Storyblok: Balancing Autonomy, Simplicity, and Flexibility

Case Study
7 min read
Balanced Growth

Follow the First Principles 1:

Build your blocks for the long haul and save time on redoing or creating new ones for small changes.

In this article, I’ll share our journey to simplify Storyblok use and make website updates easier. Our approach will allow you to update and grow your website seamlessly without needing your tech team’s assistance every time.

Introduction

You may be starting a new project, about to migrate an old one, or dealing with a chaotic implementation. Regardless of the reasons, you’re trying to find a strategy to make everyones lives easier.

Why headless cms?

We started our journey from an outdated system to a new one powered by Storyblok in late 2022. The system we were leaving behind had been built for over 12 years, making it quite out-of-date.

The switch to Storyblok was not just about adopting new technology but providing a solution allowing full autonomy over the content while preserving maximum control over the technology.

The first trap

Our team was new to this platform, with only one expert among us. This meant we had to learn everything from scratch — the business, its logic, and the product itself — all while moving to a new architecture.

To manage this, we approached the migration cautiously, tackling it one page at a time. This strategy allowed us to gradually understand both the legacy system and Storyblok without trying to overhaul everything all at once.

This approach, however, brought its own set of challenges. We found ourselves dealing with a large number of components — nearly a hundred in total. Among these, about three dozen were considered key parts of our website like carousels, grids, or cards.

While our step-by-step progress helped us learn and adapt, it also meant juggling an overwhelming array of components on the other side of the migration.


Free Content and SEO!

Interested in how we gained independence from tech?

Join me as we navigate the CMS migration journey together


References

  1. James Clear,
    “First Principles: Elon Musk on the Power of Thinking for Yourself”,
    James Clear,
    February 3, 2020,
    https://jamesclear.com/first-principles.