Unlocking the Future: Insights from Magnolia DevDays 2025 in Basel

Get up to speed with the latest developments in Magnolia - and bring your own challenges. Experts from Magnolia will be ready to help you.

The air in Basel was buzzing last week as Magnolia DevDays 2025 drew to a close. For the final two days, approximately 150 developers, hailing from as near as Münchenstein and as far-flung as Australia, converged to dive deep into the evolving landscape of digital experience. It was a fantastic opportunity to connect, share knowledge, and collectively peer into the future of development – and yes, it's 2025, so you know we couldn't go five minutes without talking about AI!

Magnolia DevDays 2025 featured a comprehensive agenda spread across two insightful days, designed to offer deep dives into key topics and practical experiences:

The discussions and presentations throughout DevDays strongly reinforced several key market trends that are rapidly reshaping our industry:

In the Magnolia, U and I session, we had the exciting opportunity to announce our brand new frontend. We also officially launched our accessible forms, a significant step forward in ensuring inclusive digital experiences for all users. Furthermore, Magnolia sessions delved into crucial architectural decisions, sparking lively debates on topics such as "To SSR or not to SSR?" and exploring the nuances of choosing the right rendering strategy for various scenarios.

The first day was packed with a keynote address, engaging presentations, and dedicated breaks for networking. The day concluded with a celebratory dinner and gaming session. Presentation topics on Day 1 included:

The afternoons were packed with engaging partner presentations, offering invaluable real-world insights and diverse perspectives. Attendees had the chance to learn from companies leveraging Magnolia in innovative ways, solving complex challenges and pushing the boundaries of digital experience. While specific details for all partner sessions were not available on the agenda page, some highlighted topics included:

The second day commenced with interactive roundtable discussions, followed by a series of hands-on workshops and engaging partner presentations

Reintroducing Magnolia DevDays reaffirmed the overwhelming support and engagement from our vibrant partner and customer community.

It was more than just a tech gathering! It was a shared space where Magnolia experts, developers, contributors, and champions came together to exchange ideas and showcase innovation.

Wednesday first kicked off with engaging roundtable discussions leading into even more engaging workshops, providing hands-on experience and practical knowledge. From advanced Magnolia functionalities to exploring emerging technologies, these workshops offered a fantastic opportunity for developers to upskill and collaborate directly with experts. The energy in the rooms was palpable, reflecting the passion and dedication of our developer community.

The workshops covered diverse and impactful topics, including:

 

Artificial intelligence is no longer just a buzzword; it's a game-changer revolutionizing how we create digital experiences. Imagine being able to craft content not only faster but also smarter, seamlessly deploying personalized experiences. This is precisely what we explored in our "AI Accelerator: From Zero to Hero" workshop showcasing how to bridge the gap from initial idea to implemented AI solution. After a comprehensive presentation, delivering both business and tech insights, participants dove into the "hands-on" segment, experiencing the AI Accelerator implementation directly on their own laptops and trying it out for themselves. This practical experimentation was incredibly valuable for our Dev Community, bringing theoretical concepts to life and proving that Magnolia provides the tools to build future-proof, intelligent solutions.

You can find the complete presentation here

 

After the first cup of coffee, many developers attended our workshop, where we demonstrated how to quickly initiate projects using Magnolia CLI with React and Next.js. We explored various rendering strategies, including CSR, SSR, and SSG with ISR, detailing how each method retrieves data from Magnolia. We also examined live deployed examples and their presentation on Google and social media. The Q&A session fostered a valuable exchange, covering when to employ each strategy, optimizing REST endpoints, and how the CLI facilitates adherence to best practices from project inception. This led to an insightful and open discussion on practical real-world applications.

You can find the Day 1 background session here

 

Ever found yourself wondering how to best navigate the many "do's and don'ts" of working with PaaS to truly build a high-performing environment? In this interactive workshop, we tackled just these questions , "PaaS Best-Practices." It was great to see attendees – from marketing leaders looking to grasp strategic advantages to developers seeking practical solutions – collaboratively addressing these challenges. We dove into topics like safely expanding volumes in Kubernetes, handling Helm upgrades correctly, and intelligently setting resource limits. Setting up CI/CD pipelines and effectively utilizing GitLab Agents were also key parts of the agenda. The workshop offered a wealth of valuable insights: we shared proven practices for ingress configuration, discussed the intricacies of SSO integration, and provided practical advice on password management. It was important to us that everyone, regardless of their prior knowledge, could take home concrete tips that visibly simplify daily work and boost security. It was an inspiring session full of exchange and learning moments that helped us all further optimize our PaaS strategies!

 

Were you ready to unleash the full power of the latest Magnolia innovations and elevate your digital strategy to the next level? At our DevDays Workshop, "Migrating to Magnolia 6.3," we dove deep into this exciting world! Whether you attended as a Business Lead, aiming to grasp the strategic advantages, or as a Web Developer, eager to explore the technical intricacies in detail, this workshop proved to be an indispensable guide. We not only illuminated the crucial differences between Magnolia 6.2 and 6.3—from the powerful Content App to optimized Role Management, flexible Site Definition, enhanced Publishing Receivers, and the new Security App—but also much more. Participants learned firsthand how to navigate the migration process smoothly, discovered which best practices paved the way, and saw how practical examples clarified even the most complex steps. We equipped attendees with the tools to unlock Magnolia 6.3's full potential. The workshop successfully prepared everyone for the future with Magnolia!

 

Magnolia DevDays 2025 was more than just an event; it was a testament to the vibrant and collaborative spirit of our developer community. We left with a renewed sense of purpose, armed with new insights and connections to navigate the exciting, AI-driven future of digital experience. We're already looking forward to what the next DevDays will bring!

This community-driven initiative was made possible thanks to the incredible support of our Partners:

Thank you to everyone who made it possible. We’re already looking forward to the next one!