Sanity CMS Development LondonStructured content.Any frontend.
WebAnts is a London Sanity CMS agency. We build Sanity + Next.js websites with custom schemas, GROQ queries, Portable Text, and visual editing via the Presentation Tool. The CMS we use ourselves — and recommend first.
20+
Sanity + Next.js sites shipped
2–6 wks
Typical delivery
90+
Lighthouse target
£0
Deposit — milestone payments only
4.9★
Average client rating
What is Sanity
The CMS we use ourselves.
Starting from
£5,000
Flat quote · No prepayment · 2–6 wk delivery
Sanity is a headless CMS where content is structured JSON — not HTML — queried via GROQ and rendered by your frontend. WebAnts is a London Sanity agency, and we use Sanity for our own website alongside Next.js. We recommend it as our first-choice headless CMS for most projects.
Unlike Contentful, Sanity Studio is fully programmable in TypeScript — every field type, validation rule, and sidebar widget is configurable code. Unlike WordPress, your content model is explicit and version-controlled. And Portable Text means your rich text travels cleanly to any rendering platform — web, React Native, email, PDF — without format-specific workarounds.
We build Sanity + Next.js sites from scratch, migrate content from WordPress and Contentful, build custom Studio plugins, and configure Sanity Presentation Tool for full visual editing. Flat written quote after a free 30-minute call.
Why Sanity
Six things Sanity does better than everything else.
GROQ. Portable Text. Visual editing. TypeScript-first DX. Real-time collaboration. A free tier that actually covers non-production. Sanity is the headless CMS we reach for first.
01
GROQ — a query language built for content
Sanity's query language is purpose-built for document graphs. Projections, joins, and ordering in a single query — no N+1 fetching, no resolver boilerplate. GROQ queries are more readable and more powerful than GraphQL for structured content.
02
Portable Text — rich text that travels anywhere
Rich text stored as structured JSON, not HTML. Every element is a typed object that renders cleanly in React, Vue, Astro, native apps, and email without format-specific workarounds. Custom block types render via registered components.
03
Visual editing via Presentation Tool
Sanity's Presentation Tool overlays clickable edit regions on your Next.js preview. Editors click any text on the page and the correct field highlights in Studio. The most intuitive CMS editing experience available — editors see exactly what they're changing.
04
Fully programmable Studio in TypeScript
Every field type, validation rule, sidebar component, and desk structure in Sanity Studio is configurable in TypeScript. It is not a rigid editor — it is a platform. Custom input components, document badges, and Studio plugins are first-class.
05
Auto-generated TypeScript types via TypeGen
Sanity TypeGen generates TypeScript types directly from your schema and GROQ queries. Every query result is typed — no manual interface maintenance, no runtime type errors from schema changes.
06
Generous free tier, fair pricing at scale
Sanity's free tier covers most non-production projects. Paid plans start at $15/month and scale on API usage — significantly cheaper than Contentful at any meaningful scale. No per-seat pricing on the editorial side.
What we build
12 Sanity CMS services.
From a simple marketing site to a complex multi-brand headless platform — all built in-house in London.
01
Schema & Studio Configuration
Custom document types, field definitions, validation rules, ordering options, and Desk Structure configured as TypeScript code alongside your frontend. Version-controlled, testable, and deployable alongside your app.
02
GROQ Query Development
Efficient GROQ queries with projections, conditional fields, reference joins, ordering, and pagination. Type-safe query results via Sanity TypeGen — no manual interface maintenance, no runtime surprises from schema changes.
03
Portable Text Rendering
Custom block components for every Portable Text mark and type — pull quotes, code blocks, image with caption, embeds, and CTAs — rendered consistently in React and across all output channels (email, native, PDF).
04
Sanity Presentation Tool & Visual Editing
Sanity's Presentation Tool configured with visual editing overlays. Editors see changes rendered on the actual frontend as they type, with click-to-edit field mapping. Content Source Map wired to your Next.js draft mode.
