Maulik Darji

SUG Columbus YouTube Channel

I have been managing the SUG Columbus YouTube channel for the last 4 years.

After each event, I edit and publish the recordings to our YouTube channel, creating a permanent, easily accessible knowledge repository for the community. Below is the list of the sessions we had in 2025.

- Sitecore Content Hub and the Enchantment of External Components

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lc8TyYoooTY

- Jumpstarting your optimization with A/B testing

• https://www.youtube.com...

Enterprise Scheduling for XM Cloud: Building SiteCron Cloud from the Ground Up

The session delivered a detailed guide on enterprise scheduling for XM Cloud by unveiling SiteCron Cloud, the enterprise scheduling solution that XM Cloud requires. Led by the module's creator, Akshay Sura, the presentation showed how this decade-old, popular open-source project was entirely reimagined for the cloud era. Attendees discovered the process of building the solution from the ground up, specifically addressing significant enterprise challenges such as multi-tenancy, platform integrati...

Safeguard Your Sitecore Media Library: Validate XML Files Before Upload

A step-by-step guide to validating XML files before they are uploaded in Sitecore XP. By intercepting the upload process through a custom pipeline processor, you can prevent invalid files from being saved and improve overall system reliability.

Resolve the “UNABLE TO VERIFY LEAF SIGNATURE” Error When Connecting JSS to Sitecore

During a local JSS and Sitecore setup, I kept seeing the error “UNABLE_TO_VERIFY_LEAF_SIGNATURE” and the proxy failure message for VisitorIdentification js. The problem was a missing trusted certificate in Node. I have documented how to export the Sitecore certificate, add it to the environment, and update the start command for the JSS App.

Issue raised and feedback for Sitecore Stream

I faced some issues while working with Sitecore Stream. I raised a query in "Sitecore-Stream" Slack channel. Vignesh suggested to connect with Evangelos Kourtidis for further resolution. At the end, the issue was with the way Stream does not show the created XM/XP keys. This kind of functionality is available in XM Cloud but not in Stream. Evangelos told me that they have noted down the feedback and it may be added in a future release.

Create a Certificate for Sitecore Website

In this article, I explain how to create and configure SSL certificates locally with the out-of-the-box tools provided by Sitecore, making environment setup more consistent and dependable.

Sitecore 10.4.1 – Encrypted connection to SQL for Identity Server

Upgrading to Sitecore 10.4.1 introduces some important changes, especially around SQL Server encryption. If you’ve installed the update and seen login errors, you’re not alone.

This post explains why it happens and provides step-by-step guidance to fix it - first for local setups, then for production environments using proper certificates.

Targeted Index Updates in Sitecore: A PowerShell Approach

Need to update individual items across multiple Sitecore indexes without triggering full rebuilds?

In this blog, I share a PowerShell-based approach to selectively re-index items—saving time and improving efficiency, especially for large-scale solutions with custom indexes.

Navigating Coveo Frontend Frameworks for Sitecore Integration

The session explored how Coveo was integrated with Sitecore to deliver advanced search experiences. It covered key areas such as Coveo fundamentals, crawler setup, and the available frontend frameworks, including Coveo Hive, Coveo Headless, and Coveo Atomic. The presentation also walked through different implementation approaches and concluded with a live demonstration showing how these components came together in a real project scenario.

Madhu Anbalagan is a Principal Enterprise Architect ...

Building multisite implementations at scale with XM Cloud

We have arranged a session for Sebastian Winter on "Building multisite implementations at scale with XM Cloud".

The session delivered a detailed guide on architecting and building multisite solutions at scale using XM Cloud's enterprise capabilities. Recognizing that there is no single best answer, the discussion focused on identifying the right questions to ask during the design phase to ensure a future-proof architecture. Sebastian explored different architectural aspects by showcasing real...

Fixing failed Sitecore Installation: One script to drop all databases.

A Blog post to provide a short and fast way to cleanup databases for a failed Sitecore installation, This can help de-cluttering your local SQL Server. Instead of deleting each Sitecore database manually, This blog has a script-based solution that drops them all at once — clean, quick, and hassle-free.

Sitecore Content Hub and the Enchantment of External Components

We organized and hosted a session featuring MVP Rob Reilley. The focus was on leveraging REACT External Components for Content Hub integration, demonstrating techniques for real-time external API interaction, flexible deployment, and advanced UI/data extension.

Rob Reiley is 8x Sitecore MVP.

