What are the differences between CMS and CEM solutions and how do I choose the best one?
When it comes to managing content, businesses and organizations are presented with three basic choices: open source CMS, CEM, and full-scale CMS solutions. But h
ow do you select the best system for your organization? In this article, we’ll explore the key differences and help you navigate the landscape to find the right solution.
In terms of coding, it doesn’t make sense to custom hack even a simple CMS implementation anymore. The era of custom, go-it-alone CMS ended in 2005. Woe befalls the company trying to maintain their own custom legacy content management code. Today, there are endless CMS platforms that offer massive efficiency, scale, and innovation gains.
Additionally, when looking for true CEM platforms, terminology can be confusing. Customer experience management (CEM) can be referred to as CEM, CX, or CXM, and sometimes as digital experience management (DXM or DX).
What Is an Open Source CMS?
Most open source CMS solutions on the market today are scalable, highly functional, and flexible. The major players are well-supported and have a huge ecosystem of solutions and starter kits built into them.
The primary function of an open source CMS is to manage content. Higher functions like personalization, true customer experience management, and multichannel marketing are generally not well-supported. Here are a few popular open source CMS platforms we recommend:
Wordpress
WordPress is one of the most popular self-hosted CMS platforms available. While its roots are in blogging, it’s supported by thousands of plugins that give it more CMS capabilities. Popular enterprise WordPress users include The New York Times, CNN, and Microsoft.
Today, you can build pretty much any website with WordPress. As an open source solution driven by a network of skilled developers, WordPress has grown into a reliable, safe, and well-supported platform. It’s also cost-effective (starting as free), easy to use, and scalable for enterprise needs.
Umbraco
Umbraco is a leading open-source CMS for ASP.NET Core, powering over 700,000 websites worldwide with its flexible, user-friendly platform. Built on Microsoft infrastructure and written in C#, Umbraco is widely used for both web and intranet content management. [A] is a trusted Umbraco partner, bringing expertise in implementing this robust CMS to help clients achieve seamless, scalable content management.
Drupal
Drupal is an open source content management framework written in PHP. Since Version 8, Drupal has added many CMS functions, ensuring content control, granularity, and reuse across digital channels. Drupal is a strong self-hosted CMS for enterprise users, including the World Bank.
DotNetNuke (DNN)
DNN offers both free and paid editions with thousands of add-ons and themes. DNN allows for the creation of CMS pages without IT assistance, although it lacks some native marketing capabilities.
What Is an Enterprise CMS?
When managing content on a deeper scale, CMS solutions like Sitecore and Kentico are often the winning bet. Although they require a greater investment than open source CMS, their ROI makes sense for managing a wide range of content types.
Headless CMS vs Traditional CMS
Most CMS platforms have evolved to become more than just web CMS—they now function as headless CMS solutions, offering multichannel capabilities and content personalization. A headless CMS separates the content backend from the frontend, giving developers flexibility in how content is delivered across platforms.
A headless CMS offers no page templates, just a backend for content storage and a web app for editors. Popular headless CMS examples include:
- Contentful: Known for its headless CMS API, Contentful enables content to be deployed across various platforms, making it a popular choice for mobile apps and in-store displays.
- Adobe Experience Manager (AEM): AEM is a web content management system that delivers personalized digital experiences across multiple channels. It integrates with Adobe Marketing Cloud for enhanced content management system development.
CEM Platform Features
CEM, on the other hand, stands for Customer Experience Management. It is a business strategy designed to improve the overall customer experience by understanding customer needs, behaviors, and expectations. CEM platforms often encompass more advanced features like marketing automation, customer journey tracking, and personalized content delivery across multiple channels, focusing on the broader goal of enhancing customer satisfaction and loyalty.
A sample workflow might look something like this:
- Sign up for a free download
- Get a response via email
- Track the response back through repeated interactions with the website
- Manage commerce transactions on platform
- Score sessions based on actions
- Review engagement data by named user if they are identified (or by session if anonymous)
Top CMS/CEM Platforms
Sitecore
Sitecore is a top-tier digital experience platform (DXP) that equips organizations with a wide range of tools and features aimed at creating personalized and compelling customer experiences. In addition to its strong content management features, Sitecore also offers powerful customer experience management (CEM) capabilities.
Kentico
Kentico has evolved from a content management system (CMS) into a comprehensive digital experience platform (DXP) with strong customer experience management (CEM) capabilities. It analyzes customer data to provide insights into preferences and behavior, allowing for personalized experiences and automated interactions that deliver relevant content at the right time.
Other Web Content Management Solutions If you're exploring CMS options beyond the traditional platforms, read our detailed analysis and comparison of top CMS options, including features, pricing, and scalability, visit our
Comprehensive CMS Review and Comparison article. This guide will help you make an informed decision based on your organization's unique requirements.
Making the Right Choice for Your CMS or CEM Needs
Selecting the right content management system or customer experience management (CEM) platform can feel overwhelming given the wide variety of options available. Whether you're looking for an open-source solution, a headless CMS, or a full-scale enterprise platform, choosing the best fit is critical to driving your business forward.
At [A], we specialize in helping organizations find the right platform tailored to their specific needs. From CMS migration and platform selection, we partner with you to create scalable, efficient solutions that enhance content delivery and improve customer experiences. Our experts guide you through every step of the process, ensuring your content operations are optimized for future growth and innovation.
Learn more about [A]’s Platform Engineering Services or
Contact Us for a Free Consultation.