Energie Schweiz - Headless CMS Website

★ Featured
Client: Energie Schweiz
Employer: Unic
Period: 2020 – Present
Role: Application Architect
Team Size: 5
ContentfulGatsbyReactAlgoliaKubernetesGitLab CI/CD

Conception and implementation of a new website for energie-schweiz.ch using a headless CMS approach, focusing on content flexibility and performance.

Technical Challenges

  • Creating a flexible content model to accommodate diverse content types
  • Implementing high-performance search functionality across multiple content sources
  • Automating content updates and deployment processes
  • Ensuring content consistency across multiple communication channels

Solutions

Developed a sophisticated content architecture in Contentful with reusable components. Integrated Algolia for high-performance search capabilities. Created automated pipelines for content updates and implemented a Kubernetes-based deployment strategy.

Outcomes

  • Significantly improved content management efficiency for editorial teams
  • Achieved sub-second page load times through static site generation
  • Enhanced search functionality with real-time results and filtering
  • Seamless migration to Microsoft Azure in 2024

Project Overview

This project involved the conception and implementation of a new website for energie-schweiz.ch and related communication pages using a modern headless CMS approach. The focus was on creating a flexible content architecture that would enable efficient content management while delivering high performance to end users.

Technical Challenges

The implementation presented several significant technical challenges:

  • Creating a flexible content model: We needed to design a content architecture in Contentful that could accommodate diverse content types while maintaining relationships between content pieces.
  • Implementing high-performance search: The site required sophisticated search functionality across multiple content sources with filtering capabilities.
  • Automating content workflows: Editorial teams needed efficient processes for content creation, review, and publication.
  • Ensuring cross-channel consistency: Content needed to be consistently presented across multiple communication channels.

Solutions Implemented

To address these challenges, we:

  1. Developed a sophisticated content architecture in Contentful with reusable components and content models
  2. Integrated Algolia for high-performance search with custom indexing strategies
  3. Created automated pipelines for content updates using Contentful webhooks
  4. Implemented a Kubernetes-based deployment strategy with GitLab CI/CD
  5. Built a static site using Gatsby and React for optimal performance

Outcomes

The project was a success, with the following outcomes:

  • Significantly improved content management efficiency for editorial teams
  • Achieved sub-second page load times through static site generation
  • Enhanced search functionality with real-time results and filtering
  • Created a maintainable and extensible architecture
  • Successfully migrated to Microsoft Azure and Azure DevOps in 2024