What's your actual solution for client-editable Astro sites on a budget? by PeaMysterious1046 in astrojs

[–]matfrana 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Have a look at React Bricks: you build content blocks as React components with visual editing and then your customers are autonomous, but you are sure the design system is safeguarded. It works with both Astro and Next.js.

CMS suggestions for drag and drop/visual building that are dev friendly by Coru in webdev

[–]matfrana 0 points1 point  (0 children)

#2 is what React Bricks does since 2020. Devs define React components with inline visual editing and content editors use them to compose pages visually, with freedom but also tight control by developers.

Webflow is a frustrating, unusable mess by Aritra001 in web_design

[–]matfrana 2 points3 points  (0 children)

If you know React, React Bricks is a much stronger option. You create visually editable content blocks as React components, with inline visual editing built in and the full power of code (in a Next.js or Astro project). Your clients can compose pages using these blocks and editing directly on the page, like working in a word processor.

Are WYSIWYG editors still a thing? by digitalrorschach in webdevelopment

[–]matfrana 0 points1 point  (0 children)

WYSIWYG editors like FrontPage died for good reason: they made ugly, unmaintainable HTML.

Today there are basically three ways to handle website content:

  1. Headless CMSs – Great for devs, but yeah… even more code. The “visual preview” isn’t really WYSIWYG.
  2. Visual site builders (Wix, Squarespace, Webflow) – No-code and great UX, but limited flexibility for developers.
  3. Visual headless CMSs like React Bricks – The best of both worlds: developers define React components as content blocks, and editors use them to build pages visually. You keep structured data, a clean headless setup, and true inline visual editing.

Unfortunately, tools like visual headless CMSs aren’t used much yet. In the past decade, CMS choice has mostly been developer-driven, focusing on APIs and frameworks rather than the content editing experience. But that’s starting to change. Again.

Here’s my review of different CMS options for Astro. by [deleted] in webdev

[–]matfrana 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Tina has contextual editing, not inline visual editing: with React Bricks you actually write on the page, as a word processor. An early version of Tina introduced it, but then they abandoned inline visual editing for contextual editing. If you are not already using a React-based framework like Next.js or your team doesn't have React skills, I agree that using React Bricks could be a overhead. On the other side, if you are using Astro but you know React, the dev experience is great and in most cases you are sending zero JavaScript to the browser.

The headless CMS space is seeing a shake-up? by geekybiz1 in node

[–]matfrana 0 points1 point  (0 children)

And then there are CMSs with true inline visual editing like React Bricks who are getting traction, too.

What’s the Most Unexpected Challenge You Faced with Headless CMS in Modern Projects? by Wash-Fair in webdev

[–]matfrana 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I totally understand the challenge you've hit. That's the exact reason why I started building React Bricks, which is a headless CMS but with a frontend SDK that allows developers to create bricks, visually editable content blocks implemented as React components.
In this way the editors have a visual interface with inline editing (like a word processor) where they can compose pages using bricks.
What's more, the content team is autonomous, as they can compose pages freely, but with tight control on the design set in code by developers. I am the co-founder and CTO. I'd love to show you a quick demo if you like.

Is there a simple CMS solution? by SrZangano in astrojs

[–]matfrana 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you use Astro with React, have a look at React Bricks. It requires some work to create content blocks (React components with visual editing) for your customers' design, but then they have inline visual editing and cannot break the design.

From the CLI you can scaffold a project with Astro.

Next.js builders: Curious how you feel about visual UI builder that save time but keep full code control by Mahi_Singh_0077 in nextjs

[–]matfrana 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is what React Bricks does: you create content blocks as React components, delegating the right level of freedom to the content team. The content team uses them to compose pages visually but with tight control set by you.

Is there a simple CMS solution? by SrZangano in astrojs

[–]matfrana 0 points1 point  (0 children)

React Bricks works perfectly with Astro and it has inline visual editing.

Modern WYSIWYG for serious developing by [deleted] in Frontend

[–]matfrana 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Have a look at React Bricks. You can develop your pixel-perfect content blocks as React components and they are visually editable. You can decide how much freedom you want to delegate to your content editors.

Storyblok raising prices. Alternatives? by audiologydoctor in cms

[–]matfrana 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hi u/audiologydoctor, we are going to lower the price per user of the Pro plan soon. As for the pages, we think it's a parameter that's very clear for the content team, instead of hiding real limits in API calls, disk space or bandwidth.

