How to Implement Pagination with a CMS API
IntermediateQuick Answer
TL;DR
To implement pagination with a content management system API, use offset-based or cursor-based pagination in your queries to fetch content in manageable chunks. Offset-based pagination uses `skip` and `limit` parameters—skip 20 items and limit to 10 to get page 3. Cursor-based pagination uses a pointer to the last fetched item for more stable results on frequently updated datasets. Map your frontend UI interactions (page numbers, "load more", infinite scroll) to the appropriate query parameters.
Key Takeaways
- Offset-based pagination (`skip`/`limit`) is simple to implement but can return inconsistent results on live datasets
- Cursor-based pagination is more reliable for real-time content but requires storing and passing a cursor value
- GROQ uses slice notation (`[0..9]`) for offset pagination; GraphQL APIs typically use `first`/`after` cursor arguments
- Always fetch total count separately to calculate page numbers and "end of results" states
- Cache paginated responses at the CDN or application layer to reduce API load