A new chapter

After many years of maintaining BlizzCMS and WoW-CMS, the time has come to give the project a fresh direction. The evolution of technology and the growing needs of the community pushed me to embrace modern frameworks. And here I am, writing these words to mark the transition to Next.js and NestJS: an exciting new chapter in the development of WoW-CMS. This is just the beginning of what promises to be a faster, more powerful, and smoother experience for everyone involved.

While it’s true that this journey won’t always be easy, I’m fully motivated and excited to embark on this new project. Will it be completed? Only time will tell. However, I’m committed to documenting every step of the way, and if for any reason I’m unable to finish it, I’ll release the code so someone else can take over and continue the work. The goal is to keep moving forward, no matter the challenges.

The project

WoW-CMS has been more than just a project—it’s been a journey of growth, change, and collaboration. What started as a vision with Vipo and me, when I was 24 or 25 years old and still studying, has transformed into something much larger. Back then, I wasn’t a full-time programmer; I balanced my studies while finding my way in the world of work. During that time, Dzywolf and I were fortunate to have Vipo’s support as we navigated the complexities of building something meaningful. When Vipo moved on, Dzywolf and I kept the core of BlizzCMS alive, focusing on the principles of open-source development, constant learning, and improvement.

Over the years, our small team has evolved. We’ve been joined by talented individuals like Stevej and more recently Jeandev, who helped shape the direction of the project. Yet, despite the changes in the team, the essence of the project remained the same. Today, I find myself as the only one actively pushing forward, with Dzywolf still around, though less involved, and Jean—who has always been there, supporting and guiding me. Looking back on this journey, it’s incredible to see how far we’ve come, and though the path ahead may be uncertain, I remain committed to carrying this legacy forward, refining the vision, and making the project even better.

The Path Forward

After all these years of maintaining and evolving WoW-CMS, I realized that in order to continue growing and improving, a change in technology was inevitable. The world of development moves quickly, and while the previous stack served its purpose, it was time to embrace modern tools that would offer greater flexibility, performance, and scalability. This led to the decision to migrate to Next.js for the frontend—an incredibly powerful framework that allows for faster development, better SEO, and a smoother user experience. With features like server-side rendering and static site generation, Next.js offers the perfect foundation to build a dynamic and efficient platform for the future.

On the backend, the shift to NestJS was a natural choice. Built with TypeScript, it offers a more structured and maintainable approach to building APIs. NestJS brings together the best features of modern frameworks like Express and Angular, providing a powerful toolset for creating scalable and efficient server-side applications. With its modular architecture and strong support for TypeScript, it gives me the flexibility to adapt and expand the API in ways that simply weren’t possible with the previous stack. It’s a significant step forward in terms of maintainability and performance, and I’m excited about the possibilities it opens up.

While transitioning to a new stack is always challenging, especially with a project as long-running as WoW-CMS, the benefits far outweigh the difficulties. With Next.js and NestJS, I’m confident that the project is now set up for long-term success. The new stack will allow me to deliver better features, faster updates, and an overall smoother experience for both users and developers. It’s a new chapter, but one built on the foundation of everything we’ve learned and accomplished over the years. The future is bright, and I’m excited to continue this journey with these modern tools at my side.

«The only way to do great work is to love what you do.» – Steve Jobs