Craft CMS Multisite: Setup, Localization & Content Management

Imagine you have three domains — mysite.ru, mysite.com, mysite.de. Separate Craft CMS installations on each lead to code duplication, content desync, and extra maintenance costs. Our team, with 10+ years of experience, has implemented multisites for 30+ projects — from 2 to 8 languages. On a project with three domains, we reduced overhead by 40–60% compared to separate installations. We offer a proven solution — a multisite Craft CMS setup. We guarantee stable operation and correct indexing. In this article, we’ll cover architecture, Project Config setup, content management, and field localization.

Architecture: Site Groups, Sites, and Domains

Setup starts with creating site groups and sites. Groups logically combine sites (e.g., "Main Sites" and "Microsites"). In each group you can define multiple sites with different languages, domains, and URL paths. A standard configuration includes three sites for Russian, English, and German. Each specifies a full URL, allowing search engines to index all versions correctly.

Use Project Config — YAML files in config/project/sites/. Example for a trilingual site (all three files combined for brevity):

# config/project/sites/mysite-ru.yaml
name: 'My Site RU'
handle: mySiteRu
language: ru-RU
primary: true
enabled: true
hasUrls: true
baseUrl: 'https://mysite.ru/'

# config/project/sites/mysite-en.yaml
name: 'My Site EN'
handle: mySiteEn
language: en-US
primary: false
enabled: true
hasUrls: true
baseUrl: 'https://mysite.com/'

# config/project/sites/mysite-de.yaml
name: 'My Site DE'
handle: mySiteDe
language: de-DE
primary: false
enabled: true
hasUrls: true
baseUrl: 'https://mysite.de/'

After creating sites, configure the web server. All domains must point to a single root:

server {
  server_name mysite.ru mysite.com mysite.de;
  root /var/www/mysite/web;
  # standard Craft Nginx config
}

Now, in each section, specify how content propagates across sites. Method comparison:

Choosing the right propagationMethod saves up to 40% of time managing entries. Example section config with propagationMethod: all:

# config/project/sections/blog.yaml
propagationMethod: all
siteSettings:
  mySiteRu:
    hasUrls: true
    uriFormat: 'blog/{slug}'
    template: blog/_entry
  mySiteEn:
    hasUrls: true
    uriFormat: 'en/blog/{slug}'
    template: blog/_entry
  mySiteDe:
    hasUrls: true
    uriFormat: 'de/blog/{slug}'
    template: blog/_entry

How to Manage Field Localization?

Every field in Craft CMS has a translationMethod property. For multisite, this is a key tool. Properly configuring translationMethod reduces content update time by 30–40%. For example, titles can differ per site, while images stay shared. Typical field comparison:

This approach reuses media and utility fields while keeping text content unique.

Language Switcher in Templates

To allow visitors to switch between versions, add a block to the template with links to localized entries:

{# List all versions of the current page #}
<nav class="language-switcher">
  {% for site in craft.app.sites.getAllSites() %}
    {% set localeEntry = entry.getLocalized().site(site).one() %}
    {% if localeEntry %}
      <a href="{{ localeEntry.url }}"
         lang="{{ site.language | slice(0, 2) }}"
         {% if site.id == currentSite.id %}aria-current="page"{% endif %}>
        {{ site.language | upper | slice(0, 2) }}
      </a>
    {% endif %}
  {% endfor %}
</nav>

{# Content of current site (automatic) #}
{% set posts = craft.entries().section('blog').all() %}
{# Explicit site specification #}
{% set enPosts = craft.entries().section('blog').site('mySiteEn').all() %}

Interface String Translations

Static strings are translated via files in translations/:

// translations/ru/site.php
return [
  'Read more' => 'Читать далее',
  'Published on {date}' => 'Опубликовано {date}',
];

In Twig, use the t filter:

{{ "Read more" | t('site') }}
{{ "Published on {date}" | t('site', { date: entry.postDate | date('d.m.Y') }) }}

Advantages over Separate Installations

Comparison: Craft CMS multisite saves up to 60% of update time and reduces content desync risk. As per Craft CMS docs, Project Config syncs settings across environments. Deploying a new language takes 2–4 hours instead of days with separate installations. Indexing all versions in search engines occurs within 1–2 weeks. To scale your internet project, implement multisite — contact us for a detailed project assessment. Our engineers will prepare a custom solution. Get a consultation on Craft CMS multisite setup.

