How To Reduce CMS Build Times
IntermediateQuick Answer
TL;DR
Switch from full static site generation (SSG) to Incremental Static Regeneration (ISR) or on-demand revalidation, optimize your CMS API queries to fetch only what you need, enable build caching on your deployment platform, parallelize content fetching, and move image optimization to runtime. For sites with 10,000+ pages, ISR is not optional — full rebuilds become untenable.
Key Takeaways
- ISR and on-demand revalidation eliminate full rebuilds — only changed pages regenerate
- Optimize CMS API queries: fetch minimal fields, batch requests, avoid N+1 patterns
- Enable build caching on Vercel or Netlify to skip unchanged work between deploys
- Move image optimization to runtime (on-demand) rather than build time