Building a Blog with Strapi and Gatsby: S Comprehensive Guide

Blogging is a popular way to share ideas, knowledge, and experiences online. Many individuals and businesses use blogs to promote their brand, connect with their audience, and establish themselves as thought leaders in their industry. Building a blog requires careful planning and execution, and there are many tools and platforms available to help streamline the process. In this blog post, we will explore how to build a blog using two powerful tools: Strapi and Gatsby.

Strapi is a powerful headless content management system (CMS) that allows you to easily create and manage content for your website or application. Gatsby is a static site generator that uses modern web technologies, such as React and GraphQL, to create fast and dynamic websites. Together, Strapi and Gatsby provide a flexible and scalable solution for building a blog that is easy to manage, fast, and customizable.

In this post, we will guide you through the process of setting up Strapi and Gatsby, creating content in Strapi, building the blog with Gatsby, customizing the design, and deploying the blog to a hosting service. Whether you are new to web development or have experience building websites, this post will provide you with the tools and knowledge to build a blog with Strapi and Gatsby that meets your unique needs and goals.

Setting up Strapi

Before we can start building our blog with Strapi and Gatsby, we need to set up Strapi. Strapi is a self-hosted CMS that requires a few steps to install and configure.

1. Install Strapi The first step is to install Strapi on your local machine or server. You can do this by running the following command in your terminal:

npx create-strapi-app my-blog --quickstart

This command will create a new Strapi project in a folder called “my-blog” and will include the necessary files and dependencies to get started quickly.

2. Create Content Types Once you have installed Strapi, the next step is to create content types for your blog. Content types define the structure and fields for your blog posts, categories, and other content.

To create a new content type, log in to your Strapi project and navigate to the Content Types Builder. From there, you can create a new content type and define the fields that you want to include. For example, you might create a content type called “Posts” and include fields for the post title, content, author, and publication date.

3. Configure Permissions Strapi allows you to configure permissions for each content type, which determines who can view, create, edit, and delete content. You can define permissions for individual users or groups of users.

To configure permissions, navigate to the Users & Permissions plugin in the Strapi dashboard. From there, you can create new roles and define the permissions for each role. For example, you might create a role called “Editor” that has permissions to create and edit blog posts, but not delete them.

4. Customize Strapi Finally, you can customize Strapi to fit your specific needs and preferences. Strapi provides a range of plugins and settings that allow you to customize the user interface, database settings, and other features.

To customize Strapi, navigate to the Settings plugin in the Strapi dashboard. From there, you can configure various settings and plugins to meet your needs.

Once you have set up Strapi, you are ready to start creating content for your blog. In the next section, we will explore how to create content in Strapi and connect it to Gatsby.

Creating content in Strapi

Now that we have set up Strapi, it’s time to start creating content for our blog. Strapi provides a user-friendly interface that allows you to create and manage content types, as well as create individual pieces of content.

1. Creating a New Content Type To create a new content type, navigate to the Content Types Builder in the Strapi dashboard. From there, you can create a new content type and define its fields.

For example, you might create a content type called “Posts” with fields for the post title, content, author, and publication date. You can also create other content types, such as “Categories” or “Tags” to organize your content.

2. Adding Content Once you have created your content types, you can start adding individual pieces of content. Navigate to the “Content Manager” in the Strapi dashboard and select the content type you want to add content to.

From there, you can create a new piece of content and fill in the fields that you defined for that content type. For example, you might create a new post with a title, content, author, and publication date.

3. Managing Content Strapi allows you to manage and edit your content from the “Content Manager” in the dashboard. You can search for specific pieces of content, filter by content type, and edit individual fields.

You can also delete content that is no longer needed or update content that needs to be changed. Strapi provides a user-friendly interface that makes it easy to manage your content.

4. Integrating with Gatsby Once you have created and managed your content in Strapi, you can integrate it with Gatsby to build your blog. Gatsby provides a plugin called “gatsby-source-strapi” that allows you to fetch your content from Strapi and use it to generate your static website.

To integrate Strapi with Gatsby, you will need to install the “gatsby-source-strapi” plugin and configure it to connect to your Strapi instance. Once you have done this, you can use GraphQL queries to fetch your content and display it on your Gatsby website.

In the next section, we will explore how to set up Gatsby and connect it to Strapi.

