I'm an experienced developer with a decade of work under my belt, but I'm hitting some roadblocks with a current project. I'm looking to create an interactive platform that starts as a blog with three content types:
1. Blog post (using markdown, with minimal formatting and externally hosted images),
2. Small notes (similar to blog posts but designed for more concise information, like a 'personal Twitter' but with extra space), and
3. Portfolio entries (which include detailed project information, links to live sites, and team member details).
I'm considering frameworks like Astro, Next.js, or my favorite, React Router 7, for this part.
Then, for the second phase, I want the blog to evolve into a newsletter. This will include sending specific newsletters via Amazon SES, publishing blog posts as newsletters when they go live, and providing a bi-weekly digest of the latest posts and notes.
I've never tackled email integrations, managing digests, or tagging content for newsletters before, so I'm looking for advice on how to start this project effectively while allowing my client to create content from the beginning. I'm comfortable in TypeScript, React, and the Node.js ecosystem. How would you tackle this? What technologies would you recommend given the project's growth towards a newsletter?
3 Answers
If you're looking to create a custom solution, using something like Iterable gives you good control over your email sends, but it's a bit of work. Alternatively, if you need a quick and affordable solution, ZeptoMail might be worth checking out for transactional emails, though you’d be responsible for the newsletter features. And if you want to learn, consider using WordPress; it allows you to get your client started on content while you build out the more complex features.
Honestly, I’d just use a service like Beehiiv for the newsletter part. Building your own email system can get complicated, especially with managing spam filters and legal requirements. They have API access, so you can connect your blog updates to the newsletter pretty easily. If your main goal is to deliver content effectively, it might be smarter to use a third-party service rather than reinventing the wheel.
For a project like this, Docusaurus could be a solid choice. It's flexible and supports multiple blog setups, so you can have your portfolio and blog entries under one roof. Plus, it offers RSS feeds, which can help with your newsletter auto-publishing goals. Just keep in mind that email formats can be tricky, and while you can use MDX for fancy content, email clients can be limiting. My workflow involves manually pasting into an email editor, which helps keep things simple and reliable.
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