> Canonical URL: https://codingcat.dev/podcast/1-12-agility-cms

# Agility CMS

🎧 Podcast Episode · S1E12March 17, 2021

# Agility CMS

![](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/hfh83o0w/production/149aa0d3ba55935a4bfb8c84913643403d424458-1920x1080.png?w=1920&h=1080&q=82&fit=max&auto=format)[![Alex Patterson](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/hfh83o0w/production/a606dfaa381aab08ddbe16a33fe1d3e1fb37c927-400x400.jpg?w=96&h=96&q=82&fit=max&auto=format)Alex Patterson](/author/alex-patterson)[![Brittney Postma](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/hfh83o0w/production/f25e504779cb6ebb7c0dd7df367f2c7490e17784-735x735.png?w=96&h=96&q=82&fit=max&auto=format)Brittney Postma](/author/brittney-postma)[![Joel Varty](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/hfh83o0w/production/7ad0700cb3aa60392fffccec7745a3b7e05e637e-575x519.jpg?rect=29,0,519,519&w=96&h=96&q=82&fit=max&auto=format)Joel Varty](/guest/joel-varty)🎧 Listen & Subscribe[Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/episode/7nlWjCmTBh3ph9gE1enrIv)[Apple](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/1-12-agility-cms/id1491655542?i=1000513438693)[YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOr-11AO9ms)[Pocket Casts](https://pca.st/episode/0beb8496-a56d-4893-85a9-ef3d4c657ca1)[Castbox](https://castbox.fm/episode/id2508485-id365078929)[Castro](https://castro.fm/episode/FcRZML)[Overcast](https://overcast.fm/itunes1491655542)[RSS](https://anchor.fm/s/115b203c/podcast/rss)✏️ Visual Architecture Diagram

## how this episode connects together.

Follow AJ from first principles to production-ready architecture.

Let’s build it!✏️ Visual Diagram: Agility CMS✓ Good PatternVISUAL DIAGRAM[Diagram Walkthrough]Step-by-step diagram breakdown for Agility CMS: start with Joel Varty, implement Architecture & Patterns, and ship to production.AAA Contrast Verified

**Agility CMS ** is a CodingCat.dev podcast episode featuring Joel Varty alongside Alex Patterson and Brittney Postma focused on Contentful, Serverless, Stripe. Joel Varty talks all about Agility CMS. Where DXP fits into the Jamstack. 1.12 - Agility CMS with Joel Varty: https://codingcat.dev/podcast/1-12-agility-cms 0:00 - Start
0:34 - Introduction: Joel Varty
1:33 - How do you measure success?
1:46 - What is a headless CMS?
3:00 - How does hosting work?
3:50 - Benefits of Fastly
5:00 - Benefits of Stockpath
5:37 - What's included in Agility CMS services?
6:36 - W Watch the full video breakdown on [**YouTube**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOr-11AO9ms) or explore the architectural notes, chapters, and official documentation links below.

## Questions

- Agility is a Headless CMS correct?
- How does this differ from WordPress?
- Would you compare Agility CMS to Contentful, or something more like Sanity.io?
- Is Agility CMS Open Source?
- What is DXP vs CMS?
- Do you host your own UI or is this taken care of by Agility?
- Does a customer working with Agility CMS focus on content first?
- Before something like design?
- Before development?
- How does Agility CMS fit into Jamstack?
- Can you build both static and dynamic?
- Does Agility work with Gatsby & Nextjs?
- What about Eleventy?
- How does Agility fit in with platforms like Vercel & Netlify
- What about hosting in Azure or AWS?
- Does Agility allow you to create content for apps?
- Is the Agility Dashboard built in Vue.js?
- Can you extend the Dashboard?
- Is the CMS mainly written in .Net?
- Editors often feel powerless, how does Agility CMS give this back?
- Is this key for marketing?
- [Why would a developer want Agility CMS vs. using the entire database](https://agilitycms.com/resources/posts/why-you-as-a-developer-should-be-using-a-cms)?
- Any interesting workshops coming from Agility CMS?
- Joel to talk about our workshop on Virtual events with Vercel / Next.js

## Technical Overview: Agility CMS

1.12 - Agility CMS with Joel Varty: https://codingcat.dev/podcast/1-12-agility-cms 0:00 - Start
0:34 - Introduction: Joel Varty
1:33 - How do you measure success?
1:46 - What is a headless CMS?
3:00 - How does hosting work?
3:50 - Benefits of Fastly
5:00 - Benefits of Stockpath
5:37 - What's included in Agility CMS services?
6:36 - W

When applying the concepts from **Agility CMS**  in a production codebase, teams working with Contentful, Serverless, Stripe should align their implementation with the [**Contentful Developer Documentation**](https://www.contentful.com/developers/docs/) (Composable content platform, GraphQL, and REST Content APIs). Structuring your workflow around repeatable patterns, automated verification, and clear separation of concerns helps prevent regressions as your application scales.

