Converting to a Headless CMS pays off

The future for marketers is "headless" - at least when it comes to building a Digital Experience Platform (DXP). Choosing a suitable headless Content Management System (CMS) is the foundation for any DXP. A digital structure like this allows businesses to create seamless and personalized experiences across various digital channels, such as mobile apps, websites, or social media. As part of a content series, we showcase what matters in a successful website migration, using the example of our loyal client Stadtwerke Düsseldorf.

In the first part of the series, we focus on why transitioning to a headless CMS is worthwhile and which aspects are crucial for a successful content migration.

Ergosign has been designing digital services with outstanding customer experience for Stadtwerke Düsseldorf for several years (read more about the successful collaboration here). Currently, our team is working on expanding the web platform into a DXP to ensure a personalized customer experience across all digital touchpoints. This involves the migration to a new CMS.

Digression: Not all CMS’ are equal

A Content Management System serves creating and managing digital content (in text, image, video, or other forms). There are different types of CMS:

The traditional CMS (Monolith) is an all-in-one solution where the front and back end are closely connected. The integration of design and content in one system ensures easy operation and fast implementation of websites. Since the front end technology is always predetermined, the design can be restrictive, especially in more complex projects.

A state-of-the-art headless CMS separates the front and back end, allowing developers and editors to manage content independently of its presentation and provide it through APIs. This offers flexibility and adaptability.

Transform your brand with a Digital Experience Platform: Discover how Stadtwerke Düsseldorf took the leap.

Why headless? Benefits at a glance

• Omni-channel presence and unified brand experience

• Flexibility and scalability

• Time savings and increased productivity

• Improved website performance

• Technological independence

• Faster time-to-market

Stadtwerke Düsseldorf opted to switch from a monolithic CMS to a headless CMS. The separation of front and back end in the headless CMS offers numerous advantages for the online marketing team, sales, and customer service:

By storing content in a neutral format and making it available through an API, it can be managed centrally for various platforms, devices, technologies, as well as iOS and Android apps – ensuring seamless omni-channel presence with a unified brand experience! At Stadtwerke, content for both the website and app can now be maintained in a single CMS, providing more flexibility and scalability, saving time, and thus increasing the productivity of editors. All these advantages also positively impact the time-to-market. In addition to an improved usability, a headless CMS offers a compelling website performance, which can positively affect SEO rankings.

Stadtwerke Düsseldorf chose Storyblok as their headless CMS. This CMS stands out, especially with its high usability and a visual editor that makes back end editing faster and more intuitive. Senior Software Engineer Maximilian Stolz is also convinced: "With Storyblok, we are not tied to a specific technology stack (tech stack). Thanks to the flexibility of the CMS, we can tailor a tech stack to the needs of our customers. This results in truly bespoke DXPs, leading to an improved experience for customers, as well as editors and employees.“

If Storyblok doesn't meet your requirements, we will guide you through the decision-making process and are open to other providers.

Pre-migration: New tech stack, defined responsibilities, and content audit

Before migration, it's essential to define the new tech stack. Since Storyblok offers various framework options, we decided for a framework already familiar to Stadtwerke Düsseldorf: React.

Migrating to a new CMS always is a great opportunity to audit content: identifying outdated content, revising existing content, or SEO optimization. The decisions on which content to migrate are crucial in this process and should not be underestimated.

Stadtwerke Düsseldorf took this opportunity to analyze their existing content. Due to their extensive website with diverse content on topics such as electricity, water, gas, heating, and warmth, we decided against a fully automated migration.

Instead, content is migrated gradually. To maintain a clear overview of the migration, we started by defining  responsibilities and created an outline of the various migrating content areas. This helped us visualize manageable work packages with intermediate steps and review processes in a dashboard for the migration team, keeping track of the progress at all times.

Advantages of manual content migration

A success factor in the migration project of Stadtwerke Düsseldorf was breaking down the content into smaller, manageable packages. The benefits of this approach are evident: Gradual migration allows for adapting and optimizing content during the migration and conserving resources in the team. Simultaneously, it enables tracking the migration's progress and responding flexibly to potential challenges.

Best practices for a successful migration

Uncertainties and perhaps even fears of a large migration are entirely normal and understandable. To alleviate all concerns about a manual migration within the Stadtwerke Düsseldorf team, we provided both training (on-site and online) and continuous support. Thus we ensured that the team felt supported throughout the migration process, and that they possessed the necessary skills and knowledge to migrate the content successfully. Naturally, we not only provided training and advice, but we also actively assisted in content migration when needed.

Pre-migration checklist: Requirements for a successful migration preparation?

1. Choosing a new headless CMS: Be aware of your CMS requirements and choose the appropriate CMS based on these criteria. We are happy to guide you through the decision-making process!

2. Select the new tech stack: Collaborate with developers to create a list of criteria and features that you want to be implemented. Choose a tech stack that fits your requirements.

3. Define responsibilities: Define the roles and responsibilities of all involved parties before migration. Establishing goals and deadlines help control the migration's success.

4. Analyze in a content audit which content should be migrated. Analyze and evaluate existing content based on performance, relevance, quality etc.
   Determine which content should be migrated and, if necessary, adapted or optimized.

Discover in our next Insights article how we migrate content with Stadtwerke Düsseldorf’s online magazine as a real-life example.

If you don't want to wait till then to start optimizing your digital brand, talk to us!

Pre-migration checklist: Requirements for a successful migration preparation?

1. Choosing a new headless CMS: Be aware of your CMS requirements and choose the appropriate CMS based on these criteria. We are happy to guide you through the decision-making process!

2. Select the new tech stack: Collaborate with developers to create a list of criteria and features that you want to be implemented. Choose a tech stack that fits your requirements.

3. Define responsibilities: Define the roles and responsibilities of all involved parties before migration. Establishing goals and deadlines help control the migration's success.

4. Analyze in a content audit which content should be migrated. Analyze and evaluate existing content based on performance, relevance, quality etc.
   Determine which content should be migrated and, if necessary, adapted or optimized.