Sitecore Headless Development FAQ

This FAQ covers common questions about Sitecore Headless Development with ASP.NET, highlighting its features, compatibility, and best practices.

1. What are the benefits of Sitecore Headless Development?

Sitecore Headless Development introduces significant advantages:

– Efficient Development: Faster iteration cycles by using Visual Studio to deploy changes directly to a rendering host, skipping the Sitecore installation restart process.
– Improved Maintenance and Scaling: Reduces the load on Content Delivery (CD) instances by offloading the presentation layer to a lightweight rendering host.
– Flexible Integration: ASP.NET Core Rendering SDK simplifies integration with existing ASP.NET Core applications, minimizing compatibility challenges.

2. Will infrastructure costs be cheaper in production?

Infrastructure costs vary depending on data flow and load distribution:

– Reduced Load on CD Instances:
The CD instance focuses on core tasks like personalization, tracking, and GraphQL queries.
– Lower Scaling Costs:
A rendering host can be scaled horizontally at a lower cost compared to CD instances.

However, scaling needs for CD instances may persist based on the volume of rendering host requests.

3. Is Sitecore Headless Development an add-on like Sitecore JSS?

No additional purchase is needed. If you have access to Sitecore JavaScript Services (JSS), you automatically have access to Sitecore Headless Development, as both share common interfaces.

4. Can I still use MVC or Sitecore Experience Accelerator (SXA)?

Yes, Sitecore 10.0 supports all traditional models, including MVC and SXA. The ASP.NET Rendering SDK adds a new option without disrupting existing models.

5. Do I need Sitecore Containers for Sitecore Headless Development?

No. While Sitecore Containers simplify environment setup, they are not mandatory. You can use any supported infrastructure or hosting model.

6. What features are not supported in Sitecore Headless Development?

For Sitecore 10.0, the following are incompatible:

– Horizon
– Edit Frames
– Sitecore Forms
– xConnect Events from C# (Goals, Outcomes, etc.)

7. Are rendering hosts available on Managed Cloud infrastructure?

Currently, Managed Cloud Standard and Managed Cloud Premium do not support rendering hosts for headless topologies.

8. Do development artifacts need deployment to Content Delivery?

Yes, in certain cases:

– Content Resolvers and GraphQL Queries:
These might be required to support your rendering host components.
– Site Definition Configuration Patches:
These need to be deployed to CD instances.

9. Can I use Sitecore SXA with the ASP.NET Rendering SDK?

Direct support for SXA renderings is not available with the ASP.NET Rendering SDK. However, rendering hosts can work with existing JSS tenants of SXA to leverage features like:
– Multisite
– Designs and Partials

10. Can I build using Blazor, RazorPages, and SignalR?

Currently, Sitecore only supports MVC-based sites in the rendering host.

11. Can I run separate JSS and ASP.NET Rendering SDK multisite instances on the same Sitecore instance?

Yes. JSS and ASP.NET Rendering SDK sites share the same type of site definition. Content Management functionality remains consistent regardless of the underlying technology.

By adopting Sitecore Headless Development, businesses can streamline their development processes, reduce infrastructure costs, and achieve flexibility in delivering cutting-edge, scalable solutions.

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