Prismic

Prismic is a headless CMS (Content Management System) that provides a user-friendly content editing interface with a powerful API for developers. It separates content management from presentation, enabling modern frontend architectures.

Key Features

• Slices: Modular, reusable content components
• Custom Types: Define your own content structures
• Scheduling: Publish content at specific times
• Localisation: Multi-language content support
• Media Library: Asset management with CDN delivery
• Preview: See changes before publishing

How It Works

Content Editors          Prismic              Your Application
     ↓                      ↓                       ↓
Create content →→→ Store & API →→→ Fetch via REST/GraphQL →→→ Render

Slices Pattern

Slices are Prismic's standout feature - reusable content blocks:

// Define a slice in Prismic
// - Hero Slice: title, subtitle, background_image
// - Features Slice: items[{ icon, title, description }]
// - CTA Slice: heading, button_text, button_link

// Render in React
const PageContent = ({ slices }) => (
  <>
    {slices.map((slice) => {
      switch (slice.slice_type) {
        case 'hero':
          return <Hero key={slice.id} {...slice.primary} />;
        case 'features':
          return <Features key={slice.id} items={slice.items} />;
        case 'cta':
          return <CTA key={slice.id} {...slice.primary} />;
        default:
          return null;
      }
    })}
  </>
);

Integration Example

// Using @prismicio/client
import * as prismic from '@prismicio/client';

const client = prismic.createClient('your-repo-name');

// Fetch a single document
const page = await client.getByUID('page', 'home');

// Fetch all blog posts
const posts = await client.getAllByType('blog_post', {
  orderings: [{ field: 'my.blog_post.date', direction: 'desc' }],
});

Prismic vs Alternatives

CMS	Strengths	Best For
Prismic	Slices, developer experience	Marketing sites, blogs
Contentful	Flexibility, enterprise	Large teams, complex content
Sanity	Real-time, customisable	Custom workflows
Strapi	Self-hosted, open source	Full control, privacy
WordPress	Familiarity, plugins	Traditional sites

What We Like

• Slice Machine: Excellent developer experience for component-based content
• Editor UX: Non-technical editors find it intuitive
• Generous free tier: Good for small projects
• Framework integration: First-class support for Next.js, Nuxt

What We Don't Like

• Vendor lock-in: Content structure tied to Prismic
• Limited customisation: Editor UI not as flexible as Sanity
• API quotas: Can be limiting at scale
• Learning curve: Slices concept takes time to master

When to Use Prismic

• Marketing sites with modular page layouts
• Blogs and content-heavy sites
• Teams with non-technical content editors
• Projects using Next.js or Nuxt

For highly custom content workflows or self-hosted requirements, consider Sanity or Strapi.