Optimizely unveiled this week its latest headless offering: Optimizely SaaS CMS, a cutting-edge CMS coupled with an innovative Visual Builder, to create and manage content across all websites and digital experiences. Available as a preview Beta since the end of last year, SaaS CMS is now part of the Optimizely Digital Experience Platform, alongside other innovative products such as Commerce and Experimentation. Optimizely will continue to support and innovate with their existing PaaS CMS, but this new offering will give even more options to customers and allow them to build true headless digital experiences, giving full flexibility to the marketing and content teams.
Here's the official announcement from Alexander Atzberger, CEO of Optimizely:
How is this different from the original (PaaS) CMS?
In comparing PaaS (Platform as a Service) CMS and SaaS (Software as a Service) CMS, one of the key distinctions lies in how they’ve separated the head (presentation layer) from the core. As depicted in the diagram above, the presentation layer used to be tightly integrated within the solution, often through an MVC framework. This approach required .NET developers to handle front-end integration. While it wasn’t the sole method for implementing PaaS CMS, it was commonly followed.
Now, with SaaS CMS, they’ve decoupled the presentation layer. You can fully host your front-end on platforms like Vercel and Netlify. Another significant advantage of SaaS products is their versionless nature. Unlike PaaS, where .NET developers manage upgrades and troubleshoot customizations, SaaS CMS solutions are automatically maintained and upgraded by platforms like Optimizely.
Developers can find documentation on how to get started, as well as a demo site with the frontend hosted on Vercel here, or on Netlify here.
What are the advantages of the new Optimizely SaaS CMS?
- Unified Core, Enhanced Headless: SaaS CMS maintains a consistent core code base while supercharging its headless capabilities. Say goodbye to tangled dependencies and hello to seamless content delivery across channels!
- Cost Savings Across the Board: By choosing the SaaS CMS, you’ll see a reduction in Total Cost of Ownership (TCO). Not only during implementation but also throughout maintenance.
- Editorial Bliss: Optimizely fine-tuned the editorial experience. Say goodbye to clunky interfaces and hello to intuitive workflows. Your content creators will thank you!
- Stay Ahead with Automatic Updates: With the SaaS CMS, you’re always at the forefront. Regular feature enhancements and updates are delivered seamlessly, so you can focus on what matters most—your content!
- Removing the dependency on a .NET developer: No more wrestling with .NET-specific configurations. Your development team can now explore new horizons.
- Reduced learning curve required to get started with the product
What is the Visual Builder?
The visual builder represents a contemporary alternative to the Page/Block experience provided by the PaaS CMS. In doing so, it effectively addresses longstanding reuse challenges that have persisted within the platform. Key features include:
- Visual Editing: Imagine a sleek, side-by-side editing experience—like sipping a perfectly crafted latte while rearranging content blocks. This state-of-the-art visual editor lets marketers waltz through their creations effortlessly. No code wizardry required; just drag, drop, and voilà!
- Multi-Langage: Parlez-vous français? ¿Hablas español? With this CMS, you’re able to create and preview content in various languages.
- Interactive Sneak Peek: Ever wanted to test-drive a form or a button before hitting the “publish” pedal? Buckle up! The preview mode lets you kick those tires, ensuring everything runs smoothly.
- Custom Elements: Empower your digital endeavors by constructing reusable components—think buttons, banners, and hero sections. Marketers and front-end developers alike revel in this flexibility, as it allows them to orchestrate captivating experiences with precision.
- Template management: Save and re-use experiences and sections templates.
- Multi-Step Workflows: Content approval process that match your business requirements.
What about Search functionalities?
Optimizely SaaS CMS comes with Optimizely Graph, the latest evolution of Optimizely’s cloud-based Graph—a significant leap forward from the longstanding Search & Navigation system. Optimizely Graph boasts an improved hosted architecture, effectively mitigating the historically stability and performance challenges of its predecessor.
As an integral component of the SaaS solution, Optimizely Graph seamlessly integrates out of the box. Its automatic inclusion ensures that all content created within the solution is indexed and made accessible across channels via a secure read-only client key.
Want to know more about the new Optimizely SaaS CMS?
Optimizely’s CMO, Shaf and Senior Director of Product Management, Naz are hosting a webinar with a live Q&A all about this as well as some other new exciting CMS features on July 25th, 2024. Register for it here. (If you can’t make it live, there’ll be an on-demand recording link sent shortly afterwards).
If you have any questions about Optimizely's offerings and our services or need help figuring out the best content management solution for your business, feel free to contact us.
Article written by Eric Deschambault, Senior Manager – Digital Business Consultants at Thinkmax. Eric is an Optimizely Most Valuable Professional (OMVP).
