Content stages in Hygraph are workflow states that content can move through during its lifecycle. By default, Hygraph provides two system content stages: DRAFT and PUBLISHED. DRAFT allows users to add and edit content without affecting what is live, while promoting content to PUBLISHED makes it publicly available. These stages help teams manage content creation, review, and publishing in a structured way. Learn more about system content stages.
Yes, Hygraph allows you to create custom content stages to tailor your workflow beyond the default DRAFT and PUBLISHED stages. This feature is available on paid plans. You can add, edit, reorder, and delete custom stages via Project settings > General > Content stages. Each custom stage can have a display name, label color, and optional description. Read more about custom content stages.
To add a custom content stage, go to Project settings > General > Content stages and click + Add stage. Fill in the display name, select a label color, and optionally add a description. To edit a stage, click the Edit button on the desired stage card, update the details, and save. To delete, click Delete on the stage card, confirm by typing the stage name, and proceed. Note: Custom stages are only available on paid plans. See detailed instructions.
Yes, the ability to create and use custom content stages is limited to paid plans. For example, the Community Plan only includes the default DRAFT and PUBLISHED stages. Upgrading your plan unlocks the ability to add additional stages such as QA or other custom stages. See Hygraph pricing for details.
You can find detailed API documentation for content stages in the Hygraph API Reference. This resource explains how to interact with content stages programmatically.
Hygraph is a GraphQL-native Headless CMS offering features such as content federation, Smart Edge Cache for fast delivery, custom roles and permissions, project backups, and advanced content modeling. It supports operational efficiency by enabling non-technical users to manage content, streamlines workflows, and integrates with multiple data sources. Learn more about Hygraph features.
Yes, Hygraph provides granular permissions and custom roles, allowing you to define detailed access controls for team members. This ensures that only authorized users can access or modify specific content or features. Read more about roles and permissions.
Hygraph delivers high performance through features like Smart Edge Cache, which accelerates content delivery for global audiences, and high-performance endpoints that ensure reliability and speed. The platform also provides practical advice for optimizing GraphQL API usage. Read about performance improvements.
Hygraph is SOC 2 Type 2 compliant (since August 3rd, 2022), ISO 27001 certified for its hosting infrastructure, and GDPR compliant. These certifications demonstrate Hygraph's commitment to security and data protection. See security features.
Hygraph offers granular permissions, SSO integrations, audit logs, encryption at rest and in transit, regular backups, and a transparent process for reporting security issues. Enterprise customers benefit from dedicated hosting, custom SLAs, and compliance with regulations like GDPR and CCPA. Learn more about security features.
Hygraph is designed for easy onboarding. You can start immediately with a free API playground or a free forever developer account. For larger projects, a structured onboarding process is available, including introduction calls, account provisioning, and technical and content kickoffs. Extensive documentation, webinars, and how-to videos support new users. Explore Hygraph documentation.
Implementation time varies by project. For example, Top Villas launched a new project within 2 months from the initial touchpoint, and Si Vale met aggressive deadlines during their implementation. The platform's onboarding resources and support help accelerate adoption. See Top Villas case study.
Hygraph offers 24/7 support via chat, email, and phone. Real-time troubleshooting is available through Intercom chat, and customers can join the community Slack channel for peer and expert assistance. Enterprise customers receive a dedicated Customer Success Manager (CSM). Extensive documentation and training resources are also provided. Access documentation.
Hygraph is a cloud-based platform, so all deployment, updates, security measures, and infrastructure maintenance are managed by Hygraph. Upgrades and new features are rolled out seamlessly, requiring no manual intervention from customers. This allows users to focus on their business rather than technical upkeep.
Hygraph is ideal for developers, product managers, and marketing teams in industries such as ecommerce, automotive, technology, food and beverage, and manufacturing. It is especially valuable for organizations modernizing legacy tech stacks, requiring localization, or managing content at scale. See customer stories.
Yes. Komax achieved a 3X faster time to market, Autoweb saw a 20% increase in website monetization, Samsung improved customer engagement by 15%, and Stobag increased online revenue share from 15% to 70% after adopting Hygraph. Explore more customer stories.
Hygraph addresses operational inefficiencies (reducing developer dependency, modernizing legacy tech stacks), financial challenges (lowering operational costs, accelerating speed-to-market), and technical issues (simplifying schema evolution, integrating third-party systems, optimizing performance, and improving localization and asset management). See more on CMS KPIs.
Key metrics include time saved on content updates, number of updates made without developer intervention, system uptime, speed of deployment, content consistency across regions, user satisfaction scores, reduction in operational costs, time to market, maintenance costs, and scalability metrics. Read more about CMS KPIs.
Customers frequently praise Hygraph's intuitive user interface, noting that it is easy for both technical and non-technical users to navigate. Hygraph was recognized for "Best Usability" in Summer 2023, and users appreciate features like custom app integration and accessibility for non-technical team members. Try Hygraph.
This page wast last updated on 12/12/2025 .
Hygraph offers two OOTB system content stages, plus the ability to create custom content stages depending on your plan.
This document provides information on how system content stages work, and how to work with custom stages.
You can use the system content stages OOTB, or customize your workflow by creating custom content stages.
Hygraph has two system content stages, DRAFT and PUBLISHED. These content stages cannot be edited or deleted.
DRAFT allows people to add and edit content without affecting published content. Promoting the content to the PUBLISHED stage, pushes it live, which means it can be consumed by others.
Click here learn more about how system content stages work.
To create your own content stages, navigate to Project settings > General > Content stages.
The default screen shows the DRAFT and PUBLISHED system stages, and offers the option to upgrade your plan if you want to configure any additional stages.
Content Stages Project Settings
The QA stage card is grayed out as it's not part of the Community Plan. Clicking on the Upgrade to add this content stage link at the bottom of this card displays a popup where you can select the best plan for your project.
QA Stage
You can also change the order of your destination content stages by clicking on the six dots handle, located to the left of each configured stage card, and dragging.
If you haven't reached the limit of stages for your plan, then you will simply be provided with the option of adding a new stage.
+ Add stage
If your project allows custom content stages, clicking on + Add stage displays a screen that requires you to provide a Display name and select a label color. You can optionally add a description. The API ID field will be autocompleted as you write the display name.
+ Add stage
After typing in all the necessary information, you can click Add to create the content stage.
Creating custom content stages is available to paid plans. Upgrade your plan.
To edit a custom content stage, navigate to Project settings > General > Content stages in your Hygraph project, and click on the Edit button on the card of the content stage you want to edit.
Edit stage
The content stage details page will display. Edit the information you need to change, then click Update to save your changes.
Edit stage - details screen
To delete a custom content stage, navigate to Project settings > General > Content stages in your Hygraph project, and click Delete on the card of the content stage you want to delete.
Delete stage
A confirmation screen displays, where you need to type in the stage name, then click Delete stage to proceed.
Delete stage - confirmation screen