What is Sanity.io? - A customer-centered deep dive

By Ikius Team

February 5th, 2024

*Updated in September 2024

Having a content management system (CMS) has become essential for creating and delivering content and digital experiences, but over the past years, more and more organizations have opted to go headless to achieve faster content delivery speeds, leverage modern architectures, and improve user experience. 

Instead of a legacy backend-frontend architecture with pre-built visual themes like a traditional CMS, a headless platform decouples access through an API layer. This allows users to build their own custom display interfaces. 

To further optimize delivery speed and performance, many companies are migrating to composable web, where digital experiences are built by integrating modular, reusable components, allowing for flexibility, scalability, and easy customization across platforms. This approach may also be known as Jamstack — JavaScript for frontend presentation logic; APIs for data exchange between client devices over HTTP; Markup used by static site generators like Sanity’s open source studio, which provides single-source truth on your database model using GraphQL queries from cloud CDNs plus real-time updates via webhooks.

But this alone isn’t enough to tell us what Sanity is or why it’s one of the best headless platforms for building all kinds of digital experiences. So, buckle up for a customer-centered, value-based dive into Sanity.io. 

• In this post:

What is Sanity? 

TL; DR: Sanity.io –sometimes called Sanity CMS– is a cloud-based, open source unified content platform that enables you to easily manage, edit, and deliver structured content across every device. It's probably one of the hottest CMS systems right now and is therefore used by many.

In other words, it makes it easy for you to create websites and applications without worrying about the backend or underlying technology because it supports all meta-frameworks and static site generators.

This eliminates the need for developers to write custom code from scratch whenever they want to update a page or add new features. 

Instead, they can use pre-built components that come with the platform, saving time and money in the long run. 

What makes Sanity different? 

Sanity stands apart from other headless CMSs because of its flexible data model and intuitive editing interface. Instead of relying on pre-defined templates, Sanity allows users to define their own structures for data and documents. This makes it easier for users to customize their content without worrying about coding or complex technical jargon. 

In addition, Sanity has an easy-to-use drag-and-drop editor that allows users to quickly create and edit content in real-time via a web browser or mobile device. This ensures businesses can update their content quickly and efficiently - regardless of location. 

Key features of Sanity

Let's look further into the key features that make Sanity into a fan favorite CMS

Content lake

Sanity Content Lake is a cloud-based, fully managed service by Sanity where your content is stored and accessed. Thanks to Sanity’s cloud-based repository, you can access and store all kinds of content and assets, allowing you to focus on what matters most  –creating unique experiences.

Sanity’s API makes everything simple; you can get started quickly by utilizing one of our client libraries or HTTP APIs to create a solid digital experience. 

Structured content

Structured content is like a set of building blocks, each piece carefully arranged and classified for maximum understanding. By utilizing these pieces in an organized way, machines and people alike can gain insight from the components – maximizing efficiency and productivity. 

Plus, with Sanity.io’s Portable Text, a revolutionary open-specification format that takes rich text to the next level. Now you can turn it into nearly any markup language imaginable –from HTML and JSX to Vue, Markdown, SSML, or XML.

Sanity Studio

Sanity Studio is a top-of-the-line, React-based, and open-source CMS. Streamline the creation of your content in Sanity Studio with their powerful tool kits and plugins.

Sanity Studio single page application also offers an abundance of powerful plugins from npm, plus the ability to craft seamless integrations into your applications. Unleash a world of design potential – get started today and unlock the ultimate workflow, optimized to work exactly how you need it to.

Developer experience 

Sanity is the darling of developers. Unleash unlimited possibilities with Sanity Studio's ever-expanding ecosystem of plugins! Access a wide range of React components to create custom input, widgets, and tools.

Connect with a global community –from seasoned developers to beginners alike– who are joining forces to shape today's future tech landscape.

GROQ

GROQ (Graph-Relational Object Queries) is a language that allows users to effortlessly query collections of JSON documents without needing explicit schemas. In practice, GROQ allows developers to efficiently query, filter, and shape content from Sanity’s Content Lake, making it flexible to retrieve exactly the data needed for applications without being tied to a rigid schema, making it highly adaptable for custom content structures.

With GROQ, you can maximize expressive filtering, enable the seamless joinery of multiple documents into one streamlined response, and create bespoke outcomes tailored for individual client applications. 

Benefits of Sanity

Using a content platform like Sanity benefits CMOs and other professionals who need to manage large amounts of content quickly and efficiently. 

• Pain free content management: Managing your content structure and digital experiences offers powerful analytics tools that help measure performance across multiple devices and platforms in real-time. All of this helps your content team make informed decisions about optimizing digital strategies for maximum return of investment.

• Intuitive user interface: In Sanity, editing content is pretty simple. You can save time tinkering with code and let your content team focus on creating great customer experiences.

• Flexibility: You can easily adjust your designs and content quickly without worrying about breaking existing functionality or creating complex new code blocks. With this platform, CMOs can optimize their online presence by creating a custom content type that closely resembles what they need –just like I did with my podcasting app about tuxedo cats. 

• User-friendly. Even if you don't have much technical knowledge or experience with web development tools, you can make changes quickly and easily thanks to Sanity Studio’s react-based interface. 

• Great for marketers: It's flexible for marketing teams who need to quickly make changes without relying on developer resources every time. This gives them more control over their content strategy while ensuring quality results in less time.  Sanity also offers a range of features designed specifically for marketing teams. This includes A/B testing capabilities, scheduled delivery options, and analytics tracking tools.

• Easy to start with: Plus, it integrates seamlessly with popular meta-frameworks like React, Next.js, and Gatsby, so you can get a site up and running quickly. You can say goodbye to struggling through complex setup processes or compatibility issues.  

Pricing

Sanity has currently three pricing tiers for users of all shapes and sizes, from solo devs who want to test a new content platform to unicorn companies looking to scale up. Their free version which is obviously free is great for doers on an individual level that want to get started experimenting with the CMS. The growth plan, which 15 USD/ per month (and per user) is great for teams that are collaborating together on bigger projects. Then there is the enterprise version, which is most suitable for corporations and bigger enterprises that need heavy-duty features.

Here are the current pricing plans of Sanity:

• Free: $0/month, it's great for individuals experimenting or shipping smaller projects.

• Growth: 15$/ month, this affordable version is good for those that want to ensure their website can scale, and need better collaboration opportunities.

• Enterprise: Contact sales for pricing, suitable for organizations with complex security, support, and performance needs.

Our experience working with Sanity

With several successful Sanity projects under our belt, we can advise you on establishing Sanity CMS for any projects, from eCommerce stores to marketing sites.

It's one of the hottest, most flexible CMSs in the market right now, so it's safe to say Sanity will be a great choice for your project.

Here's what our team thinks about Sanity:

Closing thoughts

As you can see, Sanity is one of the most advanced (but still easy to use) headless CMS solutions available today. Its flexible data model and intuitive editing interface make it simple for users to customize their content without worrying about technical details or coding knowledge. 

On top of that, its marketing features give CMOs powerful insights into customer behavior so they can deliver personalized messages tailored to each customer’s needs – making it easier than ever for them to reach out directly to potential customers easily. 

With all these advantages in mind, it’s no wonder why many businesses are choosing Sanity as their go-to platform for managing digital assets online.

Choose Sanity if:

• You want a CMS that integrates well with third-parties

• You want to create your own content schema

• You need omnichannel delivery

• You outgrew traditional platforms

• You want to deliver a unique website

Think twice before choosing Sanity if:

• You’re just at the beginning of your content management journey

• You’re not too sure of what you need from a content platform just yet