05
Next.js + Sanity Integration
Next.js App Router, server-side GROQ queries, on-demand ISR via Sanity webhooks, draft mode for previews, and TypeScript types generated from your schema. The full production stack — not a starter-template cobble.
06
Custom Sanity Studio Plugins
Bespoke Studio components — custom input widgets, document badges, structure items, sidebar panels, and integrations with DAM systems, translation services, and external analytics dashboards.
07
Content Migration to Sanity
Migrate structured content from WordPress, Contentful, Prismic, or any source CMS into Sanity. Custom transformation scripts, reference resolution, image migration to Sanity CDN, and post-migration validation.
08
Multi-Dataset & Production Setup
Production, staging, and development datasets. CORS configuration, API token management, webhook setup for revalidation, Sanity Image API CDN configuration, and GROQ query performance profiling.
09
Sanity + Shopify Headless
Sanity as the content layer alongside Shopify as the commerce layer — editorial content (lookbooks, editorial pages, blog) in Sanity, product data synced from Shopify, all rendered in a unified Next.js frontend.
10
Sanity + Astro / Nuxt
Sanity pairs well with Astro for content-heavy sites (documentation, marketing, editorial) and Nuxt for Vue teams. We build the full stack — schema, GROQ queries, Portable Text rendering, and ISR-equivalent caching.
11
Internationalisation (i18n) with Sanity
Sanity's official i18n plugin configured for multi-language document management. Locale-specific field overrides, language switcher in Studio, and GROQ queries that fetch the correct locale with fallback logic.
12
Sanity Maintenance & Retainers
Post-launch Sanity retainers — schema updates, new document types, Studio customisations, GROQ query optimisation, and Sanity SDK version upgrades. Monthly plans from £300/month or a block of hours.
How we work
Four phases. No mystery.
Milestone payments — you see progress every week and own every deliverable the moment it lands.
01
Discovery
A free 30-min call to scope your content model, editorial workflow, frontend framework, and integration requirements. You leave with a flat written quote — not an hourly estimate.
02
Schema Design
We design your document types and field definitions before writing a line of code. You review and approve the schema as TypeScript — so there are no surprises when editors open Studio for the first time.
03
Studio & Frontend Build
Weekly staging updates on your Sanity + Next.js environment. Visual editing configured, GROQ queries typed, Portable Text blocks rendered. Lighthouse 90+ and structured data verified before launch sign-off.
04
Launch & Handover
Launch day, post-launch editor training, and a written handover document covering your schema, GROQ patterns, and Studio configuration. Optional maintenance retainer from £300/month.
Transparent pricing
What does a Sanity CMS website cost in London?
Every project is scoped individually — but here are real ranges based on scope. All prices are flat fees, not hourly estimates. Written quote after a free 30-min discovery call.
Starter
£5,000 – £8,000
2–3 weeks
Sanity + Next.js site, up to 8 document types.
- ✓Up to 8 document types
- ✓GROQ queries + TypeGen types
- ✓Portable Text rendering
- ✓Draft mode / live preview
- ✓SEO (meta, schema, sitemap)
- ✓GA4 + Search Console
Best for: Marketing sites, landing pages, small editorial sites
Growth
£8,000 – £16,000
3–5 weeks
Custom Studio, Presentation Tool, complex schema.
- ✓Up to 20 document types
- ✓Sanity Presentation Tool (visual editing)
- ✓Custom Portable Text blocks
- ✓On-demand ISR via webhooks
- ✓Full SEO + structured data
- ✓Editor training & handover
Best for: Content-heavy sites, editorial, brand marketing
Scale
£16,000 – £30,000
5–8 weeks
Custom plugins, i18n, migrations, headless commerce.
- ✓Custom Studio plugins
- ✓Internationalisation (i18n)
- ✓Content migration from legacy CMS
- ✓Sanity + Shopify headless
- ✓DAM or translation integration
- ✓Performance profiling & caching
Best for: Enterprise editorial, multilingual, headless commerce
Enterprise
From £30,000
8–16 weeks
Large content models, multi-brand, complex workflows.
