Next.js Devs Use Contentful Webhooks to Avoid Rebuilds, End Up Rebuilding Their Sanity

A developer recently worked on a client's website using Next.js and Contentful CMS, aiming to provide a user-friendly means for the client to update content independently. To achieve this, the developer leveraged Next.js Incremental Static Regeneration, a hybrid rendering strategy combining static site generation and incremental updates. Introduced in Next.js v9.5 in 2020, ISR bridges the gap between static site generation and server-side rendering, allowing static pages to be updated after deployment without rebuilding the entire site. The developer explored time-based and on-demand revalidation approaches, utilizing Contentful's webhooks and taxonomy features to support good content modeling practice. By combining these strategies, the developer achieved a workflow where editors see changes reflected immediately without sacrificing performance, making it suitable for various types of content, including pages, text, and media assets. This approach enables efficient and scalable content delivery, benefiting both developers and content editors.