How to Pick the Right Tech Stack for Your Website in 2024?

Imagine you're standing at the edge of a vast pool of opportunity. On one side, there's the old-school behemoth WordPress, dominating nearly half the market but burdened with legacy issues. On the other side, the new school is represented by Webflow, a low-code/no-code platform that's rapidly gaining traction. WordPress, despite its monolithic nature, remains a go-to for many startups due to its familiarity and extensive plugin ecosystem. However, as businesses grow and their needs evolve, they often find themselves seeking more flexible and scalable solutions. Enter Webflow, with its user-friendly UI and UX, solid templates, and seamless integrations. But how do you determine which platform is right for you?

At Bejamas, we pride ourselves on being tech agnostic. We're not tied to any one solution but have partnered with leading CMS providers like Sanity, Storyblok, Contentful, Hygraph, and DatoCMS, as well as hosting and deployment platforms like Vercel and Netlify. This allows us to offer tailored solutions based on our clients' unique needs.

Establishing Your Business Needs

Step 1: Assess Your Current Tech Stack

• Before diving in, take a good look at your current technology stack. What CMS are you using? What do you love or hate about it? This will help you pinpoint what’s working and what’s not.
• Consider factors like ease of use, customization options, integration capabilities, and scalability.
• How many unique templates will you use on your website? Consider the variety needed for different pages like the homepage, blog, product pages, and contact pages. More templates can provide a more customized user experience.
• How easy is it to build and launch landing pages (LPs)? Evaluate the simplicity and speed of creating new landing pages. This is crucial for marketing campaigns, allowing quick setups and iterations without heavy reliance on developers.
• List out the strengths and weaknesses of your current system to better understand where improvements are needed.

Step 2: Define Your Business Goals and Objectives

• What are your business goals? Are you looking to scale quickly? Need robust e-commerce capabilities? Your goals will steer your tech stack decisions.
• Clearly defined objectives will help you choose a platform that aligns with your growth plans, marketing strategies, and operational needs. For example, if your goal is rapid international expansion, you'll need a CMS that supports multilingual content and global SEO.
• Additionally, consider who will be using the CMS. If it's mainly for your marketing team, they might need features for easy content creation, SEO tools, and analytics. If developers will be the primary users, they might prioritize flexibility, integration capabilities, and customizability. Involving these teams in the decision-making process ensures the CMS you choose meets everyone's needs.

Step 3: Set Your Budget

• Money talks. If you’re working with $0-50k, WordPress or Webflow could be your best friends. If you have a budget above $50k, consider a composable tech stack for greater flexibility and scalability.
• Remember, your budget should account not only for initial setup costs but also for ongoing maintenance, training, and potential future upgrades.

Step 4: Consider Your Marketing Team's Needs

• Don’t forget your marketing and content team! They need a CMS that's user-friendly. A bad choice here could mean endless headaches and operational nightmares.
• Involve your marketing team in the decision-making process to ensure the chosen CMS supports their workflow, content management needs, and analytics requirements.
• This collaborative approach can save time and resources down the line.

Step 5: Identify Primary Users of Your CMS

• Who will be the primary users of your CMS? Developers, marketers, or both? This helps determine if you need a developer-friendly platform or a more intuitive solution.
• Ensure that the CMS offers appropriate user roles and permissions to manage access and maintain security.
• User training and support are also critical factors to consider.

Step 6: Geographic and Linguistic Requirements

• Think about the countries and languages you need to support. This will affect your CMS choice and the necessary integrations for a seamless global presence.
• A CMS with strong multilingual capabilities can streamline content creation and localization processes.
• Additionally, consider compliance with international regulations and accessibility standards.

The Omnichannel Experience and Composable Architecture

As businesses grow, delivering an omnichannel experience becomes crucial. Customers expect seamless interactions across websites, mobile apps, social media, and physical stores. This requires a robust tech infrastructure capable of providing consistent and personalized experiences.

Why Omnichannel Matters

An omnichannel strategy ensures customers have a unified experience across all touchpoints. For example, a customer might research a product on their phone, continue on a desktop, and purchase in-store. A smooth journey enhances customer satisfaction and loyalty.