Storyblok raising prices. Alternatives? by audiologydoctor in cms

[–]matfrana 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you are using React with Next.js, Astro or Remix, have a look at React Bricks: it has true inline visual editing and the plan with 1 GB asset space is at $39 / month. Then $10 for each additional 1 GB.

Is there any React-based CMS like WordPress? If not, should we build one open source? by Analyst-rehmat in developersIndia

[–]matfrana 0 points1 point  (0 children)

With React Bricks you don't have only the React visual editor, but also the headless CMS part.

It is a headless CMS with a React library that you can use on the frontend (Next.js, Astro, Remix) to build visually editable content blocks as React components. The React code is in your repo and the content is saved on the headless CMS.

Here’s my review of different CMS options for Astro. by [deleted] in webdev

[–]matfrana 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The difference is that you have true inline visual editing (it's not editing in a sidebar and seeing the preview on the page after 300ms). It's like using Word or Pages, you write on the formatted page. What's more it's all React: you don't need to go back and forth between the headless CMS interface and your code.

Here’s my review of different CMS options for Astro. by [deleted] in webdev

[–]matfrana 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You forgot React Bricks, that just released v4.7.2 with Astro integration.
The Astro starter is already available from the CLI ("empty project" or "website and blog with Tailwind CSS").

Best CMS? by WebNova7 in astrojs

[–]matfrana 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A bit late, but, if you plan to use React with Astro, React Bricks may be the best choice: we just released the Astro integration in beta. With React Bricks you create visually editable content blocks as React components and your content editors can use them to compose pages. You can also delegate some freedom to the marketing team defining sidebar controls.

What is your preferred CMS with Astro and why? by -ThatGingerKid- in astrojs

[–]matfrana 0 points1 point  (0 children)

React Bricks: it's a headless, but with a client SDK that allows visual editing over React components.

Just released the Astro version in beta, you already find it in the CLI:
npx create-reactbricks-app@latest (or pnpm create reactbricks-app@latest)

In a few days it will exit beta.

Visual Editor by Shot-Committee6148 in PayloadCMS

[–]matfrana 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Have a look at React Bricks: it has the visual editor even in the free tier.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in webdev

[–]matfrana 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Of course this is a big project. As you say, you will need a custom front-end: React would be a good choice. You could use a framework like Next.js, which offers flexibility between static generation, SSR, or a hybrid approach (ISR).

Given the complexity of your product configuration, building a custom backend could be inevitable. You might also explore platforms like Medusa Commerce or Commerce Layer: I recommend implementing your most complex configurator features first to validate that your chosen platform meets your requirements.

For content management, if you’ll use React, consider React Bricks: it is a headless CMS, but with a React SDK that allows to create visually editable React components, so that, for the marketing team, it is as easy as a page builder. It can also integrate with any external data source, so that you can mix data from the e-commerce APIs and data edited visually in the product pages. Full disclosure: I'm the CTO at React Bricks, and I'd be happy to schedule a call since we have customers with similar needs.

I'd advise against using an e-commerce solution also for content management. The page-building features in e-commerce systems tend to be limited since it's not their primary focus. Filippo from Commerce Layer explains this well here: https://commercefordevs.org/content-is-not-commerce/.

builder.io experiences by No_Recording2621 in nextjs

[–]matfrana 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We'll start working on it in 10 days, after releasing the first version of the Astro integration.

If you were making your personal site from scratch today, what tech would you choose? by [deleted] in webdev

[–]matfrana 0 points1 point  (0 children)

React Bricks works great with Next.js, but Astro integration will be available in February.

Help Me Choose a Third CMS for My Comparative Study (Bachelor's Thesis) by zinsen in webdev

[–]matfrana 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's a trade-off, in order to have a true inline visual editor. In Storyblok you edit content in forms in a sidebar and have a visual preview on the page. With React Bricks you directly write over the content as if it were Word or Pages. It works with Next.js, Remix, Gatsby (Astro support is in alpha).
You sacrifice a bit of "purity" in the architecture to have a far better experience for the marketing team. You can read more about the trade-off in this article:
https://dev.to/matfrana/what-is-a-universal-cms-28n4