My core contribution is the consistent, end-to-end management of Sitecore User Group (SUG) events. This process involves discussing with speakers, engaging multiple community members to present at SUG ...

Unpacking Sitecore Symposium 2024: Expert Panel Discussion

The recorded video session of "Unpacking Sitecore Symposium 2024: Expert Panel Discussion" from our Sitecore User Group (SUG) Columbus event! This session, hosted on our Kommunity portal, covered valuable insights and practical knowledge, making it a must-watch for the Sitecore community. You can access the session details and watch the recording on our Kommunity event page: https://kommunity.com/sitecore-user-group-columbus/events/unpacking-sitecore-symposium-2024-7937fbc8

Setup Vercel CLI for XM Cloud

Easily align your local setup with Vercel environments using "Vercel CLI" tools for smooth XM Cloud development and deployment.

Inside Sitecore XM Cloud: Lessons from Our Website Migration Journey

The recorded video session of the session I presented at SUG Columbus - "Inside Sitecore XM Cloud: Lessons from Our Website Migration Journey". This session, hosted on the Kommunity portal, covered valuable insights and practical knowledge, making it a must-watch for the Sitecore community. You can access the session details and watch the recording on our Kommunity event page: https://kommunity.com/sitecore-user-group-columbus/events/inside-sitecore-xm-cloud-lessons-from-our-website-migration-jo...

Tackling GraphQL “Complexity”: How to Patch Configs in XM Cloud

Learn how to resolve GraphQL complexity issues in XM Cloud by creating and deploying patch configs.

AAA Club Alliance's FED approach

Following my post in Slack, Liz Nelson reached out to discuss our utilization of the Frontend-Driven (FED) approach in development, along with its pros and cons.

I engaged with Liz to explain how AAA Club Alliance has adopted the FED approach as an alternative to Docker. This conversation led to a meeting with Liz, Rob Earlam, and Richard Seal.

During the meeting, I outlined the challenges we faced with the Docker-based approach and detailed our transition to the FED approach. I also hig...

Explore the benefits of Sitecore Pages compared to the Experience Editor. Know why your component is not visible on the Pages.

Learn to harness the power of Sitecore XM Cloud Admin API with Postman for seamless content and cache management! #Sitecore #XMCloud #API #Postman

Enable New Rich Text Editor in XM Cloud Pages

Encountering Rich Text Editor issues in your XM Cloud and Next.js project? This quick setting enables the new RTE in Sitecore Pages to get your authors back on track.

Import and Export Users in Sitecore Content Hub: A Step-by-Step Guide

Discover how to efficiently manage user imports and exports in Sitecore Content Hub with this detailed guide. Learn the step-by-step process for creating export and import pages, configuring components, and using Excel to streamline your user management tasks.

Generate Sitecore Package Using PowerShell for XM Cloud Migration

My Experience with XM Cloud Migration: We used some PowerShell scripts to Package & migrate our XP content to XM Cloud. Feel free to use the two different scripts I have provided.

Uncovering the Layers: A Journey Through Sitecore Content Hub One

The recorded video session of "Uncovering the Layers: A Journey Through Sitecore Content Hub One" from our Sitecore User Group (SUG) Columbus event! This session, hosted on our Kommunity portal, covered valuable insights and practical knowledge, making it a must-watch for the Sitecore community. You can access the session details and watch the recording on our Kommunity event page: https://kommunity.com/sitecore-user-group-columbus/events/uncovering-the-layers-a-journey-through-sitecore-content-...

Sitecore Search & XM Cloud - Experiences and Learnings

The recorded video session of "Sitecore Search & XM Cloud - Experiences and Learnings" from our Sitecore User Group (SUG) Columbus event! This session, hosted on our Kommunity portal, covered valuable insights and practical knowledge, making it a must-watch for the Sitecore community. You can access the session details and watch the recording on our Kommunity event page: https://kommunity.com/sitecore-user-group-columbus/events/sitecore-search-xm-cloud-experiences-and-learnings-a37e41e1

Sitecore CLI Cheat sheet commands

List of commands needed for the Sitecore CLI including Download, Install, Login/Connect, Push/Pull and Validate etc.

Multi-Site Serialization with Sitecore CLI on XM Cloud

How to setup and work with Serialization in XM Cloud for a Multi site scenario. What are the commands updates needed for the same.

Setup Serialization in XM Cloud using CLI

Blog post of Setting up Serialization in XM Cloud.

