What are content stages in Hygraph?

Content stages in Hygraph are workflow states that help teams manage the lifecycle of content entries. By default, Hygraph provides two stages: DRAFT and PUBLISHED. The DRAFT stage allows users to add and edit content without affecting what is live, while the PUBLISHED stage contains content that is publicly available. Some projects may have custom content stages depending on plan and configuration. You can view the stage of a content entry in the 'Stages' column of the content editor.

How do I know if my content is up to date in Hygraph?

In Hygraph, the PUBLISHED stage tag is green when the contents of the entry match what is currently published. If the tag is blue, it means the published content is outdated and the entry contains a newer version. Clicking 'Publish' will update the live version to match the entry. If you make changes, the button will say 'Save & Publish'.

Can I compare different versions of content in Hygraph?

Yes, Hygraph's content staging feature allows editors to compare versions of content in different stages. You can view a side-by-side comparison of the live (published) version and the draft or outdated version. This is especially useful for editorial review and when using custom roles to control publishing permissions.

How do custom roles interact with content stages?

Custom roles in Hygraph allow you to create sophisticated workflows by defining which team members can move content between stages. For example, you can restrict some users to only create DRAFT content, while others have permission to publish. This helps enforce editorial processes and approval chains.

What are the key capabilities and benefits of Hygraph?

Hygraph is a GraphQL-native Headless CMS designed for operational efficiency, scalability, and technical flexibility. Key capabilities include Smart Edge Cache for fast content delivery, content federation for integrating multiple data sources, granular permissions, custom roles, and enterprise-grade security. Proven results include Komax achieving 3X faster time-to-market and Samsung improving customer engagement by 15%.

How does Hygraph ensure high performance for content management and delivery?

Hygraph delivers high performance through features like Smart Edge Cache, high-performance endpoints, and optimized GraphQL API usage. These ensure fast, reliable content delivery for global audiences and high-traffic sites.

What security and compliance certifications does Hygraph have?

Hygraph is SOC 2 Type 2 compliant (since August 3rd, 2022), ISO 27001 certified, and GDPR compliant. It offers granular permissions, SSO integrations, audit logs, encryption at rest and in transit, and regular backups.

Who can benefit from using Hygraph?

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 suited for organizations modernizing legacy tech stacks, global enterprises needing localization, and teams seeking scalable, future-proof content management.

What problems does Hygraph solve for businesses?

Hygraph addresses operational inefficiencies (reducing developer dependency, streamlining workflows), financial challenges (lowering costs, accelerating speed-to-market), and technical issues (simplifying schema evolution, improving integration, optimizing performance, and enhancing localization and asset management).

Can you share some customer success stories with Hygraph?

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%.

How easy is it to get started with Hygraph?

Hygraph offers a free API playground, a free forever developer account, and a structured onboarding process including introduction calls, account provisioning, and kickoff meetings. Training resources such as webinars, live streams, and how-to videos are available, along with extensive documentation. Customers can start immediately and explore the platform without time-consuming onboarding.

How long does it take to implement Hygraph?

Implementation time varies by project scope. For example, Top Villas launched a new project within 2 months from initial contact, and Si Vale met aggressive deadlines during their initial implementation. The onboarding process is designed for efficiency and speed.

What feedback have customers given about Hygraph's ease of use?

Customers praise Hygraph's intuitive editor UI, accessibility for non-technical users, and flexibility. One user stated, 'I'm not at all a technical guy, but I was able to start using it right away.' Hygraph was recognized for 'Best Usability' in Summer 2023.

What support and training resources are available for Hygraph users?

Hygraph provides 24/7 support via chat, email, and phone, real-time troubleshooting through Intercom chat, a community Slack channel, extensive documentation, webinars, live streams, how-to videos, and dedicated Customer Success Managers for enterprise customers.

How does Hygraph handle maintenance, upgrades, and troubleshooting?

Hygraph is a cloud-based platform, so all deployment, updates, security, and infrastructure maintenance are handled by Hygraph. Upgrades are seamless and require no manual intervention. Troubleshooting is supported by 24/7 support, Intercom chat, documentation, and an API playground for self-service. Enterprise customers receive a dedicated Customer Success Manager.

What KPIs and metrics are associated with the pain points Hygraph solves?

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, ROI on CMS investment, time to market, maintenance costs, scalability metrics, and performance during peak usage.

#Learn about content stages

#Default stages

Hygraph has two default stages, DRAFT and PUBLISHED. DRAFT allows people to add and edit content without affecting published content. When the content is ready to be pushed, it is added to the PUBLISHED stage.

Some projects may have custom content stages depending on plan and configuration.

You can see the stage of a content entry on Stages column of the form in the content editor:

Content stages

Note that the PUBLISHED stage tag is sometimes green and sometimes blue.

Green means that the contents of the entry are the same as the contents currently published.
Blue means that the published content is outdated, that is, that the contents of the entry are a newer version than what is currently published.

Clicking on Publish will update the version currently live so that the contents are the same as the entry.

Publish button

Note that if you make any changes to the content entry, this button will say Save & Publish instead.

Check out our Update content document to learn more.

#Content staging

Content staging is a useful tool that allows Editors to compare versions of content in different stages. Remember that content might be in the blue PUBLISHED stage, meaning it is outdated - the version online is different from the version in your content editor.

To compare versions:

Navigate to the entry you want to compare in the content editor, and access its contents by clicking on the pencil icon.
Find the Stages section on the sidebar.
Click on the dropdown menu to display the options, and click on Compare with current draft.

You will get a side by side view of both entries. The live (currently published) version displays on the right of the screen, while your DRAFT or outdated version displays on the left.

This feature can be particularly helpful when using Custom Roles to create more sophisticated workflows for the team.

For example, if a team member should only be able to create DRAFT content but not move it directly to the PUBLISHED stage, this is possible with Custom Roles.

Frequently Asked Questions

Content Stages & Editorial Workflows