- ✓Unlimited document types
- ✓Multi-dataset architecture
- ✓Custom workflow & approval logic
- ✓ERP or PIM integration
- ✓Full design system
- ✓Ongoing retainer available
Best for: Enterprise brands, publishers, multi-brand organisations
Content migrations
Moving to Sanity from another CMS?
We migrate WordPress, Contentful, Prismic, and custom CMS platforms to Sanity — documents, rich text (converted to Portable Text), assets, and references all handled. Your URL structure and SEO equity are preserved.
WordPress to Sanity
Migrate WordPress posts, pages, custom post types, and ACF field data into structured Sanity document types. HTML body content is converted to Portable Text. Featured images are migrated to the Sanity CDN. All internal links are rewritten.
Contentful to Sanity
Export Contentful content models and entries, transform them into Sanity document types using custom migration scripts, and import via the Sanity CLI. Rich text (Contentful Rich Text → Portable Text) handled automatically.
Prismic to Sanity
Migrate Prismic slice-based content into equivalent Sanity schemas. Slices become Portable Text custom blocks. Documents, singletons, and repeated types all handled. Prismic image URLs migrated to Sanity CDN.
Custom CMS to Sanity
Extract content from any bespoke CMS via its API or database, transform to Sanity document structure using a custom ETL pipeline, and validate the imported dataset. Used for legacy agency CMS systems and in-house editorial tools.
What you get
Everything included.
No hidden extras.
Every Sanity + Next.js build ships complete — schema, queries, visual editing, SEO structured data, and a proper launch.
- ✓Sanity project created and configured on sanity.io
- ✓Document types, field definitions, and validation rules committed to version control
- ✓GROQ queries with TypeGen-generated TypeScript types
- ✓Portable Text rendering components for all block types
- ✓Sanity Presentation Tool with visual editing overlays (where scoped)
- ✓On-demand ISR via Sanity webhooks — pages revalidate on publish
- ✓Draft mode for authenticated preview of unpublished content
- ✓SEO: meta tags, structured data (WebPage, BreadcrumbList, FAQPage)
- ✓Lighthouse 90+ — performance, accessibility, SEO
- ✓Editor training session and written schema handover document
From £5,000 for a simple site. Full editorial site with visual editing from £8,000. Flat quote after a free 30-min call.
Who we build for
Sanity for teams
that care about content.
Platform comparison
Sanity vs the alternatives.
We build on multiple headless CMS platforms. An honest four-way comparison — Contentful, WordPress, Prismic, Strapi — so you can make the right call.
| vs Platform | Sanity wins on | They win on | Choose Sanity when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contentful | GROQ over GraphQL, cheaper at scale (no per-seat pricing), fully programmable Studio in TypeScript, Portable Text portable across platforms, more generous free tier | Larger enterprise ecosystem, more out-of-the-box integrations, established compliance certifications (SOC2, HIPAA) | You need a programmable Studio, your team wants TypeScript throughout, or Contentful pricing is becoming a problem at scale |
| WordPress | Structured content model, type-safe GROQ queries, visual editing via Presentation Tool, Portable Text across platforms, no plugin bloat, no PHP maintenance | Massive plugin ecosystem (WooCommerce, ACF, Yoast), out-of-the-box theme options, more editors already familiar with it | You want a headless architecture, your content model is complex, or you need a multi-channel content strategy (web, app, email, native) |
| Prismic | More flexible content model (document references vs slices), GROQ over Prismic API, better TypeScript DX via TypeGen, real-time collaboration, fully programmable Studio | Slice Machine for reusable UI components, shareable slices across projects, faster out-of-the-box setup for marketing sites | Your content model has complex references, your editors need visual editing on the actual frontend, or you want a CMS that scales with your content complexity |
| Strapi | No self-hosted infrastructure to maintain, real-time collaboration, visual editing, Portable Text, better TypeScript DX, Sanity CDN for images | Self-hosted (full data sovereignty), REST and GraphQL out of the box, no external service dependency | You do not want to manage CMS infrastructure, need real-time collaboration, or want Sanity CDN image transformations out of the box |
“WebAnts built something better than I’d ever imagined — shipped faster than any agency I’ve worked with.”
