What is the Content SDK?
If you’re familiar with Sitecore’s JSS SDK and have been building sites using it, you may be wondering why Sitecore has released a new SDK — the Content SDK. Why do we need it, and how does it differ from JSS?
Think of it like this: Can you play football wearing regular sports shoes?
Sure, you can! But would you want to? Probably not—unless you have no other option. Regular sports shoes aren’t designed for the grip and support needed on a football field. You’d likely prefer wearing football cleats (studs) that provide better traction and stability during the game.
Similarly, JSS was designed to support Sitecore’s headless implementation and could be used for XM and XP topologies. JSS was first released with Sitecore 9.1, and since then, it has evolved through multiple versions, up to version 22 as of this writing. However, with the launch of Sitecore XM Cloud, Sitecore continued to rely on JSS — until now.
Now, Sitecore has introduced Content SDK, which is specifically tailored to work with XM Cloud.
Features at a Glance
Easy Front-End Integration
The SDK comes with a ready-to-use Next.js starter project so you can quickly connect your app to Sitecore without setting up everything from scratch. It works well with server-side rendering (SSR) and static site generation (SSG), giving you flexibility in how you build your pages.
Personalization & Testing Built In
You can show different content versions (A/B/n testing) or customize pages for different audience segments—like changing banners based on language, or time zone—without writing a ton of extra code.
Multi-Site Management
If your company runs more than one website, the SDK supports multi-site setups so you can manage them all from a single XM Cloud environment.
Simple Content Fetching
It includes GraphQL APIs that make it easy to get: Page Layouts, Dictionary, Sitemap, and Error pages. All of this comes through one central SitecoreClient, so you don’t have to deal with multiple data sources.
Analytics & Tracking
The SDK has hooks for tracking page views, clicks, and other events—helping you connect content performance data back into Sitecore’s analytics tools.
Developer-Friendly Setup
Registering a component with Component Map, integrating custom middleware actions with defineMiddleware, and renaming a lot of entities to a simple and readable format.
Official Repo – https://github.com/Sitecore/content-sdk/tree/v1.0.0
Key Differences Between JSS and Content SDK
JSS also offers some of the features listed above. So, where does Content SDK stand out? Let’s find out.
| Feature | JSS | Content SDK | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Support | XM, XP, XM Cloud | XM Cloud only | ||||||
| Editor Support | Experience Editor, Page Builder | Page Builder | ||||||
| Complexity and Sizing | More than Content SDK | Lesser | ||||||
So, What Should I Do Now?
Let’s clear up any confusion:
- You’re not using XM Cloud?’
- The new SDK is not for you.
- You’re using XM Cloud with JSS?
- No worries! You can continue using JSS without any issues. However, if you want to upgrade to the Content SDK, here’s the official documentation to migrate.
- You’re starting with a new XM Cloud implementation?
- It is recommended to use the Content SDK, but it’s not mandatory. If you prefer regular sports shoes over cleats, your choice!
Final Thoughts
To clarify, it’s not mandatory to switch to Content SDK right now. While it’s recommended for XM Cloud setups, if you’re using a non-XM Cloud setup, you should continue with JSS.
Still unsure about what’s best for your setup? Reach out to Perficient, a Sitecore Platinum Partner, for expert guidance on how to best implement Sitecore’s tools for your needs.
