Contentful CMS for a Large Corporate Website: Our Review

In an era where digital presence is paramount, choosing the right Content Management System (CMS) can make or break a company’s online strategy. This article explores our experience with Contentful CMS and evaluates its suitability for a large-scale corporate website.

Development Experience.
Comments.
Review of the Platform Contentful CMS.

Transition from the Legacy WordPress into Contentful

As of 2024, technologies in the realm of Custom CMS systems are evolving rapidly. One of our clients in Florida, who has been in business for over 50 years, requested a modern framework to replace their legacy WordPress-based public website. The primary requirements for our task include:

Migrating thousands of pages created and published throughout the company’s history.
Ensuring content managers can continue creating and publishing content seamlessly.
Utilizing modern CMS frameworks with development capabilities in React or Angular.
Providing backend access for developing customized business workflows, features, and integrating third-party APIs.
Deploying the system on both internal servers and the cloud.
Supporting Continuous Integration and Continuous Deployment (CI/CD).

Q1: Trial or Free Version Availability?

Yes, developers can sign up for a trial version by registering on the platform. After answering a brief questionnaire, the platform suggests options tailored to the user’s needs. The trial version allows the creation of only one Space (in my case, an online store). If additional Spaces are needed, a subscription plan must be purchased. Free trial users also have limited access to some features, such as editing references (page relationship schemes), taxonomy, and SEO-related functions.

Q2: Initial Challenges?

I attempted to use the offered short training option, but the hints either did not work or got stuck on the screen, causing further confusion. As a result, I had to spend extra time correcting mistakes and learning the system independently. Additionally, I found the layout of the help section information to be quite inconvenient.

Q3: Custom Web Page Creation?

After spending two days exploring the Contentful platform, I was unable to create custom elements. Pages are built from blocks available based on the selected page theme. For instance, on the pages of my online store, I could arrange product names/descriptions, product photos, and add links to other products. The help section described options for adding other elements, but these are still basic elements without customization options.

Q4: Backend Code Editing and Custom Business Flows?

You can create your own app that functions as an extension for Contentful CMS, allowing some functionality changes. However, all work must still be done through the Contentful platform.

Q5: Database Access and Customization?

Contentful stores content in its own managed cloud infrastructure; there’s no direct database access for regular users. Custom data storage or integration with an external database is possible, but only through Contentful’s App Framework (building a custom app/extension) or its Content Management API, not through direct access to the underlying storage.

Q6: Third-Party API Access?

Yes, Contentful supports integrating third-party APIs, primarily through its App Framework for building custom apps within the platform, and through its Content Management and Content Delivery APIs for connecting external services. However, this happens within Contentful’s platform constraints rather than through open backend access, which is consistent with its overall approach as a managed, cloud-based CMS.

Conclusion

Based on our analysis, Contentful CMS presents a straightforward solution for small to medium-sized projects with minimal customization needs. However, for larger enterprises with complex requirements, such as extensive customization and control over backend systems, Contentful may not be the best fit. We recommend exploring alternative CMS platforms that offer greater flexibility and control to meet established business processes.

Diatom Enterprises as an Outsourcing Development Company

If you would like to collaborate, here at Diatom Enterprises we offer development services for various industries. We are the most proficient development company in Latvia, with more than 20 years of software development experience and countless successful projects. Please contact us, so we can discuss our future partnership in development and provide you with a free estimation of your project!

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