WebinarGeek’s move to a cutting-edge internationalized site

• Headquarters: Amsterdam, The Netherlands
• Technology Stack: Gatsby.js

During the pandemic, companies needed web conferencing to stay connected. With demand surging, WebinarGeek decided to rethink the CMS it had been using since 2015. WebinarGeek switched from Bold CMS and Webflow to Storyblok to streamline their content across four languages. They have since reduced bounce rates to 12% and a boost in 50 scores in their Google Lighthouse speed marks.

Challenges faced when keeping up in a time of crisis

Having to keep up with the demands of the pandemic’s web conferencing made WebinarGeek's team realize their traditional system couldn't meet their new standards. WebinarGeek had been using the same legacy system since its inception in 2015: a Gatsby framework, a Bold CMS, and a Webflow template. Unfortunately, WebinarGeek faced numerous challenges with its monolithic setup:

• Heavy-maintenance for content updates: Minor changes could trigger a site-wide crash and needed constant upkeep
• Redundant content updates: The system would often fail during editing, thus losing any progress they had made up until that point
• Inability to streamline localization content efforts: Working together on content across different languages frequently led to unexpected errors
• Static content updates that hindered workflows: Any content edits had to be drafted in a separate program, then moved to the CMS to work

As such, the old system had started to become a restraint on its growth rather than a support for it.

Moving to Storyblok: Streamlined & smoother content operations

WebinarGeek’s developers prioritized headless systems for a longer-term, more advanced approach. With the priority of a future-proof and API-based solution, the WebinarGeek team set its sights on Storyblok. It offered the flexibility they needed while providing the integrated features they sought.

Storyblok was able to streamline WebinarGeek’s overall content operations in a time of crisis. This helped them scale and support their business through:

• Fewer potential security risks due to Storyblok’s headless architecture
• A centralized best-of-breed system helping teams focus on one system compared to many systems and integrations separately
• The Visual Editor - enabling a smoother real-time editing experience without development support
• A lowered bounce rate of just 12% after the website launch
• Field and folder-level translations to adapt content to different markets
• Seamless migration with nestable components that aided in reusing pages and layouts
• Being a framework-agnostic system that allows WebinarGeek to use their preferred tech stack with Gatsby.js

WebinarGeek saw the benefits of moving to Storyblok without affecting their speed scores. In fact, switching to Storyblok increased them by a full 50 points.

Storyblok’s Impact: Internationalization & Workflows

WebinarGeek’s marketing team also saw improvements to their workflows. Any new page can be created without developer support. The team has access to components that they can use to create new pages without needing help from developers. This ensures that all pages have the same look and feel, which helps maintain the brand's quality and consistency.

Storyblok’s internationalization features are also a welcome upgrade for the team. The ease of use associated with components carried over to internationalization was a key feature. The team can copy and paste text and add the translations directly to the field or folder type. This means that even if a project has multiple languages, the team can edit and manage it in the same way as they would for a project with just one language. This makes the process more efficient and organized.

Storyblok helps support WebinarGeek to enable its internationalization efforts, speed, and teamwork. Today, WebinarGeek can compete more effectively and reach more customers than ever.