AEM Sites videos and tutorials
For publishing from AEM Sites using Edge Delivery Services, click here.
Adobe Experience Manager (AEM) Sites is a leading experience management platform. This user guide contains videos and tutorials on the many features and capabilities of AEM Sites.
Three ways to build with AEM Sites
AEM Sites provides three ways to build, author and deliver experiences. Whether you’re building full pages, optimizing for edge performance, or powering headless apps, AEM Sites offers flexible options to match your project needs:
- Edge Delivery Services web sites leverage document-based authoring or Adobe Universal Editor to author content, which is then activated, and then delivered to end users by Edge Delivery Services as HTML webpages. This option is primarily for new and existing projects that require high performance, scalability, and speed.
- Headless/API-first web experiences use Content Fragment Editor or Universal Editor to author content, which is then activated, and delivered by AEM Publish as JSON. This option is primarily for new and existing projects that require headless delivery of content to mobile apps, single-page applications (SPAs), or other headless applications.
- Traditional AEM is not the most current approach to builder web experiences using AEM Sites. Traditional AEM uses AEM Author’s Page Editor to author content, which is then activated, and delivered to end users by AEM Publish as HTML webpages. Traditional AEM is reccommended for existing projects.
These options are designed to meet the diverse needs of marketing organizations, to deliver personalized, engaging experiences at high-speed and scale across any channel or device.
IMPORTANTThe following diagram illustrates the different paths:
Compare the ways to build with AEM Sites
The following table provides a high-level comparison of the three paths. It focuses on the content authoring and experience delivery nuances of each path.
| Edge Delivery Services | Headless / API-First | Traditional AEM | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best For | Websites with high traffic, performance, and scalability needs | Mobile apps, SPAs, and other headless applications | Existing projects (not most current approach) |
| Authoring Tools | Document-based authoring, Universal Editor | Content Fragments, Universal Editor | Page Editor |
| Authored Content Store | Documents or AEM Author (JCR) | AEM Author (JCR) | AEM Author (JCR) |
| Delivery | Edge Delivery Services | AEM Publish (w/ Adobe CDN + Dispatcher) | AEM Publish (w/ Adobe CDN + Dispatcher) |
| Delivery Content Store | Edge Delivery Services | AEM Publish (JCR) | AEM Publish (JCR) |
| Delivery Format | HTML | JSON | HTML |
| Development Technology | JavaScript, CSS | Any (e.g. Swift, React, etc.) | Java™, JavaScript, CSS |
| Implementation Stage | New & Existing Projects | New & Existing Projects | Existing Projects Only |
Tutorials
Learn about each of the three paths to build with AEM Sites through the following tutorials:
Edge Delivery Services - Guides
Explore Edge Delivery Services with comprehensive guides. The Build, Publish, and Launch guides cover everything you need to get started with EDS.
Headless/API-First - Tutorials
Learn how to build headless applications powered by AEM content. Tutorials cover frameworks like iOS, Android, and React—choose what fits your stack.
Traditional AEM - WKND Tutorial
Learn how to build a sample AEM Sites project using the WKND tutorial. This guide walks you through project setup, Core Components, Editable Templates, client-side libraries, and component development.