If you’ve been using Kentico for a while, you’ve probably heard about the launch of Xperience by Kentico. But what exactly is it, and how is it different from what you’re already using? As a Kentico Gold Partner, we’re excited to be building websites for our clients on Xperience by Kentico. It’s a sophisticated platform designed to meet the growing demands of marketing teams within both Local Government and corporate businesses, delivering an exceptional user experience for both end users and website managers alike.
This blog is the first in a series where we’ll guide you through what Xperience by Kentico is, how it builds on (and goes beyond) previous versions, and the powerful features it offers to help you deliver more personalised, efficient, and integrated digital experiences.
What is Xperience by Kentico?
Xperience by Kentico was developed in response to the rapidly evolving expectations of online users. The way people engage with digital platforms, including websites, social media and other digital content, has changed. There is an expectation of personalised, accessible content presented in an easy-to-navigate way, and traditional Content Management Systems (CMSs) just aren’t keeping up.
Xperience by Kentico is a Digital Experience Platform (DXP) that’s easier to use and more functional than a traditional CMS.
To better understand what sets Xperience by Kentico apart, we first need to recap how a CMS is usually managed.
A traditional CMS architecture
A CMS is a software application used to create, manage, and publish content on a website. In a traditional CMS, a technical backend manages the website's functionality. This is where digital content, including text, images, and videos, is created and managed before it’s published on the frontend, which is what the end user sees.
WordPress, HubSpot CMS, and previous versions of Kentico, are examples of CMSs where content is managed in this way. They allow marketing managers to edit and publish content without the need for a developer. However, for the content to be used elsewhere, an API is built to push it to an external channel such as an app or another website.
The digital world has evolved, and many of our clients now need to serve content across multiple channels. For example, many Local Governments have standalone websites for their rec centres. It is difficult for marketing and communications managers to repurpose content efficiently, making it a time consuming job, and causing delays in providing real-time updates across multiple channels.
Headless CMSs, such as Contentful, Prismic and Strapi, have tried to address this, but have largely resulted in CMS platforms that are really only accessible to experienced developers.
The solution: A hybrid headless DXP
Xperience by Kentico delivers the best of both worlds. Like a headless CMS, it separates the back from the front end, but does this in a marketer-friendly environment that doesn’t require a team of developers for day-to-day management. Content (including text, images, video and audio) is created and stored in a content library, and can then be pushed to multiple websites, an app or even a digital billboard. This makes the job of marketing or communications managers simpler!
Key benefits of Xperience by Kentico
We'll take a deeper dive into the features and benefits of Xperience by Kentico in a future article, but for now, we've highlighted some of the main features we think you'll benefit from:
- Reusability of content within the website: reuse content across multiple pages and areas within website without manual copying
- Reusability of content outside the website: reuse structured content across platforms (e.g. mobile apps, other websites, digital billboards) without manual copying
- User-friendly: easy-to-use interface that allows marketers to make updates without the need of a developer
- Data privacy and compliance: built in tools to help meet strict data protection and accessibility standards
- Scalable and future-ready: cloud-native and modular, so your website evolves with you
- Personalisation capabilities: deliver tailored audience segments, such as residents, businesses or tourists
Work with a Kentico Partner Agency
Xperience by Kentico is a modern, flexible platform designed to empower teams to deliver personalised digital experiences with speed and agility. As a Kentico Gold Partner, we’ll work with you to create efficient, impactful and future-proof digital experiences across your websites, apps, and more. We’d love to discuss your next Kentico website project with you. Contact our Kentico developers today.