A medical practice might only occasionally change its office hours on its website. A club, meanwhile, might want to keep publishing updates during a tournament. When choosing a CMS, I first ask how often the content changes and how quickly an edit needs to appear on the site. For me, this difference determines when Storyblok with a static build fits and when EmDash makes sense.
Storyblok with a static build
At Ruxiom, we use Storyblok for content editing and Astro for the static build. In the Storyblok visual editor, you edit content with a page preview. Once you publish a change, a Storyblok webhook starts the new build. This is an automatic message to the service that regenerates the website.
Astro reads the published content and generates finished pages. These static files are then published and served to visitors. The new version appears once this process is complete. The guide to Storyblok with Astro describes this connection through a webhook.
A page request then needs no content query to the CMS. I’ve also described the underlying approach in the comparison of Storyblok and WordPress. Technical maintenance of project dependencies and services remains part of running the site.
When I choose the static approach
For a medical practice whose service pages largely stay the same, I consider this process a good fit. The same goes for a small business that occasionally adjusts its business hours. You can edit content yourself and view the new version after the build.
Daily club news can also suit a static build if the editors can wait for the process to finish. Before deciding, I’d ask to see how long publishing takes on your specific website. This tells you more about whether the process fits your daily work than a fixed number of changes per week.
EmDash for frequent changes
Cloudflare® introduced EmDash on April 1, 2026. The CMS is also built on Astro and is available as open source under the MIT license.
EmDash fetches content from its database on each page request. Published changes therefore appear without a new static build. The EmDash README describes querying content through Astro’s Live Collections without a new build.
If new updates keep coming in during a tournament, I consider this approach a good fit. The editors don’t need to wait for a build between updates. The same can apply to a business that updates its notices several times a day.
A free CMS and ongoing costs
EmDash itself is free, and you pay your chosen hosting provider to run it. I’d also allow time for technical maintenance in the budget. A CMS with a database needs someone responsible for updates and backups.
Storyblok also has a free Starter plan, which the provider describes as a limited plan for testing and personal projects. You can find paid plans on the Storyblok pricing page.
Before choosing a plan, I’d check whether the included seats and languages suit your needs. With Storyblok and a static build, hosting for the finished website is a separate item. With EmDash, you budget for hosting the running CMS and its database.
Which approach fits your website
In my view, Storyblok with a static Astro build fits when content changes occasionally and there is time for the build between publishing in the CMS and the changes appearing on the website. This is how we have built our client websites at Ruxiom so far. Content editing stays in the CMS, and visitors receive finished files.
In my view, EmDash fits when you publish frequently and need changes on the website without a new build. The free CMS can also be worth considering if you want to avoid an ongoing CMS fee. Budget for hosting and a clear commitment to technical maintenance.
The website development page explains how we build your website with Astro and one of the two CMSs. If you’re coming from WordPress, the article moving WordPress to EmDash compares the running costs.
Storyblok with a static build and EmDash compared
| Criterion | Storyblok with Astro | EmDash |
|---|---|---|
| Publishing content | ||
| What visitors receive | Finished static files | Pages with content from the database on each request |
| After publishing | Webhook starts a new build and publication of the files | Content appears without a new build |
| Suitable publishing rhythm | Occasional changes with time for a build | Frequent changes without waiting for a build |
| Costs, as of November 2026 | ||
| CMS | Limited free Starter or a paid plan | Free under the MIT license |
| Hosting | Budget separately for the static files | Budget separately for the CMS and database |