LaTisha Ebanks
Marketing Director, North Pointe Marketing
Start a project
Free 30-min call.
Flat written quote.
No prepayment.
Tell us about your content model, editorial workflow, and frontend requirements. We’ll scope the schema and send a flat quote within 24 hours.
★★★★★ 4.9 on Google
★★★★★ 5.0 on Clutch
★★★★★ 5.0 on Upwork
Top Web Designers 2025 — DesignRush
FAQ
Sanity CMS questions, answered directly.
What is Sanity CMS?
Sanity is a headless CMS built around a structured content model. Content is stored as JSON documents (not HTML), queried via GROQ (a purpose-built query language), and rendered by your chosen frontend — Next.js, Astro, Nuxt, or any framework. Sanity Studio (the editorial interface) is a fully programmable React application configured in TypeScript alongside your schema. WebAnts uses Sanity as the CMS for our own website and recommends it as our first-choice headless CMS for most projects.
How much does a Sanity CMS website cost in London?
A Sanity + Next.js marketing site with up to 8 document types, GROQ queries, and Portable Text rendering typically costs £5,000–£8,000 (2–3 weeks). A larger site with Sanity Presentation Tool, custom Portable Text blocks, and on-demand ISR typically costs £8,000–£16,000. Custom Studio plugins, content migration, internationalisation, or Sanity + Shopify headless builds run £16,000–£30,000. Enterprise builds from £30,000. Flat written quote after a free 30-minute discovery call — no hourly estimates, no deposit.
Why do you recommend Sanity over Contentful?
For most projects, Sanity is our first recommendation because: GROQ is more expressive than GraphQL for content queries, the free tier is significantly more generous, the Studio is fully programmable in TypeScript (not a rigid drag-and-drop interface), Portable Text travels to any rendering platform cleanly, and the Presentation Tool's visual editing experience is among the best available. Contentful has advantages in enterprise tooling, established compliance certifications, and a larger out-of-the-box integration catalogue. We recommend honestly based on your specific team size, content complexity, and budget.
Do you use Sanity yourselves?
Yes — this website is built on Next.js + Sanity. We use it for our own content rather than WordPress because the content model flexibility, TypeScript-first DX (TypeGen for query types), and Studio programmability match how we prefer to work. When we recommend Sanity to clients, we're recommending a tool we know intimately from daily use.
What is GROQ and why does it matter?
GROQ (Graph-Relational Object Queries) is Sanity's query language, purpose-built for querying document graphs. Unlike GraphQL, GROQ lets you project exactly the fields you need, join across document references, filter, sort, and paginate — all in a single query, without defining resolvers. Sanity TypeGen reads your GROQ queries and generates precise TypeScript types for every result shape, so your frontend is fully type-safe end-to-end.
What is Portable Text?
Portable Text is Sanity's rich text format — instead of HTML, rich text is stored as a structured JSON tree where every element (paragraph, heading, image, custom block) is a typed object. This means the same content can render correctly on a Next.js website, a React Native app, an email template, or a PDF without format-specific workarounds. Custom block types (pull quotes, code blocks, CTAs, embeds) are registered in your schema and rendered by custom React components.
How does Sanity's visual editing (Presentation Tool) work?
Sanity's Presentation Tool renders your Next.js site in an iframe alongside Sanity Studio. Clicking any rendered element on the frontend highlights the corresponding field in Studio, and vice versa. Edits in Studio update the frontend in real-time via the Content Source Map. It is the most intuitive CMS preview experience available — editors see exactly what they are changing, in full context, without switching between a preview URL and Studio.
Can Sanity be used with Shopify for headless ecommerce?
