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Blue Origin Statamic Website(s)

Complete buildout and maintenance of the Blue Origin website on the Statamic CMS

The Vision

An easy-to-manage website that met Department of Defense requirements for missile companies, while also being highly visual and enjoyable to navigate, and showcasing the multiple platforms that Blue Origin was developing.

The Solution

Build the site on Statamic and use the static site generator to execute a flat HTML website that uses AWS Lambda for dynamic interactions. This architecture enabled us to meet and exceed legal requirements while also supporting business requirements.

The Results

Visitors are drawn into the world of space exploration through captivating imagery, intuitive navigation, and clear presentation of Blue Origin’s projects. Balancing compliance with creativity, we delivered an immersive, engaging digital experience that matches the ambition of the brand.

Client Industry

Space

Platform

Website

Technology
  • Laravel
  • Adobe Cloud
  • Tailwind
  • AlpineJS

The Vision

Mission Brief

Our client approached us with a challenge: due to legal requirements for missile companies (we know, rockets to space are not really missiles, but it's the government), their website could not have a live database. Most CMS options have a database that handles all content. For this site, we chose Statamic and its static site generator. 

Challenges

This project offered several unique challenges. The first challenge was that the design provided by Blue was highly image-heavy. Large images can drag down site speed. Blue wanted both a performant site and to use these full-bleed images. 

The next challenge was creating a process to deploy the site whenever the Statamic static site generator ran. The Statamic admin/site ran on its own server, which was not publicly accessible. The goal was to enable content authors to create pages, blogs, and other content, and then, once approved, deploy it to the live static site.

Why Ravenna?

Blue Origin chose Ravenna for our ability to adapt quickly and our proven experience across clients large and small. They valued our expertise in Statamic and our ability to build compliant, high-performing websites that also delivered on design vision.

For Blue Origin, choosing Ravenna meant choosing a partner that could move quickly, think creatively, and deliver with precision.

The Solution

At Ravenna we are all about the solution. 

Solving Challenge #1 

The first challenge we needed to solve was Blue Origins' use of large, full-bleed images that required high-quality resolution. A quick review of the site shows off these beautiful images. The solution here was two-fold: 

  1. Use modern image formats — .webp and .avif file types offer superior file size options while maintaining image quality. 

  2. Enable lazy loading for the image sections, so that on initial load, the site wouldn’t attempt to render four, five, or even 10 images at once. By loading them as they scrolled into view, we reduced upfront network load and browser paint time.

Solving Challenge #2

The second solution we needed was to keep the content/data out of reach of the website. Due to legal requirements, Blue Origin cannot host a live database on its site. 

To solve this, we placed their site admin and a previewable frontend on a server without public access. Blue content authors and internal teams could access it, and we, as their development team, could also see and update it. Then, as a content author or as needed, they could “publish” their website. This would kick off the Statamic static site generator, creating a flat HTML version of the updates, and a CI/CD pipeline would then deploy it to the publicly available site. 

This process kept them compliant with the law, while allowing ease and flexibility for pushing updates when needed.

Development

The Blue Origin site is developed on Statamic CMS, using primarily vanilla JavaScript on the frontend.

Ravenna also supported two other websites for Blue Origin: 

  • Orbital Reef — Created in connection with Blue Origin’s government contract to help develop the next space station, this site focused on attracting partners and building excitement around next-generation space technology.

  • Club for the Future — A kid-focused initiative that offered educational resources and a unique postcard-to-space program. Students mailed hand-drawn visions of space, which were launched aboard New Shepard missions and returned stamped as “flown in space.”

The Results

The finished website captured the essence of Blue Origin — ambitious, forward-looking, and inspiring. The site is:

  • Visually stunning: full-bleed photography and imagery transport visitors into the world of rockets, spacecraft, and life beyond Earth.

  • Compliant and secure: flat HTML pages, deployed through a CI/CD pipeline, removed the risks of a live database.

  • Author-friendly: Blue Origin staff can create, preview, and publish updates quickly, keeping the site fresh without relying on developers.

The end result was a site that not only tells Blue Origin’s story but also feels like a digital extension of their mission: making space accessible to everyone.