Decap CMS developer (the rebranded Netlify CMS) for static sites that need a free editor without a backend

Decap CMS is the rebranded continuation of Netlify CMS — an open-source, Git-backed, static admin UI that gives non-technical editors a clean interface for editing Markdown / JSON content stored in a Git repository. Pure SPA, no backend service, free forever. Authentication via GitHub / GitLab / Bitbucket OAuth or a self-hosted Git Gateway.

• Small marketing sites or blogs where the budget for a paid CMS is zero and the content volume is moderate
• Documentation sites that already live in Git and need a non-developer editing surface
• Open-source projects where the CMS itself needs to be open source
• Side projects and personal sites where simplicity and no-monthly-bill matter more than editorial polish

Decap is in maintenance mode rather than active development

Since the rebrand from Netlify CMS, the project is community-maintained. Bugs get fixed slowly. For mission-critical sites, factor in the project trajectory.

The editor experience is functional but not polished

Compared to Tina or Sanity, Decap's editing UI is utilitarian. Marketing teams used to a polished CMS will notice the difference.

Custom widgets require knowing the Decap widget API

Out-of-the-box widgets cover most cases; custom widgets (e.g. complex repeating fields, embedded components) require real engineering work.

One senior on every engagement

I am the senior on the call, the senior on the architecture review, and the senior who answers when something breaks at 11pm. The build is delivered with senior engineers from Seahawk Media under my direction; the kickoff and the handover are with me directly.

Real Decap experience, not "we read the docs once"

The Decap space is full of agencies that bolted the platform onto a generic offer. The questions a senior Decap developer answers — content modelling, schema migration, performance, observability, multi-environment workflows — are the questions you actually need answered, and that is where the engagement earns its fee.

Modern stack pairing

Most Decap engagements pair the platform with Next.js, Astro, or a modern frontend stack. I have shipped both sides of that pairing across 50+ projects. The integration patterns, the deployment topology, the SEO transport on migrations — all of it has been done before, and you get the lessons rather than paying for them in your project.

I take on a small number of Decap engagements at any given time. Two shapes that fit best:

Project — 4 to 12 weeks, fixed-price. Clear scope (a content migration, a Studio customisation, a performance audit, a build from scratch). Discovery week first, then a fixed-price quote. Most projects land in the 12,000-60,000 USD range.

Retainer — 8 hours per week, monthly. Ongoing Decap engineering support after launch. Schema evolution, new feature work, integration help with adjacent stacks. Typical retainer 6,400-12,800 USD/month depending on complexity.

Booking sequence: 30-minute call, you describe the brief, I tell you which shape fits and the price range. No sales deck, no qualification screen. If I am not the right person, I will tell you on the call.

• Decap in the headless CMS directory Decap vs Tina — the open-source Git-backed CMS comparison.

Book a 30-minute call. By the end of it you will know whether Decap is the right pick for your brief, what the realistic scope is, and a price range that fits your budget. If Decap is not the right answer, I will tell you and recommend the alternative.