AEM Best Practices: Lessons from Enterprise Projects

After working on numerous AEM implementations for large enterprises, I’ve compiled some key best practices that can make or break your project.

1. Component Design Principles

Keep Components Small and Focused

Each component should do one thing well. Avoid creating “god components” that try to handle every possible use case.

// Bad: One component doing everything
public class MegaComponent extends WCMUsePojo {
    // 500 lines of code handling 10 different scenarios
}

// Good: Focused, single-purpose components
public class HeroComponent extends WCMUsePojo {
    // Clear, focused functionality
}

Use the Proxy Pattern

Always create project-specific proxies of core components. This gives you flexibility to customize without modifying core code.

2. Performance Optimization

• Enable dispatcher caching for all static content
• Use lazy loading for below-the-fold components
• Optimize images with adaptive image serving
• Minimize client libraries and bundle appropriately

3. Content Architecture

Think about content reusability from day one. Experience Fragments and Content Fragments are your friends for creating modular, reusable content.

Conclusion

These practices have served me well across many projects. The key is to plan ahead and maintain consistency throughout the implementation.

What best practices have you found valuable in your AEM projects?