The Role of Composable and Decoupled Architecture

For SMBs and beyond, a composable and decoupled architecture is transformative. It separates front-end and back-end systems, allowing for independent development and scaling. Here’s why it’s beneficial:

1. Flexibility and Scalability: Composable stacks, like Webflow, Contentful, or Sanity, offer flexibility. You can choose the best tools for each part of your system, adapting quickly to new requirements or technologies.
2. Personalized User Experiences: Decoupling allows for dynamic, responsive, and interactive web applications that tailor content to users based on their behavior and preferences.
3. Multi-Device Support: This architecture supports multiple devices, ensuring a consistent experience across smartphones, tablets, desktops, and IoT devices.
4. Improved Performance and Reliability: Microservices and API-driven architectures enhance performance and reliability, with each component optimized and scaled independently.
5. Easier Maintenance and Updates: Updates and maintenance are more manageable, allowing individual components to be updated without disrupting the entire system.

Their ability to deliver quickly and efficiently. I have worked with many webdevs over the years, and I was impressed with how quickly we were able to get from zero-to-hero. Our team was able to work very agile and collaboratively with theirs, which made for speedy development. They also have great knowledge of various tech stack solutions for websites, and I believe we went with the right ones based on their recommendations.

Maki Mukai – Head of Marketing of o1Labs

Future-Proofing Your Tech Stack

Choosing the right tech stack can future-proof your business. For instance, we recently completed a website redesign for a client while retaining Sanity as the CMS, proving its scalability and compatibility with new technologies.

Example Tech Stacks

• Contentful + Next.js + Netlify: We transitioned Alpro's website from Gatsby to Next.js, utilizing Contentful CMS for its scalability, flexibility, and ease of use, resulting in faster loading times, improved SEO, and better performance.
• Storyblok + Next.js + Netlify: We used Storyblok and Next.js to rebuild Camino's website, providing a user-friendly CMS for the marketing team and a high-performance framework to boost user engagement, SEO, and scalability while keeping costs predictable.
• Prismic + Next.js + Vercel: We used a decoupled architecture with Next.js and a Prismic to empower Newfront's marketing team, enabling them to publish content directly and see instant updates, improving efficiency and reducing dependency on developers.
• Sanity + Next.js + Vercel: We used a highly composable architecture with a Sanity page builder CMS to create an intuitive, on-brand website for O1labs, enabling their marketing team to easily manage content and enhance user experience.
• Storyblok + Next.js + Vercel: We used Next.js and Storyblok to create a modern, unified design system with reusable components for Hanseyachts' seven distinct brands, enhancing user experience and reducing maintenance costs.
• DatoCMS+ Netlify: We used Next.js and DatoCMS to streamline Transcend's content management.
• Contentful + Next.js + Vercel : We used Next.js, Contentful, and Vercel to build Descope's scalable website, empowering their editors with full control over content and providing a flexible foundation for future growth.
• Sanity + Astro: Utilized on our Dodonut website, showcasing the power of a well-chosen tech stack.
• Sanity + Remix: We wanted to try a new framework like Remix in production, etc.

10 Tips for Choosing the Right Tech Stack

1. Define Your Project Requirements: Understand what your project needs in terms of functionality and scalability.
2. Evaluate Popular Tech Stacks: Look into widely-used stacks to see if they meet your needs.
3. Consider the Development Team: Ensure your team is comfortable with the chosen stack.
4. Budget Wisely: Align your tech stack with your financial constraints.
5. Prioritize Flexibility and Scalability: Choose technologies that can grow with your business.
6. Focus on User Experience: Ensure the stack supports a smooth and intuitive user experience.
7. Check for Integration Capabilities: Make sure the stack can easily integrate with other tools you use.
8. Seek Expert Advice: Consult with experts to get tailored recommendations.
9. Test Before Committing: Pilot the stack on a small project to ensure it meets your needs.
10. Future-Proof Your Choice: Select technologies that are likely to remain relevant and supported.

Conclusion

Choosing the right tech stack is a critical decision that can significantly impact your business's success. By carefully assessing your needs, budget, and goals, you can make an informed choice that supports your company's growth and evolution. Whether you opt for a familiar platform like WordPress or embrace the flexibility of Webflow, the key is to ensure your tech stack is aligned with your strategic objectives and scalable for the future. At Bejamas, we're here to guide you through this process, offering expert advice and tailored solutions to help you thrive in the digital landscape.

Ready to dive in? Contact us today for a consultation and let us help you choose the right tech stack for your project.