Herzfabrik - Digital Home for a Modern Church

rocket_launchStatus: Live and in use. herzfabrik.de is the public website of the Herzfabrik church and is actively used. All content is dynamically loaded from the Kirchenwerk CRM.

Project Overview

Herzfabrik is a free church with locations in the Vogtland and Erzgebirge regions of Germany. Their self-description: “A church for the curious, seekers, and skeptics.” This identity needs a website that is just as open and welcoming as the church itself - and one that is technically set up so content doesn’t have to be maintained manually.

The solution: A Sulu CMS website that pulls its content live from the Kirchenwerk CRM. Events, services, sermons, small groups, and location information are managed centrally in the CRM and appear automatically on the website. No copy-paste, no duplicate data, no outdated information.

The heart of the integration is a custom-built CRM Integration Bundle - a custom Symfony bundle that connects Sulu CMS with the Kirchenwerk API. It provides Twig functions, JSON APIs, and a caching layer to keep the website fast, even when the CRM is temporarily unreachable.

Challenges

Two Systems, One Experience

Sulu CMS and Kirchenwerk CRM must work seamlessly together - visitors should not notice the difference

Caching with Fallback

API data needs to be cached for performance, but CRM downtime must not result in empty pages

Accessibility

WCAG 2.1 AA compliance for all content - including dynamically loaded CRM data

Multi-Location Content

Two locations with different events, teams, and offerings presented on a single website

Performance with Live Data

HTTP caching and lazy loading must work even with dynamic CRM content

Solutions

Technical Solutions

Innovative Approaches for Your Success

computer

Sulu CMS

Enterprise CMS built on Symfony

Latest Symfony + Sulu

Custom content types per page type

Twig-based template architecture

Sulu admin for editorial content

integration_instructions

CRM Integration Bundle

Custom Symfony bundle for live data

Twig functions for events, locations, groups

JSON API endpoints for frontend JS

Configurable cache with TTL

Webhook receiver for CRM updates

design_services

Design System

SCSS architecture with component library

Brandon-Grotesque typography

Responsive breakpoints (sm to 2xl)

Reusable Twig components

WCAG 2.1 AA compliant

deployed_code

Docker Deployment

Containerized infrastructure

PHP + MariaDB containers

Health checks for both services

Volume management for uploads

Automated backups

Website Features

Events

Event Listings

Live from CRM, filterable by category

Sermons

Sermon Archive

Listing with RSS feed and detail pages

Small Groups

Group Offerings

Filterable, with demographics and contact

Locations

Multi-Location

Vogtland and Erzgebirge with own pages

Contact

Forms

Sulu Form Bundle with validation

Components

Modular Design

Hero, cards, CTAs, team highlights

Technology Highlights

CRM Twig Functions

With crm_upcoming_events(), crm_locations(), and crm_small_groups(), editors can embed CRM data directly into Sulu pages - without writing a single line of code.

Smart Caching

The caching layer stores CRM responses with configurable TTL. On API errors, cached data is used as fallback - the website always stays available.

Webhook Sync

The CRM can notify the website via webhook when data changes. The cache is then selectively invalidated instead of being completely cleared.

Component Library

Reusable Twig components (hero, event cards, team highlights, CTAs) ensure a consistent design across all pages.

Project Gallery

Homepage with hero section

Event listing with live data from the Kirchenwerk CRM

Two Systems, One Experience

What makes this project special is not the website alone - but how it fits into the larger ecosystem. Herzfabrik manages their data centrally in the Kirchenwerk CRM. The website displays this data automatically. The mobile app accesses the same API. Three channels, one data source.

* No duplicate maintenance: Create an event in the CRM, and it appears on website and app
* Always current: Webhook-based synchronization instead of manual updates
* Failsafe: Cache fallback keeps the website running even during CRM maintenance
* Extensible: New content types in the CRM automatically become available on the website

Find more details about the CRM integration and Sulu setup in our blog post.

Next Step

Need a website with CMS integration?

Looking for a professional website that seamlessly integrates with your existing systems? Let's talk.

Discuss Project