Setting up Gatsby

Now that we have created and managed our content in Strapi, it’s time to set up Gatsby and connect it to Strapi. Gatsby is a static site generator that allows us to build fast, performant websites using React and GraphQL.

1. Install Gatsby The first step is to install Gatsby on your local machine or server. You can do this by running the following command in your terminal:

npm install -g gatsby-cli

This command will install the Gatsby command-line interface globally on your machine.

2. Create a New Gatsby Project Once you have installed Gatsby, the next step is to create a new Gatsby project. You can do this by running the following command in your terminal:

gatsby new my-blog

This command will create a new Gatsby project in a folder called “my-blog” and will include the necessary files and dependencies to get started quickly.

3. Install the Gatsby-Source-Strapi Plugin To connect Gatsby to your Strapi instance, you will need to install the “gatsby-source-strapi” plugin. You can do this by running the following command in your terminal:

npm install gatsby-source-strapi

This command will install the plugin and its dependencies in your Gatsby project.

4. Configure the Gatsby-Source-Strapi Plugin Next, you will need to configure the “gatsby-source-strapi” plugin to connect to your Strapi instance. To do this, open the “gatsby-config.js” file in your Gatsby project and add the following code:

module.exports = {
  plugins: [
    {
      resolve: "gatsby-source-strapi",
      options: {
        apiURL: "http://localhost:1337",
        contentTypes: ["posts"],
        singleTypes: [],
        queryLimit: 1000,
      },
    },
  ],
};

This code tells Gatsby to connect to your Strapi instance at “http://localhost:1337” and fetch content from the “posts” content type.

5. Querying Strapi Content with GraphQL Once you have configured the “gatsby-source-strapi” plugin, you can use GraphQL queries to fetch your Strapi content and use it to generate your Gatsby website.

To create a new GraphQL query, open the “src/pages/index.js” file in your Gatsby project and add the following code:

import { graphql } from "gatsby";

export const query = graphql`
  query {
    allStrapiPosts {
      nodes {
        id
        title
        content
        author
        publication_date
      }
    }
  }
`;

const IndexPage = ({ data }) => {
  const { allStrapiPosts } = data;

  return (
    <div>
      {allStrapiPosts.nodes.map((post) => (
        <div key={post.id}>
          <h2>{post.title}</h2>
          <p>{post.content}</p>
          <p>{post.author}</p>
          <p>{post.publication_date}</p>
        </div>
      ))}
    </div>
  );
};

export default IndexPage;

This code queries all posts from Strapi and displays them on the homepage of your Gatsby website.

Once you have set up Gatsby and connected it to Strapi, you can start building your blog with custom layouts, styling, and additional features.

Building the blog with Gatsby

Now that we have set up Gatsby and connected it to our Strapi instance, we can start building our blog using Gatsby’s powerful features.

1. Creating Custom Layouts One of the benefits of using Gatsby is the ability to create custom layouts for your website. To create a custom layout, you can create a new React component in the “src/components” directory of your Gatsby project.

For example, let’s create a custom layout called “Layout.js” that will wrap all of our pages:

import React from "react";

const Layout = ({ children }) => {
  return (
    <div>
      <header>My Blog</header>
      <main>{children}</main>
      <footer>Copyright © 2023</footer>
    </div>
  );
};

export default Layout;

This code creates a basic layout with a header, main content area, and footer.

2. Creating Pages To create new pages in your Gatsby website, you can create a new React component in the “src/pages” directory of your Gatsby project. For example, let’s create a new page that displays a single blog post:

import React from "react";
import { graphql } from "gatsby";

import Layout from "../components/Layout";

export const query = graphql`
  query ($id: String!) {
    strapiPosts(id: { eq: $id }) {
      id
      title
      content
      author
      publication_date
    }
  }
`;

const Post = ({ data }) => {
  const { strapiPosts } = data;

  return (
    <Layout>
      <h1>{strapiPosts.title}</h1>
      <p>{strapiPosts.content}</p>
      <p>{strapiPosts.author}</p>
      <p>{strapiPosts.publication_date}</p>
    </Layout>
  );
};

export default Post;

This code queries a single blog post from Strapi and displays it on the page using the “Layout” component we created earlier.

3. Adding Styling To add styling to your Gatsby website, you can use CSS, Sass, or any other styling preprocessor you prefer. Gatsby includes built-in support for CSS modules, which allows you to write modular CSS code.