What's Included in Full Multisite Setup?

Comprehensive setup includes:

• Creating Project Config for all sites and groups
• Domain binding and web server configuration
• Section config with optimal propagationMethod
• Field localization and translation setup
• Language switcher implementation
• Testing and config lock
• Integration with external services (translators, CDN) to speed up localized version loading
• Documentation for adding new languages
• Post-launch support

Full Setup Process

We perform multisite setup in 5 stages:

1. Architecture design — choose groups, domains, languages. Consider domain structure and audience language preferences.
2. Create Project Config for all sites and sections.
3. Configure web server and integrate with hosting.
4. Localize fields and configure propagationMethod.
5. Develop language switcher and test.

Project Config allows deploying new sites in minutes, not hours — 2–3 times faster than manual entry.

Contact our engineers for a project audit. Get a consultation on Craft CMS multisite setup.

Headless CMS: Strapi, Directus, Sanity, Contentful, Drupal

Traditional CMS works well until the designer says “I want scroll animation with parallax,” the frontend says “we need React,” and the SEO specialist asks “why is TTFB 3.4 seconds?” At that point, monolithic architecture starts to hinder everyone. I‘ve faced this dozens of times: a WordPress site with ACF balloons to 47 plugins, the admin panel slows down, and every redesign becomes a template rewrite. Headless CMS separates content management from presentation. Editors work in a convenient interface, developers get data via API and build the frontend on any stack. Sounds simple. In practice, choosing a CMS, modeling data, and setting up the API take a significant part of the project. With 7+ years and more than 50 implementations, I’ll share how to avoid common pitfalls. Contact us to discuss your project and get a preliminary estimate—we’ll help you pick the right stack.

What are the key benefits of headless CMS over monolithic?

Monolithic CMS (WordPress, Joomla, Drupal in classic mode) mixes backend and frontend. Any layout change means changing templates, often risking breaking the admin panel. Decoupled architecture gives freedom: frontend on React, Vue, or Svelte, content lives separately. Result: improved load speed (LCP often drops from 4–6 s to 1–1.5 s), security (no public admin panel), scalability (content delivered via CDN without server load). Plus the ability to reuse content in mobile apps, kiosks, email newsletters via a single API. A client we recently helped saw LCP improve from 6.2 s to 1.1 s — a 5.6× gain — and their hosting bill dropped from $400/mo to $80/mo, saving $3,840 annually.

How to choose a headless CMS for your project?

No universal tool exists. The choice depends on team, content complexity, and infrastructure. Let’s break down the key options.

Strapi — open-source, self-hosted, Node.js. Suitable for teams needing data control and API customization. Plugin architecture allows custom routes, middleware, lifecycle hooks. REST and GraphQL out of the box. Deploys in about an hour — three times faster than Drupal. Weakness: versions v4 and v5 are incompatible, migration is painful. Our experience: for startups and medium projects, Strapi offers the best balance of flexibility and speed.

Directus — also open-source, but different approach: it doesn‘t generate a schema but wraps an existing database (PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite) into a REST/GraphQL API. If you already have a database, Directus connects without migrations. Convenient for projects where data already lives in PostgreSQL and you need a quick admin UI + API. Saves up to 30% integration time.

Sanity — cloud CMS with real-time editor. Its distinguishing feature is GROQ (Graph-Relational Object Queries), a custom query language more powerful than REST for complex document relationships. Portable Text for structured content. Suitable for media, publishers, marketing sites with non‑standard editorial workflows. Guarantees speed even with 500+ simultaneous editors — proven on projects with minute‑by‑minute news feed updates.

Contentful — enterprise cloud CMS. Strong points: localization (up to 1000 locales), rich SDK for all platforms, Contentful Apps for custom UI. Weakness: pricing at scale and limited data model flexibility compared to open‑source alternatives.

