CMS spotlight on... Kentico

In the first of a three part series, True’s Head of Technology Matt takes us under the bonnet to understand the technology behind websites and the pros and cons of different solutions for different brands and businesses.

First up, Kentico CMS.

What is Kentico CMS?

Kentico CMS is a web content management system for building websites, online stores and intranets. It’s built on Microsoft technology (.net and SQL Server).  

Founded in 2004, Kentico is a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner with headquarters in the Czech Republic. Kentico Version 12 is due for release anytime now.

What are the standout features?

Kentico CMS has 3 main strong points:

• It’s a solid content management platform
• It has great ecommerce functionality
• Its Online Marketing Suite means you can fully integrate your marketing efforts in one solution

Who uses it?

Twinings, HMV, TCMM Shutter Group, True

What does Gartner say?

Gartner, a global leader in IT research and advice, published their latest Magic Quadrant for Web Content Management in July 2018 (report is gated).  The quadrant categorises CMS businesses as Leaders, Challengers, Visionaries or Niche Players, based on completeness of vision and ability to execute. Kentico is classed as a Challenger. According to Garnter "Challengers execute well today or may dominate a large [market] segment, but do not demonstrate an understanding of market direction".

Why do we love it?

Kentico CMS gives us a sound, supported platform to build on. It gives our clients a lot of value for their money. And it gives the end user an exceptional customer experience.

In no particular order, our four favourite things about Kentico are:

1. A strong platform

What that means for us:

• Full MVC support for development
• An active and open future roadmap
• A clear and responsive support system

What that means for our clients:

• Confidence
• Future proofing
• Supports different user stories and customer journeys
• Measurement and analysis built in
• More value from their investment in content

What that means for the end user:  

• A great brand experience
• Builds trust through consistency
• ​A site they can rely on

2. Effortless content management

What that means for us:

• A powerful inline editing interface based on component design (WYSIWYG)
• Advanced content management workflows including editing, review and versioning
• Centralised media management including support for images, video and documents
• An architecture designed to support multiple websites and different languages
• Dynamic form creation
• Tags and taxonomy

What that means for our clients:

• Easy content management
• Avoidance of
  content shock
• Better performance in SEO

What that means for the end user:

• Great discoverability
• Valuable, relevant content

3. Integrated online marketing

What that means for us:

• Web analytics
• Email marketing
• User personas, lead scoring and personalisation
• Marketing automation
• Contact management
• Many features to help GDPR and data protection compliance
• A/B and multivariate testing

What that means for our clients:

• Ability to track the metrics that matter
• Confidence in compliance and security
• Better value from their marketing budget

What that means for the end user:

• More rewarding, more joined up customer journeys

4. Ecommerce

What that means for us:

• An excellent, cost effective solution for ambitious clients who don’t have enterprise level budget.

What that means for clients:

• Ability to punch above their weight in providing a seamless shopping experience.

What it means for the end user:

• A shop they’ll want to talk about and keep coming back to

How could Kentico CMS be better?

Kentico is constantly improving but it’s not an Enterprise level system.  For corporate clients, especially those in specific fields like finance who require the highest levels of security and compliance, it may be better to look to other platforms.

Matt's Diagnosis:

In general, Kentico provides an easy to implement platform that covers much of the complex functionality you see in bigger enterprise systems like Sitecore or Episerver, with a much lower price tag. It has a great interface for editors too.

It might not do absolutely everything that these systems can, but it often provides a sweet spot for clients.

Want to know more?

If you’d like to know more about our technical capability, want to see a spotlight on another CMS or need help choosing the right solution for your business, please get in touch.

Also in this series: CMS Spotlight... on Umbraco and CMS Spotlight... on Episerver.