Edge Delivery Services Utilizing Diverse Authoring Techniques

In today’s fast-paced digital landscape, delivering exceptional online experiences is paramount for businesses looking to stay ahead of the curve. With the emergence of Edge Delivery Services (EDS) integrated into Adobe Experience Manager (AEM), companies now have a powerful tool at their disposal to drive engagement and conversions like never before.

What is Edge Delivery Services?

Edge Delivery Services, a component of Adobe Experience Manager, revolutionizes the way websites are built, managed, and delivered. It offers a composable set of services that enable rapid development environments, empowering authors to create high-impact experiences with unparalleled speed and efficiency.

Let’s Understanding AEM & Edge Delivery Services.

In the realm of content management systems (CMS), Adobe Experience Manager stands out as a robust solution, especially with its cloud services. But how exactly do these cloud services function, and what role does Edge Delivery Services play in this ecosystem?

Let’s break it down.

Traditionally, AEM operates with two main tiers: the author tier and the publish tier. The author tier is where content creation and management happen, while the publish tier serves content to end-users. This setup has been the backbone of AEM’s functionality for a while.

Now, enter Edge Delivery Services. This component runs parallel to the AEM tiers but offers a significant shift in how websites are served. With Edge Delivery Services, it’s possible to run a website without the need for an AEM publish instance. This means all the capabilities and infrastructure required to host a website are encapsulated within Edge Delivery Services alone. But how do we create content for Edge Delivery Services? Here’s where document-based authoring comes into play. This process allows content creation using commonly used tools like Google Docs or Microsoft Word. Even spreadsheets can be utilized for storing relevant information. This approach decentralizes content creation from the AEM environment, making it more versatile.

Despite the autonomy provided by Edge Delivery Services, Adobe aims to keep everything integrated within its AEM cloud service. This means you have the option to leverage both the AEM tiers and Edge Delivery Services within a single product.

Transitioning Existing Websites

For existing AEM websites looking to transition to Edge Delivery Services, there’s a catch. While it’s possible to migrate, it requires Adobe’s assistance to ensure compatibility. The transition involves simplifying the website’s structure, focusing on CSS and vanilla JavaScript for faster processing. Adobe offers a universal editor to aid in this transition, but it’s available only to those opting for additional services.

Key Benefits of Edge Delivery Services

1. Speed and Performance
   EDS ensures blazing-fast websites with optimal Lighthouse Scores, enhancing user experience and SEO rankings. Real user monitoring (RUM) allows continuous performance monitoring to maintain peak performance.
2. Authoring Efficiency
   By decoupling content sources, EDS streamlines the authoring process. Whether using AEM authoring or Document-based Authoring, authors can seamlessly work with multiple content sources simultaneously, reducing time-to-publish and increasing productivity.
3. Experimentation and Innovation
   With a built-in experimentation framework, EDS empowers businesses to conduct quick tests and experiments without sacrificing performance. This allows for rapid iteration and deployment of winning strategies to production.

Now, let’s explore the various methods of authoring content in EDS:

• AEM Based Authoring(Universal Editor) — Utilize the Universal Editor within Adobe Experience Manager (AEM) to create and edit content directly within the platform.
• Document-Based Authoring — This method involves linking your content source to external documents, such as Google Drive. Authors can create and edit content within these documents and integrate them into EDS for publishing.

1. AEM Based Authoring using Universal Editor

Discover how to gain entry to the Universal Editor and initiate the process of integrating it with your initial AEM application. While the Universal Editor is capable of modifying content from various origins, this guide focuses on utilizing it within an AEM application. The onboarding process for your AEM application and configuring it to utilize the Universal Editor involves several key steps:

1. Request access to the Universal Editor.
2. Include the Universal Editor core library.
3. Add the necessary OSGi configuration.
4. Instrument the page.

1. Request Access to the Universal Editor: Begin by requesting access to the Universal Editor through the provided link. If access is not granted, fill out the access request form, and an Adobe representative will review your request.
Read More

2. Include the Universal Editor Core Library: Before integrating your app with the Universal Editor, ensure it includes the necessary dependency, @adobe/universal-editor-corsby adding it to your index.js file.
Read More

3. Add the Necessary OSGi Configuration: To enable editing AEM content with the Universal Editor, specific OSGi configurations must be set on the AEM authoring instance. These configurations include setting the same-site cookie attribute to None and removing the X-Frame-Options header. Read More

4. Instrument the Page: The Universal Editor service requires a Uniform Resource Name (URN) to identify the correct backend system for content editing. This involves creating connections and setting configuration settings using meta tags in the HTML head section.
Read More

Each step is crucial for successfully onboarding your AEM app and configuring it to utilize the Universal Editor. For detailed instructions, refer to the provided documentation.

✨Congratulations! Your application is now fully equipped to utilize the Universal Editor.

2. Document-based authoring

Here’s how you can author content using a document-based approach

1. Link your own content source using Google Drive
   Create a folder in your Google Drive and share it with the Adobe Experience Manager user (helix@adobe.com). Copy index, nav, and footer from the sample content folder and paste them into your own folder. Ensure to convert downloaded .docx files back into native Google Docs before uploading.

Change the reference in fstab.yaml in your GitHub repo to the folder URL you shared from your Google Drive.
Read More

2. Preview and publish your content

• Install the Sidekick Chrome extension and add it to Chrome.
• Pin the extension for easy access.
• Setup the extension by adding your Google Drive project.
• Select all three docs and activate the AEM Sidekick. Use the toolbar to preview or publish your content.
• the indexed doc, make changes, and preview the content using the Sidekick extension.

By following these steps, you can seamlessly author and preview your content from your Google Drive using the Sidekick Chrome extension. Read More

Conclusion

In essence, Edge Delivery Services redefines the way businesses approach digital experience management. By combining the speed and efficiency of EDS with the robust capabilities of Adobe Experience Manager and other Experience Cloud products, businesses can unlock new levels of engagement, conversion, and success in the digital realm.

Are you ready to elevate your online presence with Edge Delivery Services? Explore the possibilities today and embark on a journey towards digital excellence with Adobe Experience Manager.