### Key Engineering Takeaways

- **Core Topic Focus: ** Practical strategies for Contentful, Serverless, Stripe covered in "Agility CMS" (Joel Varty talks all about Agility CMS. Where DXP fits into the Jamstack.).
- **Production Implementation: ** Combine the architectural patterns demonstrated in this podcast with the official [Contentful Developer Documentation](https://www.contentful.com/developers/docs/) for type safety, performance, and long-term maintainability.
- **Hands-On Video Walkthrough: ** Follow along with the live coding demos and discussion on [YouTube (Agility CMS)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOr-11AO9ms) and subscribe to [CodingCat.dev on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@CodingCatDev?sub_confirmation=1) for weekly deep dives.

## Video Chapters & Timestamps

Jump directly to any segment of [**Agility CMS**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOr-11AO9ms) on YouTube using the timestamped chapters below:

- [**00:00**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOr-11AO9ms&t=0s): Start
- [**00:00**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOr-11AO9ms&t=0s): Introduction: Joel Varty
- [**00:00**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOr-11AO9ms&t=0s): How do you measure success?
- [**00:00**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOr-11AO9ms&t=0s): What is a headless CMS?
- [**00:00**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOr-11AO9ms&t=0s): How does hosting work?
- [**00:00**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOr-11AO9ms&t=0s): Benefits of Fastly
- [**00:00**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOr-11AO9ms&t=0s): Benefits of Stockpath
- [**00:00**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOr-11AO9ms&t=0s): What's included in Agility CMS services?
- [**00:00**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOr-11AO9ms&t=0s): Why use external products?
- [**00:00**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOr-11AO9ms&t=0s): How does Agility CMS compare to other products?
- [**00:00**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOr-11AO9ms&t=0s): MDX, Agility and other platforms
- [**00:00**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOr-11AO9ms&t=0s): User experience
- [**00:00**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOr-11AO9ms&t=0s): It's an API-driven world
- [**00:00**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOr-11AO9ms&t=0s): Digital Experience Platform (DXP) vs. Headless CMS
- [**00:00**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOr-11AO9ms&t=0s): Adobe limitations
- [**00:00**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOr-11AO9ms&t=0s): E-Commerce integration with Agility CMS
- [**00:00**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOr-11AO9ms&t=0s): Stripe
- [**00:00**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOr-11AO9ms&t=0s): Agility CMS future products
- [**00:00**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOr-11AO9ms&t=0s): Which comes first: Marketing or Design?
- [**00:00**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOr-11AO9ms&t=0s): Building a model for user-friendly operations

## Resources, Links & Official Documentation

- **Watch on YouTube: ** [Agility CMS Full Video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOr-11AO9ms) (plus [Subscribe to CodingCat.dev](https://www.youtube.com/@CodingCatDev?sub_confirmation=1))
- **Show Pick: ** [Agility CMS Starters (picked by Alex Patterson)](https://agilitycms.com/starters)
- **Show Pick: ** [Gatsby v3.0 (picked by Alex Patterson)](https://www.gatsbyjs.com/blog/gatsby-v3/)
- **Show Pick: ** [Getting Started with Jamstack and Agility CMS (picked by Brittney Postma)](https://itnext.io/getting-started-with-jamstack-and-agility-cms-da43a9245b10)
- **Show Pick: ** [Two Good Yogurt (picked by Brittney Postma)](https://www.twogoodyogurt.com/lower-sugar-yogurt/)
- **Show Pick: ** [For All Mankind (TV series) (picked by Joel Varty)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_All_Mankind_(TV_series)/)
- [**Joel Varty Guest Profile & Episodes on CodingCat.dev**](/guest/joel-varty)
- [**Joel Varty Official Website**](https://agilitycms.com)
- [**Contentful Developer Documentation:**](https://www.contentful.com/developers/docs/) Composable content platform, GraphQL, and REST Content APIs
- [**Serverless Land & Cloud Patterns:**](https://serverlessland.com/) Event-driven architecture, functions-as-a-service, and cloud workflows
- [**Stripe Developer Documentation:**](https://docs.stripe.com/) Payment intents, webhooks, subscriptions, and billing architecture

## Related CodingCat.dev Tutorials & Podcast Episodes

- [**Creating Great Ecommerce with Jamstack**](/podcast/1-26-creating-great-ecommerce-with-jamstack): We sit down with Flor Antara and James Vidler to talk all about Ecommerce and the solutions for Jamstack.
- [**Sanity.io**](/podcast/0-4-sanity-io): Talking with Knut about Sanity.io and how it fits into your Jamstack requirements.
- [**Women of Jamstack**](/podcast/2-29-women-of-jamstack): We had the opportunity to chat with four amazing Women of Jamstack. We talked about things from Redwoodjs to equal pay.

## Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

### What are the main takeaways from Agility CMS?

Joel Varty talks all about Agility CMS. Where DXP fits into the Jamstack. 1.12 - Agility CMS with Joel Varty: https://codingcat.dev/podcast/1-12-agility-cms 0:00 - Start
0:34 - Introduction: Joel Varty
1:33 - How do you measure success?
1:46 - What is a headless CMS?
3:00 - How does hosting work?
3:50 - Benefits of Fastly
5:00 - Benefits of Stockpath
5:37 - What's included in Agility CMS services?
6:36 - W Throughout this podcast, Joel Varty breaks down real-world implementation details for Contentful, Serverless, Stripe so developers can apply these patterns directly in production.

### How do you implement Contentful best practices in production?

When adopting Contentful and Serverless in a production stack, start by validating your configuration against the [**Contentful Developer Documentation**](https://www.contentful.com/developers/docs/) (Composable content platform, GraphQL, and REST Content APIs). Focus on incremental adoption, automated testing, and observability so your team can measure performance and developer velocity improvements at each stage.

### Where can I watch the full Agility CMS walkthrough and find related code resources?

You can watch the complete video session for [**Agility CMS**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOr-11AO9ms) on the [**CodingCat.dev YouTube channel**](https://www.youtube.com/@CodingCatDev?sub_confirmation=1). For a deeper dive into Contentful, check out our related guide: [**Creating Great Ecommerce with Jamstack**](/podcast/1-26-creating-great-ecommerce-with-jamstack).

## ✏️ Episode Summary

1.12 - Agility CMS with Joel Varty: https://codingcat.dev/podcast/1-12-agility-cms

0:00 - Start
0:34 - Introduction: Joel Varty
1:33 - How do you measure success?
1:46 - What is a headless CMS?
3:00 - How does hosting work?
3:50 - Benefits of Fastly
5:00 - Benefits of Stockpath
5:37 - What's included in Agility CMS services?
6:36 - W

## episode picks.

### 🐾 Alex Patterson

- [Agility CMS Starters](https://agilitycms.com/starters)
- [Gatsby v3.0](https://www.gatsbyjs.com/blog/gatsby-v3/)

### 🐾 Brittney Postma

- [Getting Started with Jamstack and Agility CMS](https://itnext.io/getting-started-with-jamstack-and-agility-cms-da43a9245b10)
- [Two Good Yogurt](https://www.twogoodyogurt.com/lower-sugar-yogurt/)

### 🐾 Joel Varty

- [For All Mankind (TV series)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_All_Mankind_(TV_series)/)

## recent episodes.

[All Episodes→](/podcasts)[![GenAI for Engineers, What](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/hfh83o0w/production/3e48f44739be2aabf3aaa805e51b3a6328979153-1920x1080.png?w=1920&q=82&fit=max&auto=format)](/podcast/genai-for-engineers-what-s-real-what-s-not-and-what-s-coming)November 19, 2025[AI & MCP Agents](/topic/ai)

### [GenAI for Engineers, What's Real, What's Not and What's Coming](/podcast/genai-for-engineers-what-s-real-what-s-not-and-what-s-coming)

Curious about GenAI for engineers? Learn what's real, what's not, and what's next in AI.

[![Alex Patterson](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/hfh83o0w/production/a606dfaa381aab08ddbe16a33fe1d3e1fb37c927-400x400.jpg?w=96&h=96&q=82&fit=max&auto=format)Alex Patterson](/author/alex-patterson)[![Balki Kodarapu](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/hfh83o0w/production/25fd44884e232394eb74b776fcec7e8d13330ca0-1060x794.png?rect=133,0,794,794&w=96&h=96&q=82&fit=max&auto=format)Balki Kodarapu](/guest/balki-kodarapu)[![How OAuth, MCP, and the OpenAI Apps SDK, Power the Next Generation of Interactive AI Experiences (with Stytch & OpenAI)](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/hfh83o0w/production/0beb99900f4c24e284df2dee3e2d740062c6ce96-1920x1080.png?w=1920&q=82&fit=max&auto=format)](/podcast/how-oauth-mcp-and-the-openai-apps-sdk-power-the-next-generation-of-interactive-ai-experiences)November 4, 2025[AI & MCP Agents](/topic/ai)

### [How OAuth, MCP, and the OpenAI Apps SDK, Power the Next Generation of Interactive AI Experiences (with Stytch & OpenAI)](/podcast/how-oauth-mcp-and-the-openai-apps-sdk-power-the-next-generation-of-interactive-ai-experiences)

Curious about OAuth, MCP servers, and building cool ChatGPT apps? Hear from Max of Stytch as we dive deep, break down the tech, and build a Tamagotchi together!

[![Alex Patterson](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/hfh83o0w/production/a606dfaa381aab08ddbe16a33fe1d3e1fb37c927-400x400.jpg?w=96&h=96&q=82&fit=max&auto=format)Alex Patterson](/author/alex-patterson)[![Max Gerber](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/hfh83o0w/production/4497bb7ada0e39b4cd13b0e3ca00c930389dab02-1292x1088.png?rect=102,0,1088,1088&w=96&h=96&q=82&fit=max&auto=format)Max Gerber](/guest/max-gerber)