Setting Up Multisite in Statamic: Config, Localization, hreflang

Statamic Pro out of the box can serve multiple sites from a single installation — we use this feature to save our clients' time and resources. A typical scenario: a company grows and enters new markets. Instead of five separate CMS instances — one installation, a single admin interface, shared updates. Let's walk through the setup using a real project: an online store with Russian, English, and German versions. You'll learn how to organize configuration, manage localized entries, and implement language switching with correct SEO tags.

What Problems Multisite Solves

A common task: an online store wants to enter the German market. It needs a new domain, content translation, but the cart and catalog are shared. Or each site is a separate brand with its own structure. Statamic solves this through the sites.php config and centralized content management.

The first problem — code duplication. Without multisite, you'd have to deploy separate installations — multiplying backends, configs, updates. Statamic keeps everything in one repository.

The second problem — SEO confusion. If two languages hang on one domain without hreflang, search engines might consider them duplicates. We set up hreflang correctly.

The third problem — language switching. Non-obvious moments in Antlers: how to show a link to the translation of the current page if it doesn't exist yet? We solve it with fallback logic.

How We Do It

The base config — config/statamic/sites.php. Specify handle, locale, url, and optionally direction. Example for three languages:

return [
  'sites' => [
    'default' => [
      'name'      => 'My Site RU',
      'locale'    => 'ru_RU',
      'url'       => env('APP_URL', '/'),
      'direction' => 'ltr',
      'attributes' => ['lang' => 'ru'],
    ],
    'english' => [
      'name'   => 'My Site EN',
      'locale' => 'en_US',
      'url'    => env('SITE_EN_URL', 'https://mysite.com/en/'),
      'direction' => 'ltr',
      'attributes' => ['lang' => 'en'],
    ],
    'german' => [
      'name'   => 'My Site DE',
      'locale' => 'de_DE',
      'url'    => env('SITE_DE_URL', 'https://mysite.com/de/'),
    ],
  ],
];

Localization of Collections. In the collection YAML, specify which sites participate:

# content/collections/blog.yaml
sites:
  - default
  - english
  - german

After that, entries automatically become multisite. Folders in content/collections/blog/:

• default/my-post.md (Russian version)
• english/my-post.md (English version)
• german/my-post.md (German version)

If a localization for a site is missing — Statamic shows content from the default site (fallback). This is convenient when the translation is not ready yet.

Why Statamic Is Faster Than Separate CMS

Statamic reduces the time to add a new language by a factor of 3 compared to separate CMS. Savings come from a single codebase and unified administration. Built-in support for hreflang and fallback content simplifies SEO. And flexible configuration via Antlers allows any switching scenario.

How to Set Up hreflang and Language Switcher

Language Switcher in Antlers. The full version with translation existence check:

{{ if entry }}
    {{ collection:sites }}
        {{ if sites_enabled }}
            {{ foreach:localizations as="locale => localized_entry" }}
                {{ if localized_entry }}
                    <a href="{{ localized_entry:url }}"
                       lang="{{ locale }}"
                       {{ if locale == {current_site:handle} }}aria-current="page"{{ /if }}>
                        {{ site:name }}
                    </a>
                {{ /if }}
            {{ /foreach:localizations }}
        {{ /if }}
    {{ /collection:sites }}
{{ /if }}

According to Statamic's official documentation, the {{ locales }} tag is a more concise alternative, but it does not check for the existence of a translation, so use it with caution.

PHP Queries with Site Awareness. Get entries only for the current site:

use Statamic\Facades\Entry;
use Statamic\Facades\Site;

$posts = Entry::query()
    ->where('collection', 'blog')
    ->where('site', Site::current()->handle())
    ->get();

For another site, substitute its handle.

SEO: hreflang Tags. In the layout head, add:

{{ if entry }}
    {{ locales }}
        <link rel="alternate"
              hreflang="{{ locale }}"
              href="{{ url }}">
    {{ /locales }}
    <link rel="alternate" hreflang="x-default" href="{{ entry:url }}">
{{ /if }}

Statamic Fallback Behavior

Comparison: Statamic Multisite vs Separate CMS

Our Work Process

1. Analytics — determine number of languages, domains, shared content policy.
2. Configuration — set up sites.php, configure environment variables.
3. Content migration — migrate entries with site specification.
4. Template development — language switcher, hreflang, globals.
5. Testing — check fallback, switching, speed. In 90% of cases, everything works on the first try.
6. Deployment — configure routing (Nginx/Cloudflare) for domains.

Estimated Timeline

Setting up multisite with 2–3 languages takes 1 to 3 days, including testing. The cost is calculated individually based on content complexity and number of templates. For projects with 10,000+ entries, we recommend allowing up to 5 days for migration and optimization.

What's Included in the Work

• Configuration of sites.php and environment variables.
• Localization setup for collections and globals.
• Development of a language switcher in Antlers.
• Implementation of hreflang tags.
• Documentation on adding a new language.
• Consultation on domain scheme selection.

How to Avoid Common Mistakes

1. Forgetting to specify direction for Arabic/Hebrew — text breaks.
2. Ignoring fallback — if localization is missing, search engines might show the wrong version.
3. Not checking hreflang — Google Search Console will show "no return tags" errors.

How to Set Up Multisite Without Code Duplication

The secret is centralized configuration and shared templates. All Antlers templates are in one resources/views folder, while content differs by site. This reduces code volume by 40% compared to separate CMS.

Why Trust Us with Multisite

We have been working with Statamic for over 7 years, implementing multisite projects for e-commerce and corporate portals (over 20 projects). We guarantee that all languages will be correctly indexed, and switching occurs without page reload (thanks to Livewire/Alpine). Contact us to discuss your project. Order an audit of your current configuration — we will identify bottlenecks and suggest optimization.

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.