A Flexible, Intuitive CMS Platform Built for Non-Technical Users
Summary
Over a five-year partnership, INNERLUXES helped Brightspot, a US web content management (CMS) software company, rebuild its Java CMS into a modern, flexible experience platform. The new product gives non-technical users an intuitive way to create and manage websites, intranets, commerce, and mobile solutions — with a responsive single-page admin UI, real-time updates, no-code live editing, and a custom framework built for stability and continuous testing.
About the Client
Brightspot is a US software company that delivers award-winning web content management (CMS) solutions based on a flexible, standards-compliant Java product. Its customer base includes large multinational companies and major media brands.
The Challenge: A Java CMS in Need of a Technological Revamp
The Client realized its CMS — written in Java — needed a technological revamp to stay ahead of competitors in the coming years. It wanted to offer users a top-notch digital experience, especially as UI technologies like JavaScript and Ajax were booming, and chose INNERLUXES, with cross-domain web app development experience, to create a brand-new product that would boost the company's visibility worldwide.
Finding the Right Architecture
The project's success was preceded by a persistent, hands-on search for the right technical foundation. After passing strict tests, five INNERLUXES Java developers joined to augment the Client's team — focused mainly on the front end, but able to switch to the back end when needed.
The project began with Vaadin, an open-source framework whose server-side architecture let both teams focus on their strength, Java — but it soon proved not flexible enough for the dynamic, smooth CMS the Client envisioned. The teams then tried Ext JS, but within a year the codebase had grown so large that further development and maintenance became nearly impossible. Searching for the right solution, INNERLUXES and the Client decided to build their own object-oriented framework and pair it with Microsoft's TypeScript to replace Ext JS entirely. The custom framework protected the API from unpredictable change, let users employ the same components the CMS was built with, and enabled continuous, efficient testing of the product.
With the team strengthened by a test-automation specialist, development continued for another two years under Agile methodologies, and the CMS evolved into an easy-to-use, scalable platform with features that significantly improve the user experience:
- Responsive admin UI — a single dynamic page to manage one or dozens of websites at once, navigating between documents and applications without reloading.
- Real-time updates — via WebSockets, users stay current with content changes made by others.
- Live editing — build and edit layout templates without HTML, with unlimited design options via drag-and-drop components.
- Flexible permissioning — simple, secure content access for individuals and groups.
Results
Working with a six-person INNERLUXES team, the Client released a brand-new CMS — a modern experience platform that provides the most intuitive and fastest way to create and manage websites, intranets, commerce, and mobile solutions for public and private enterprises. Built on a modern, flexible architecture, the platform put the company years ahead of its competition, and the multi-year collaboration grew into a strategic, long-term relationship that delivered the project faster and with higher quality.
Technologies and Tools
Languages: Java, JavaScript, TypeScript, HTML, CSS.
Frameworks and libraries: Vaadin, Ext JS, Gradle, Elasticsearch, Less.