From Brainstorm to Brilliance: The Untold Story of Sitecore Hackathon

The recorded video session of "From Brainstorm to Brilliance: The Untold Story of Sitecore Hackathon from our Sitecore User Group (SUG) Columbus event! This session, hosted on our Kommunity portal, covered valuable insights and practical knowledge, making it a must-watch for the Sitecore community. You can access the session details and watch the recording on our Kommunity event page: https://kommunity.com/sitecore-user-group-columbus/events/from-brainstorm-to-brilliance-the-untold-story-of-site...

12 Sessions on SUG Columbus

For the past 3.5 years, we have been actively managing the Sitecore User Group (SUG) Columbus, which has grown to include over 400 members. We consistently organize at least one session every month, focusing on sharing knowledge about Sitecore and related development modules through webinars.

Our process begins with reaching out to speakers, finalizing topics and schedules, and coordinating all necessary details. Once a session is confirmed, we promote the event extensively on social media to...

Create Sitecore Headless App with Next JS

Started writing this blog after a few discussions with community members about the Next JS vs React JS installation. This has helped out me, my office team, and a few community members. This blog outlines the required commands and some tips in a single blog for anyone who is looking for working in setting up the XM Cloud development environment.

Answering the Call for Composable Search

This is the YouTube recording of the same session.

I organized the sessions in SUG Columbus with my co-organizer Himadri Chakrabarti. Details of the session: Answering the Call for Composable Search: How SearchStax Studio is bringing true search API and composability to Site Search solutions both within Sitecore and across the martech stack. We'll talk about SearchStax's positioning, and how we compare to Sitecore Search.

SUGCON NA Agenda with Suggestions for XM Cloud

I spent a good amount of time going through the SUGCON NA 2023 agenda. This was done to help out people who are looking for sessions to learn XM Cloud.

Sitecore Smart Hub CDP from the Lens of a Beginner

We arranged the session in SUG Columbus on Sitecore Smart Hub CDP. This was a presentation from Varun Shringarpure and Chirag Khanna. This is the YouTube Video recording of the same.

Getting Started With Sitecore Experience Edge

YouTube Video Recording of the session. We organized the session in SUG Columbus. The session contains information about Sitecore Experience Edge CaaS Delivery Architectural component. It briefly explains what Sitecore Experience Edge is, its importance in Sitecore Composable Products, and how to utilize Sitecore Experience Edge GraphQL in building modern framework applications or headless applications.

Sitecore Search 101

We arranged the session in SUG Columbus on What is Sitecore Search. A Beginner's Guide to Optimizing Your Content Discovery

What is Sitecore Search? The architecture of Sitecore Search How it helps the Business? Hands-on session with Sitecore Search.

Implementing Sitecore Smart Hub CDP in XM Sitecore Headless App

We arranged the session in SUG Columbus on Sitecore Smart Hub CDP. This was a presentation from Varun Shringarpure and Chirag Khanna. This is Part 2 of their session on the Sitecore CDP and Personalize.

Migrating your Sitecore implementation to XM Cloud

Rob Habraken presented a session on the XM Cloud.

Sitecore's new Composable DXP is an awesome collection of MACH-based building blocks that allow you to develop advanced, flexible, and scalable web applications, of which XM Cloud is at the heart of the ecosystem for rich headless content management solutions.

XM Cloud Components in Action

XM Cloud is the new flagship SaaS Content Management platform that provides a lot of enterprise features enabling Marketers to deliver great web experiences.

Introduction of Javascript SDK for Sitecore Discover

I organized the sessions in SUG Columbus with my co-organizer Himadri Chakrabarti. In This session from Rob, It shows how to integrate the SDK into an existing NextJS Commerce site, to first start sending events back into Discover to being training the AI.

YouTube - XM Cloud Demystified

We organized the sessions in SUG Columbus with my co-organizer Himadri Chakrabarti. The session was from Adam Searbridge. What XM Cloud is and isn't, what is included, and how it compares to XP.

Crawl, Walk, Run with Content Hub ONE

I organized the sessions in SUG Columbus with my co-organizer Himadri Chakrabarti. Sebastian's session - Content Hub ONE is Sitecore’s new omnichannel headless Content Management System. But how does it look, how do you use it and how do you implement your custom projects with it?

SUG Columbus Twitter

I manage the Social media for SUG Columbus. I tweet and retweet the Sitecore-related events.

Why Sitecore's Composable Digital Experience Products Are Better Together

I organized the sessions in SUG Columbus with my co-organizer Himadri Chakrabarti. In this session, Jeff and Scott presented the Demo of Play Summit.