Tech Stack Behind 5SENSE’s Corporate Site Renewal: Why We Chose PayloadCMS

Hi, I'm Sakata from the DEV/IT Department at 5SENSE! I handle everything from UI design to full-stack engineering (frontend and backend).

As we recently completed a full renewal of our corporate website, I wanted to put together a quick technical memo regarding the tech stack we adopted for this project.

Our Tech Stack

The core architecture of the new site is built on the following:

Framework: Next.js

Language: TypeScript

CMS: PayloadCMS

CSS: Tailwind CSS

Hosting: Vercel

Database: Neon (PostgreSQL)

State Management: Zustand

Essentially, it’s a modern, standard configuration for a Next.js environment.

When planning this renewal, the biggest question was which CMS to use. In the past, we often opted for cloud-based Headless CMS platforms. However, we frequently ran into common pain points: per-user licensing costs, rate limits, and the inability to customize APIs exactly how we wanted.

Ideally, I wanted a setup that could be self-hosted, allowed for local development, and didn't scale in cost based on the number of accounts. While cloud-based solutions are convenient, their restrictions on custom extensions can be frustrating. I considered well-known options like Strapi, but I wanted to try something newer. That’s when I discovered PayloadCMS. It’s self-hostable and has incredible synergy with Next.js and Vercel. After a quick trial, the "feel" was so good that I decided to go with it.

What’s great about PayloadCMS?

The standout feature of PayloadCMS—unlike many other Headless CMS platforms—is that while a cloud version exists, it is primarily an OSS that integrates directly into your existing Next.js app.

While Strapi is a famous player in the self-hosted CMS space, PayloadCMS shines because its core is built with TypeScript and Drizzle, and its admin panel is built entirely on Next.js.

The ability to integrate directly into Next.js is a game-changer. Using App Router features, you can literally mount Payload’s routes directly onto your existing Next.js environment. For a frontend engineer who works with React/Next.js daily, the learning curve is remarkably flat. Being able to implement a CMS using only the technologies we already use is a huge plus.

Furthermore, the availability of rich templates designed for instant deployment using Vercel, Neon, and Blob was a massive help. With the "Deploy to Vercel" button in the official GitHub repo, you can clone the repository to your organization, link it to Vercel, and deploy—all in seconds. You can even configure Neon DB directly through the Vercel integration, making the initial setup a matter of just a few clicks.

Are there any downsides?

Personally, I don't see any major "cons," but there are a few things to keep in mind.

First, PayloadCMS is built for developers. Unlike some CMS platforms where you can add columns or extend schemas via a GUI, PayloadCMS has no GUI-based schema builder. To use it effectively, you need a solid understanding of Next.js, TypeScript, and Drizzle (which Payload wraps). Since it uses PostgreSQL, you also need to handle migrations. Even though Payload automates much of this, you may still need to manually edit migration files for complex schema changes.

Because of this, if your primary role is a web designer with only a surface-level knowledge of the frontend, you might hit a wall. (Though in this day and age, AI can certainly help bridge that gap!)

Also, you have to build the frontend yourself for anything not covered by a template. If the person managing the content isn't a developer and doesn't have access to one, it might be a difficult choice. If you want to configure everything through a GUI, a more established CMS like Strapi might be a better fit. Additionally, as a newer player, PayloadCMS is currently behind Strapi in terms of plugin variety and community documentation.

However, even considering those points, PayloadCMS’s modern architecture makes it exceptionally easy to learn and extend. The development experience is simply top-notch.

PayloadCMS is gaining momentum!

If you look at NPM Trends, PayloadCMS has seen incredible growth recently—even surpassing other major players in adoption over the last year. I believe this is because its foundation aligns perfectly with modern tech trends and its seamless integration with Next.js.

PayloadCMS is an excellent choice for everything from personal blogs and portfolios to corporate sites. As long as you have Vercel (or any Node environment), you have a complete CMS solution. The fact that it runs on standard Next.js and PostgreSQL means it’s portable—you can host it anywhere.

The official development team is very active, and with new features like E-commerce integrations, I’m excited to see where it goes. I highly recommend giving it a try!