + plugins
import "froala-editor/js/froala_editor.pkgd.min.js";
import "froala-editor/js/plugins.pkgd.min.js";
// Froala styles
import "froala-editor/css/froala_editor.pkgd.min.css";
import "froala-editor/css/froala_style.min.css";
ReactDOM.createRoot(document.getElementById("root")).render(
<React.StrictMode>
<App />
</React.StrictMode>
);
Create the editor page
Create a dedicated page for creating blog posts. In a real CMS, this would typically be part of an admin or dashboard interface.
Example: src/pages/EditorPage.jsx
import { useState } from "react";
import FroalaEditor from "react-froala-wysiwyg";
import editorConfig from "../components/EditorToolbarConfig.js";
export default function EditorPage() {
const [content, setContent] = useState("");
return (
<div className="editor-page">
<h2>Create Blog Post</h2>
<FroalaEditor
model={content}
onModelChange={setContent}
config={editorConfig}
/>
</div>
);
}
At this stage, the editor is fully functional, but it’s not yet connected to the CMS. The goal here is to confirm that Froala behaves correctly inside your application layout before introducing persistence.
Configure the toolbar and allowed content
Rather than exposing every possible formatting option, most CMS-driven editors restrict what authors can create. This keeps stored content predictable and easier to render.
Create a simple toolbar configuration:
const editorConfig = {
toolbarButtons: [
"bold",
"italic",
"underline",
"paragraphFormat",
"formatOL",
"formatUL",
"insertLink",
"insertImage",
"undo",
"redo"
],
heightMin: 300
};
export default editorConfig;
This configuration enforces editorial boundaries at the editor level, reducing the risk of invalid or unsupported markup entering the CMS.
Why this step matters
At this point, you have a real editing interface embedded in a modern frontend framework:
Froala handles text input, formatting, and media interactions
React manages editor state and UI composition
No CMS logic is baked into the editor itself
This separation is intentional. The editor produces clean HTML, but it does not decide where or how that content is stored. That responsibility remains with the CMS.
In the next step, you’ll connect this editor directly to Strapi by creating and saving content through its REST API, turning this UI into a true CMS-backed blog editor.
Step 3: Save editor content to Strapi via the REST API
With Froala embedded in the editor page, the next step is to persist content in the CMS. This is where the editor stops being a standalone UI component and becomes part of a real publishing workflow.
In this setup, Strapi is the source of truth. Froala produces HTML, React manages state, and Strapi stores and retrieves content through its REST API.
Create a CMS API service
To keep CMS logic out of UI components, create a small service layer responsible for communicating with Strapi.
Example: src/services/cmsApi.js
const STRAPI_URL = "http://localhost:1337";
/**
* Convert a title into a URL-safe slug
*/
function slugify(text) {
return text
.toLowerCase()
.trim()
.replace(/[^a-z0-9]+/g, "-")
.replace(/(^-|-$)/g, "");
}
/**
* Create a new blog post in Strapi
*/
export async function createPost({ title, content }) {
const slug = slugify(title);
const response = await fetch(`${STRAPI_URL}/api/posts`, {
method: "POST",
headers: {
"Content-Type": "application/json",
},
body: JSON.stringify({
data: {
title: title, // must match schema exactly
slug, // required UID field
content,
post_status: "draft"
},
}),
});
const result = await response.json();
// Throw on validation / permission errors
if (!response.ok) {
const message =
result?.error?.message || "Failed to create post in CMS";
throw new Error(message);
}
return result;
}
/**
* Fetch a single post by ID (used only in edit flows)
*/
export async function getPost(id) {
const response = await fetch(`${STRAPI_URL}/api/posts/${id}`);
if (!response.ok) {
return null;
}
const result = await response.json();
return result.data;
}
This function mirrors how real applications interact with a CMS: the frontend sends structured data, and the CMS handles storage and validation.
Send editor content to the CMS
Next, wire this API call into the editor page. Alongside the rich text content, you’ll typically send structured metadata such as the title and slug.
Update EditorPage.jsx:
import { useState } from "react";
import FroalaEditor from "react-froala-wysiwyg";
import editorConfig from "../components/EditorToolbarConfig";
import { createPost } from "../services/cmsApi";
export default function EditorPage() {
const [title, setTitle] = useState("");
const [content, setContent] = useState("");
const [saving, setSaving] = useState(false);
const [statusMessage, setStatusMessage] = useState("");
async function handleSave() {
if (!title.trim() || !content.trim()) {
setStatusMessage("Title and content are required.");
return;
}
try {
setSaving(true);
setStatusMessage("");
const result = await createPost({
title,
content,
});
// Only reset editor if CMS confirms save
if (result?.data?.id) {
setStatusMessage("Post saved as draft in CMS.");
setTitle("");
setContent("");
}
} catch (error) {
console.error(error);
setStatusMessage(
error.message || "Failed to save post. Check CMS validation."
);
} finally {
setSaving(false);
}
}
return (
<div className="editor-page">
<h2>Create Blog Post</h2>
<input
type="text"
placeholder="Post title"
value={title}
onChange={(e) => setTitle(e.target.value)}
style={{ width: "100%", marginBottom: "1rem" }}
/>
<FroalaEditor
model={content}
onModelChange={setContent}
config={editorConfig}
/>
<button
onClick={handleSave}
disabled={saving || !title.trim() || !content.trim()}
style={{ marginTop: "1rem" }}
>
{saving ? "Saving..." : "Save Changes"}
</button>
{statusMessage && (
<p style={{ marginTop: "0.75rem" }}>{statusMessage}</p>
)}
</div>
);
}
When the author clicks Save, the editor’s HTML output is sent directly to Strapi and stored in the content field of the Post collection.
Why Froala works well as a CMS rich text editor
Once you look at the full lifecycle of a custom blog editor, authoring, storage, previewing, and publishing, the editor layer becomes a critical dependency. This is where Froala fits naturally into a CMS-driven architecture.
One of the biggest advantages is clean, predictable HTML output. Froala is designed to produce structured markup that’s easy to store in a CMS and reliable to render on the frontend. That consistency matters when content needs to round-trip between the editor and the CMS without degrading over time.
Froala’s lightweight core also makes a difference in real applications. Large CMS interfaces already carry significant JavaScript overhead. An editor that loads quickly and doesn’t dominate the bundle helps keep authoring experiences responsive, even as the product grows.
From an implementation standpoint, Froala’s plugin-based extensibility aligns well with custom workflows. Features like images, tables, embeds, or custom content blocks can be enabled or restricted based on your CMS rules, without modifying the editor’s internals. This keeps the integration flexible instead of fragile.
Finally, Froala offers framework SDKs and enterprise-ready security features, making it easier to integrate into modern stacks while meeting production requirements. Instead of solving editing complexity yourself, you get a stable, well-supported CMS rich text editor that lets your team focus on content and workflow, not editor maintenance.
Final takeaway
Building a custom blog editor isn’t about recreating text-editing functionality from scratch. It’s about choosing the right components and assembling them in a way that fits your CMS and publishing workflow. When the editor layer is poorly chosen, complexity leaks into every part of the system, from storage and previews to long-term maintenance.
A well-designed CMS rich text editor keeps content clean, workflows predictable, and integrations manageable. By using a flexible, production-ready editor instead of maintaining your own, teams reduce risk and move faster without sacrificing control.
Originally published on the Froala blog.
Top comments (0)