Yes. Sanity works well as the content layer alongside Shopify as the commerce layer in a headless architecture. Editorial content (lookbooks, editorial pages, blog, landing pages) lives in Sanity; product data is synced from Shopify via a product document type in Sanity or fetched directly from the Storefront API. The unified Next.js frontend queries both Sanity (GROQ) and Shopify (GraphQL) and renders them together. WebAnts has built headless Shopify + Sanity storefronts for DTC brands.
What is Sanity TypeGen?
Sanity TypeGen is a CLI tool that generates TypeScript types directly from your Sanity schema and GROQ queries. Run it after any schema or query change and it produces a types file that maps every query result to its precise TypeScript shape. This means your frontend components are fully typed from the CMS layer down — no manual interface maintenance, no runtime type errors when schema changes are made.
How does Sanity handle on-demand revalidation?
Sanity supports on-demand revalidation via webhooks. When a document is published in Sanity Studio, a webhook fires to a Next.js revalidation endpoint, which calls revalidatePath or revalidateTag for the affected pages. Pages are re-rendered on the next request with fresh content — no full rebuild required. We configure Sanity webhooks and Next.js revalidation endpoints as standard on every Next.js + Sanity build.
Can you migrate our content from WordPress to Sanity?
Yes. WordPress-to-Sanity migration is a common project for teams moving from a monolithic CMS to a headless architecture. We export WordPress posts, pages, and custom post types, transform HTML body content to Portable Text using a custom parser, migrate featured images and media to the Sanity CDN, resolve internal links, and import via Sanity's dataset import CLI. Post-migration, every document is validated against your schema before going live.
Is Sanity good for SEO?
Yes. Because Sanity is headless, your Next.js frontend has complete control over rendering — including <head> meta tags, Open Graph data, JSON-LD structured data, and canonical URLs. WebAnts adds product/service schema, BreadcrumbList schema, FAQPage schema, and XML sitemaps as standard. Server-side rendering (SSR) and static generation (ISR) ensure pages are fully crawlable by Google.
How many editors can use Sanity Studio simultaneously?
Sanity Studio supports real-time collaboration — multiple editors can work on the same document simultaneously without conflicts. Sanity uses operational transforms (the same technology behind Google Docs) to handle concurrent edits. Pricing is based on API usage, not per-seat editorial licences, so adding more editors to your team does not increase your Sanity bill.
Does Sanity work with Astro or Nuxt?
Yes. Sanity is framework-agnostic. We build Sanity + Astro sites for content-heavy static use cases (documentation, editorial, marketing) and Sanity + Nuxt sites for Vue teams. GROQ queries and Portable Text rendering libraries are available for all major frameworks. We recommend Next.js as our default Sanity frontend for most projects because of its ISR capabilities, draft mode, and App Router compatibility.
What hosting does a Sanity + Next.js site need?
Sanity manages its own hosting (sanity.io) — no server setup required for the CMS layer. Your Next.js frontend deploys to Vercel (our default), where it can take full advantage of ISR, edge functions, and on-demand revalidation. Sanity webhooks fire to a Vercel serverless function that triggers revalidation. The full stack is serverless and scales automatically.
Can Sanity handle internationalisation (i18n)?
Yes. Sanity's official i18n plugin supports multi-language document management directly in Studio. Locale-specific fields are added to each document type, editors switch language in the Studio sidebar, and GROQ queries include locale filters with fallback logic. WebAnts has configured Sanity i18n for multilingual marketing sites and editorial platforms.
What is the difference between Sanity and a traditional CMS like WordPress?
WordPress is a monolithic CMS — the editorial interface, content storage, and frontend rendering are tightly coupled. Sanity is headless — content is stored as structured JSON, queried via GROQ, and rendered by a separate frontend (Next.js, Astro, etc.). Sanity's advantage is a fully programmable, TypeScript-first content model with real-time collaboration, visual editing, and Portable Text that travels to any platform. WordPress's advantage is its vast plugin ecosystem (WooCommerce, SEO plugins) and the familiarity of most content editors.
