Build a Starter Website Using Next.js and Contentstack

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Prerequisites

• Contentstack account
• Node.js version 12 or later
• Contentstack CLI: npm install -g @contentstack/cli

Note: For this tutorial, we have assumed that you are familiar with Contentstack and Next.js. If not, please refer to the Contentstack docs and Next.js docs for more details.

Set Up Your App

Here is an overview of the steps involved in creating our Next.js app:

1. Set the Region
2. Login to your Account
3. Import Content
4. Create Delivery Token
5. Build and Configure the Website
6. Deploy the Website

1. Set the Region

   By default, the CLI uses the North America endpoint. To use the European endpoint, run the following command in your terminal (command prompt):

   csdx config:set:region EU

2. Login to your Account

   To import content to your stack, first, you’ll need to log in to your Contentstack account via CLI by running the following command in your terminal:

   csdx auth:login

   This command will ask you to provide your Contentstack’s account credentials (email and password).

3. Import Content

   The ‘seed’ command lets you import content to your stack in a few steps. To do so, run the following command in your terminal:

   csdx cm:seed -r "contentstack/stack-starter-app"

   This command will prompt the following options as follows:

   • Organization name: You’ll get a list of organizations to which you have access. Select the one from the list where your source stack is located or where you want to create a new stack.
   • Stack preference: Next, you need to select your choice to create a new stack:
     • If you select Yes, you’ll receive a list of organizations to which you belong. Then, choose an organization where you are either an owner or admin to create the new stack, and then enter a name for your stack.
     • If you select No, you need to choose the organization where the destination stack exists and select that particular stack where you have the specific permissions for importing content. Refer to the Stack Roles documentation to learn more about permissions.

   Tip: To avoid the chances of any error, we recommend that you select the option of creating a new destination stack. If you choose to import content to an existing stack, ensure that the stack is empty.

   Finally, you’ll get the content imported to your stack.

4. Create Delivery Token

   A delivery token lets you fetch published content of an environment.

   You can create a delivery token for the “development” environment for running the website on localhost. Later, while deploying your site, you can create tokens for other environments.

5. Build and Configure the Website

   Download the website code.

   Navigate to the root folder, create a configuration file named .env.development.local, and provide your credentials:

   API_KEY = <api_key_of_your_stack>
   DELIVERY_TOKEN = <delivery_token_of_the_environment>
   ENVIRONMENT = <publishing_environment_name>
   REGION = eu  //Compulsory param for EU users. NA users need not add this param.  
   CUSTOM_HOST= <URL_where website is hosted> //Optional. Use this for updating URL in sitemap.xml page.

   Note: To use European region, set REGION=eu.

   Fire up your terminal, point it to your project location, and run the following commands:

   npm install
   npm run dev

   That’s it!

   You can now view the website at http://localhost:3000. And you also have the stack that has all the content and resources for the website. Try experimenting by creating new entries and publishing on the “development” environment. You should be able to see the changes on the website at the localhost.

6. Deploy the Website

   The easiest and the quickest way to deploy a Next.js starter website on production is to use Vercel. You need a Vercel account before you start deploying.

   Note: During deployment, to use European region, add an environment variable REGION and set its value to eu