For example, let’s create a new file called “styles.module.css” in the “src/components” directory of your Gatsby project:

.header {
  background-color: #333;
  color: #fff;
  padding: 1rem;
}

.footer {
  background-color: #333;
  color: #fff;
  padding: 1rem;
}

This code creates styles for the header and footer of our website.

To use these styles, you can import them into your React components:

import React from "react";
import styles from "./styles.module.css";

const Layout = ({ children }) => {
  return (
    <div>
      <header className={styles.header}>My Blog</header>
      <main>{children}</main>
      <footer className={styles.footer}>
        Copyright © 2023
      </footer>
    </div>
  );
};

export default Layout;

This code applies the styles from “styles.module.css” to the header and footer of our website.

With these basic building blocks in place, you can start building out your blog with custom pages, layouts, and styling.

Customizing the blog

Now that we have our blog set up and functioning, we can start customizing it to make it unique and tailored to our specific needs. Here are some ideas for customizing your blog:

1. Customizing the Layout As we saw in the previous section, Gatsby makes it easy to create custom layouts for your website. You can create different layouts for different pages, or you can create a single layout that applies to all pages.

For example, you might want to add a sidebar to your blog that displays recent posts or categories. To do this, you can create a new React component for the sidebar and include it in your layout component.

2. Customizing the Styling To make your blog stand out, you might want to customize the styling beyond what we did in the previous section. You can use CSS or a styling preprocessor like Sass to create custom styles for your website.

For example, you might want to create a unique color scheme or typography for your blog. You can use CSS variables to define your color scheme and font styles, and then apply them throughout your website.

3. Adding Functionality Strapi and Gatsby provide a lot of functionality out of the box, but you can also add custom functionality to your website using plugins or custom code.

For example, you might want to add a contact form to your website so that readers can get in touch with you. You can use a plugin like Gatsby Plugin Netlify Forms to create a form and handle submissions.

4. Optimizing for SEO Search engine optimization (SEO) is important for ensuring that your blog is discoverable in search engine results pages (SERPs). You can optimize your blog for SEO by following best practices like including keywords in your content and metadata, optimizing your images, and creating a sitemap.

You can also use plugins like Gatsby Plugin SEO to automate some of the SEO optimization process.

By customizing your blog in these ways, you can make it unique and tailored to your specific needs and goals.

Deploying the blog

Once you have built and customized your blog, the final step is to deploy it to a web server so that it can be accessed by the public. Here are some options for deploying your Strapi and Gatsby blog:

1. Deploying to a Static Hosting Service Gatsby generates static HTML, CSS, and JavaScript files, which makes it easy to deploy your website to a static hosting service like Netlify, GitHub Pages, or AWS S3. These services offer free and paid plans and make it easy to deploy your website with just a few clicks.

To deploy your website to a static hosting service, you will need to build your website using the Gatsby CLI and upload the generated files to the hosting service.

2. Deploying to a Cloud Hosting Service If you need more control over your web server or need to host a dynamic website that requires server-side processing, you can deploy your Strapi and Gatsby blog to a cloud hosting service like AWS EC2, Google Cloud, or DigitalOcean.

To deploy your website to a cloud hosting service, you will need to set up a web server, install Strapi and Gatsby, and configure your server to run your website.

3. Deploying to a Content Delivery Network (CDN) A CDN is a network of servers that distribute your website content across multiple geographic locations, which can improve the performance and availability of your website.

To deploy your website to a CDN, you will need to set up a CDN provider like Cloudflare, Akamai, or Amazon CloudFront and configure your website to use the CDN.

Whichever deployment option you choose, make sure to test your website thoroughly to ensure that it is working as expected before making it public.

Conclusion

In conclusion, building a blog with Strapi and Gatsby is a great way to create a customizable and scalable website. With Strapi, you can create and manage content using a user-friendly interface, while Gatsby generates fast and responsive static websites.

We started by setting up Strapi and creating content for our blog. Then, we set up Gatsby and built our blog using React components and GraphQL queries. We also explored customization options, such as custom layouts, styling, functionality, and SEO optimization.

Finally, we discussed deployment options, such as static hosting, cloud hosting, and CDNs. No matter which deployment option you choose, it is important to test your website thoroughly to ensure that it is working as expected.

Overall, building a blog with Strapi and Gatsby is a fun and rewarding experience that allows you to create a unique and professional website without needing to be a web development expert.