How long does a Sanity CMS project take?
A simple Sanity + Next.js marketing site (up to 8 document types) takes 2–3 weeks. A site with Sanity Presentation Tool, custom Portable Text blocks, and on-demand ISR takes 3–5 weeks. Custom Studio plugins, content migration, or internationalisation add 2–4 weeks depending on scope. WebAnts delivers roughly 1.8× faster than the industry average — every project includes a fixed delivery date in the proposal.
Do you offer Sanity maintenance retainers?
Yes. Post-launch Sanity retainers cover schema updates, new document types, Studio customisations, GROQ query optimisation, Sanity SDK version upgrades, and new page builds. Monthly retainers from £300/month — or a block of hours you draw down as needed. Sanity is a fast-moving platform with regular SDK releases, so a retainer is worth considering for any business-critical site.
What makes WebAnts different from other Sanity agencies?
We use Sanity ourselves — this website is built on Next.js + Sanity. That means we understand the platform from daily use, not just client projects. No offshoring. Milestone payments — you own every deliverable as it lands. Direct access to the developer building your Studio. Flat written quotes after a free 30-minute discovery call. 20+ Sanity sites shipped.
(Related services)
GROQ. Portable Text. Visual editing. →
Free discovery call. Flat quote. 2–6 week delivery. No prepayment.
About WebAnts — Sanity CMS Development Agency in London
WebAnts is a London web design and development agency specialising in Sanity CMS website development. 4.9★ rated on Google, 5.0 on Clutch, 5.0 on Upwork. Named Top Web Design Agency 2025 by DesignRush. Based in London, serving clients across the UK and 14 countries. We use Sanity CMS for our own website.
What is Sanity CMS?
Sanity is a headless CMS where content is stored as structured JSON documents — not HTML. Content is queried via GROQ (Graph-Relational Object Queries), a purpose-built language for document graphs. Sanity Studio (the editorial interface) is a fully programmable React application configured in TypeScript. Portable Text is Sanity's rich text format — structured JSON that renders cleanly on any platform (web, native, email). Sanity TypeGen generates TypeScript types from your schema and GROQ queries for type-safe frontends end-to-end.
What Sanity CMS services does WebAnts offer?
WebAnts offers 12 Sanity CMS services: schema and Studio configuration, GROQ query development, Portable Text rendering, Sanity Presentation Tool and visual editing, Next.js + Sanity integration, custom Studio plugins, content migration to Sanity (from WordPress, Contentful, Prismic), multi-dataset production setup, Sanity + Shopify headless, Sanity + Astro/Nuxt, internationalisation (i18n), and monthly maintenance retainers from £300/month.
How much does a Sanity CMS website cost in London?
A simple Sanity + Next.js marketing site from WebAnts starts from £5,000 (up to 8 document types, 2–3 weeks). A full site with Sanity Presentation Tool and visual editing costs £8,000–£16,000. Custom Studio plugins, content migration, or i18n run £16,000–£30,000. Enterprise builds from £30,000. Flat written quote after a free 30-minute discovery call — no hourly estimates, no deposit.
Sanity vs Contentful — which is better?
Choose Sanity if: you want a fully programmable Studio in TypeScript, need GROQ's expressive query language, want Portable Text for multi-channel content, need visual editing via the Presentation Tool, or Contentful pricing is becoming a problem at scale. Choose Contentful if: you need enterprise compliance certifications (SOC2, HIPAA), a large out-of-the-box integration catalogue, or your team is already familiar with Contentful. WebAnts builds on both and recommends based on your specific requirements.
What makes WebAnts different from other Sanity agencies?
We use Sanity ourselves — this website is built on Next.js + Sanity. No offshoring. Milestone payments so you own every deliverable as it lands. Direct access to the developer building your Studio. 20+ Sanity sites shipped. Flat written quotes after a free 30-minute discovery call — no hourly estimates, no surprises.
Dream Algorithm Ltd, trading as WebAnts · London, UK+44 20 3983 9795hello@webants.io