Cloudflare D1

Cloudflare D1 is Cloudflare's serverless SQLite database. It runs on Cloudflare's global network, close to where your Workers and Pages run.

Unlike a traditional database that requires a separate server, connection pooling, and connection strings, D1 is built into the Cloudflare ecosystem. You define your schema and query it directly from Workers, using standard SQL.

For a Next.js site with Payload CMS, D1 replaces the traditional database layer. Payload's sqliteD1Adapter lets you use D1 as the database backend. This means your CMS runs entirely on Cloudflare's edge — no separate database server to manage, no connection overhead, and data storage that scales automatically.

It is not designed for every use case. Complex migrations, large datasets, and write-heavy workloads are better served by traditional databases. But for a content-managed site like dannymoons.nl, it keeps the stack simple and the infrastructure light.