Why I Abandoned My CMS and Switched Completely to MDX with Next.js

In 2025, if you're a developer shipping products or building a personal brand, blogging is essential—but bloated content stacks aren't. After working with WordPress, Ghost, and multiple headless CMS options, I switched gears completely. I went all-in on a static, MDX-based blog powered by Next.js—and I’m not going back.

CMSs Are Great… Until They’re Not

Traditional CMS platforms promise convenience, but what you often get is friction:

• Admin panels that feel clunky for devs
• Plugin overload just to get SEO basics right.
• Locked-in content behind APIs
• Slow publishing pipelines for what should be simple posts

If you're a technical founder, indie hacker, or full-time dev, you probably already live in your terminal and GitHub. So why not treat your blog like code?

Why MDX + Next.js Works So Well

With MDX, you write your blog content in Markdown, but with the freedom to embed interactive elements or layout components when needed. It’s like Markdown with superpowers.

Pair that with Next.js, and the result is a lightning-fast, fully customizable blog with built-in support for static site generation, flexible routing, and strong SEO foundations.

You don’t need a plugin for every small tweak. Want to change how your Open Graph images render? Want to add custom meta tags? Want to change how your tags or slugs are structured? It’s all just code.

Git-Based Publishing Is Underrated

My current blog workflow is dead simple:

1. Write the post in an .mdx file
2. Push to GitHub
3. Vercel auto-deploys it globally in seconds.

No admin panel, no third-party dashboard, no half-broken WYSIWYG. Content is version-controlled, portable, and easy to roll back. If I want to update SEO metadata or redesign a post layout, it’s all in the repo.

The Bloggen SEO Starter Made This Easy

I built my setup using Bloggen SEO Starter, a clean and opinionated template for dev blogs. It comes with:

• Prebuilt metadata support (Open Graph, JSON-LD, etc.)
• File-based routing for Markdown and MDX
• A clean, dark-mode-friendly UI
• No CMS lock-in—you’re free to use any generator or write manually

You’re not forced to use Bloggen.dev; you can generate your own .md or .mdx files however you like (LLM-generated, hand-written, Notion-exported, etc.).

When This Approach Makes Sense

Go with MDX + Next.js if:

• You prefer writing in code, not in admin panels
• You care about site speed, SEO, and DX.
• You want complete control over your content and how it's rendered.
• You like the idea of versioned content and PR-based publishing.

Avoid it if you need real-time content collaboration with non-technical teammates, or if you require a complex editorial workflow.

Final Thoughts

Developer blogs should be lightweight, fast, and flexible—because the people writing them are. MDX and Next.js let you build a blog that feels like an extension of your dev stack, not a separate burden to maintain.

If you’re tired of slow dashboards and rigid CMS schemas, give this stack a try. It’s not just efficient—it’s actually fun.

→ Check out Bloggen SEO Starter