Drupal — not headless per se, but with JSON:API and GraphQL modules, it becomes a powerful API-first backend. Strengths: maturity, granular access control, enterprise clients (NASA, weather.com). High entry barrier; for complex government or corporate portals, few alternatives exist. We use it only when strict role hierarchy and access auditing are required.

Consequences of poor content modeling

Content modeling is critical. Mistakes at this stage are costly. A typical problem: a body field of type rich text for everything. Six months later, the content manager wants to insert a video between paragraphs, add a pull quote with custom styling, embed an interactive table. Rich text can‘t handle that. Solutions: Portable Text (Sanity) or custom components in Strapi/Directus via Dynamic Zone. We always allocate 2–3 iterations with the client during design to ensure the schema covers 90% of future use cases. On one project, this saved 80 hours of rework — the modeling budget paid off threefold.

How we build projects on headless CMS

Frontend for headless CMS almost always uses Next.js (App Router) or Nuxt. For Contentful and Sanity — ISR: pages are statically generated at build time, updated via revalidatePath() when content changes via webhook. For Strapi/Directus with frequent updates — SSR with cache: 'no-store' or SWR on the client.

Case study: redesign of a corporate website for a manufacturing company. Previous site: WordPress with ACF, 200+ pages, 4 languages. Problems: TTFB 3.8 s, editors complained about slow admin. Migrated to Strapi (self-hosted, PostgreSQL), Next.js App Router. Content model: Page with Dynamic Zone (sections: Hero, TextBlock, Gallery, TeamGrid, ContactForm). Localization via Strapi i18n plugin + next-intl on frontend. Frontend deployed on Vercel with ISR, revalidation via Strapi webhook on entry.publish. According to the client: TTFB dropped from 3.8 s to 180 ms (static with CDN) — a 21× improvement. Editors got a clean interface without 47 plugins. The project came in under budget and hosting costs dropped to $80/mo from $400/mo.

Implementation process broken into stages:

1. Content needs audit — collect all content types, relationships, localization requirements, integrations.
2. Data schema design — create models, fields, validation, access roles. Document in Swagger/OpenAPI.
3. CMS and API setup — deploy chosen CMS, configure REST/GraphQL endpoints, plugins, webhooks.
4. Frontend development — connect Next.js/Nuxt, configure ISR/SSR, section components, routing.
5. Content migration (if legacy) — automated loading via API or scripts.
6. Testing — check API endpoints, regression, load testing, Core Web Vitals.
7. Deployment — configure CDN, SSL, CI/CD, monitoring.

How long does implementation take?

The standard path includes all stages. Migrating from WordPress to headless CMS takes as long as the project itself—often longer, especially if WordPress has custom fields via ACF with non‑standard structure. Our typical timelines:

Cost is calculated individually after a brief. Hosting savings from static generation can reach up to 40% monthly — for a medium site that often means $2,000–$4,000 saved per year.

Non‑obvious considerations when choosing a headless CMS

• Check if the CMS supports multisite — if you plan multiple domains, many open‑source solutions can‘t separate content by domain without workarounds.
• Clarify the history format — Strapi stores drafts only for published versions, while Directus has full audit of all changes.
• Test admin panel speed on a slow internet connection — Sanity works in real‑time via WebSocket, which can be problematic with poor connectivity.
• Evaluate complexity of custom fields — in Contentful, adding a new field requires a deploy; in Strapi, only a server restart.
• Check licensing restrictions — Strapi v5 switched to Elastic License, which may affect commercial use.

What is included

• Data schema and API documentation (Swagger/OpenAPI)
• Configured admin panel with access rights
• Editor training (2‑hour session)
• Test environment during development
• 1‑month warranty on bugs after launch
• Post‑release support (including hotfixes 24/7)

Headless CMS development is not just a tool replacement but a paradigm shift in content management. We help make this transition without downtime or data loss. Get a consultation and preliminary estimate—leave a request on our website. Order headless CMS implementation with guaranteed results.