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Matthias Andrasch
Matthias Andrasch

Posted on • Updated on

Yes, SvelteKit for the frontend (win)! But what about a CMS dashboard for clients?

The more mature SvelteKit gets towards version 1.0, the more I personally like it. I wasn't a big fan of Server Side Rendering (SSR) first. But the more I learnt about it, the more I realize how it can empower frontend developers.

Why? A flexible NodeJS framework like SvelteKit enables developers to build web site experiences with much more freedom and autonomy than before. It gives frontend devs the ability to use all approaches of the web, not just the ability to write SPA (monsters) with weaker SEO on client side. Frontend devs can now decide freely:

This flexibility is a power which frontend developers hadn't have since the early days of PHP.

I mean at least I feel sometimes like an intruder in the PHP CMS ecosystem as a frontend developer:

"Oh, you want vite now in typo3 or WordPress? Why? What is wrong with our nice PHP templates?! We can run scssphp as well, no need for your fancy NodeJS stuff!?".

Or

"Svelte? Why? We can filter and paginate with PHP too and SEO is just fine?! Also... it's hard to integrate for us!"

(Examples slighty dramatized ;-))

Approaches like SvelteKit could potentially shift the balance of power between backend devs and frontend devs.

For me it feels like we are just starting with this. Maybe it is the "slope of enlightment" in the Gartner hype cycle right now. Headless (jamstack) hasn't fullfilled the big promises yet. Headless architecture is still challenging for small teams and most of the time even more complicated when it comes to dashboards for editors / clients. Live previews of content changes are one of the big challenges. Standard PHP CMSes have solved this in robust ways.

And I understand why PHP devs (and other devs) laugh about the fact that frontend devs reinvent PHP server side rendering currently. I feel like the short frontend hype cycles are crazy and way too fast as well.
But I think that reinventing server side rendering with JavaScript / NodeJS can also be seen as "emancipation of frontend development".

The open CMS dashboard question

So one big question is still relevant:

What is a good and sustainable fit as CMS dashboard for a frontend framework like SvelteKit?

Thanks to all people who replied, here is a list of all the solutions mentioned (so far):

Things I found additionally:

Things that run locally:

Another interesting approach to tackle this challenge:

Somehow I feel like this is not the end of the journey, not at all. It would be so awesome if SvelteKit could be installed and deployed with an integrated CMS dashboard for example. Laravel frameworks like Inertia or Livewire are good examples for such creative and bundled approaches.

I'm excited to see what solutions will be developed in future!

What CMS do you use? And what do you think will be the most used CMS in combination with SvelteKit?

Further Resources:

Top comments (10)

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bwklein profile image
Bryan Klein

Ran across this cool idea for a SvelteKit CMS built into the site itself. github.com/michael/editable-website
This would work well for small sites with a couple of non-technical content editors.

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bwklein profile image
Bryan Klein • Edited

I didn't see CloudCannon in your list. It is a 'git-backed' CMS that has some support for visual editing of site content and a component library system. If you compile the SvelteKit site with the static adapter, they can host the site too. If you need a more dynamic application, then you can edit on CC and host on a service like Vercel or Netlify.

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matthiasweston profile image
MatthiasWeston

I'm also looking for a CMS option for sveltekit that is easy for clients to use, I'm going to look at the ones mentioned, would love to hear any updates on your research if you come to more conclusions!

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kolja profile image
Kolja

Yea, it is a good topic...
Until now I used small handcrafted PHP APIs as my backend for sveltekit. Now i will try directus for more a more complex application. Maybe it saves some time, in the future...

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kolja profile image
Kolja

Okay, I switched to a Cockpit tryout, because of PHP 😇

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Jim Fisk

We built an open source, git-backed CMS for Svelte as well: plenti.co/

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kolja profile image
Kolja

Some additional thoughts from my last day:

  • Svelte can be used as a SPA, so no NodeJS on the server is needed
  • but then there is no SSR and a less good SEO
  • it does not matter on apps for authenticated user only

For me, I just have a normal webspace with PHP and no node, the backend question depends a lot on the technology.

So maybe it makes sense to add these to your list 😃

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smilefounder profile image
Huy Nguyen

Check out the baby Vontigo

🚀 Vontigo is an open-source CMS built with SvelteKit, featuring 🤖 AI-powered (ChatGPT) content generation. With fast page loads and seamless routing, Vontigo offers a user-friendly interface with customizable themes and templates.

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Lorenzo Giovenali

You should have pointed out which of the options are free & open source, since you might not want to lock your data models and content behind a vendor.

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nguyen profile image
Alex Nguyen

+1 for CloudCannon CMS. I haven't personally used it for SvelteKit but it worked very well with 11ty.