What is Sitecore Helix, and why should we use it?

The basic premise of Sitecore Helix is to make website building less complicated and more scalable. It was introduced in 2016 by Sitecore themselves as a set of official architectural guidelines and recommended practices for Sitecore development. Essentially a how to guide for developers on the best way to build Sitecore websites.

There is even a project called Habitat which is an exemplar Sitecore website built by Sitecore upon the Helix principles and guidelines, that developers can use as a reference.

Sitecore has always been the most flexible CMS as it is a component-based page architecture rather than a static page-based template, with Sitecore Helix is really developing on this key USP. Since its conception, many fantastic websites have been built using this initiative, including all of our own projects.

We asked Joe Dearsley, one of our own Sitecore tech leads who has been with us for nearly 20 years what he thinks the main benefits of Sitecore Helix are. His first project using Sitecore Helix was with The Pensions Regulator, check out the case study here.

Joe’s Key benefits :

1) Easier to build new Features - Sitecore Helix restricts the amount of inter-dependencies between components at the early stages of a build meaning that new features can continually be brought in as business requirements change and develop over time without having to go back and undertake loads of rework to incorporate the new features.

2) For a developer, if you adopt the Helix principles on all your projects it makes it easier to move between projects.

3) Long term business value – makes it much easier and quicker to update sections of the website. Meaning the client has an easily upgradeable Sitecore solution.

4) Faster and cheaper to market – you can get your website live as quickly as possible as it is easier to work on.

More benefits :

5) Better quality and longer-lasting Sitecore implementations – you can avoid more technical obstacles in a project, meaning a better website is delivered faster and at a higher quality (what’s not to love!).

6) Easier troubleshooting – as Helix follows a set of guidelines if something goes wrong it is easier to identify and solve

So if you’re thinking of starting a web project and want to talk to some lovely experts don’t hesitate to contact us here

Think Sitecore, think ClerksWells