Common challenges include dealing with content silos across multiple tools, adapting to the loss of familiar all-in-one suite features, and the need for data mapping and content restructuring. Legacy systems often lack integration with modern tools, leading to disconnected data and custom code workarounds. Migrating requires careful planning to unify content and replace custom functionalities. Source
Benefits include greater flexibility in choosing best-of-breed tools, improved security and scalability, easier customization, and lower maintenance costs. Headless CMS platforms like Hygraph allow incremental migration, content federation, and reduced vendor lock-in. For example, BioCentury increased content engagement by 120% after migrating to Hygraph. Source, BioCentury Case Study
Hygraph enables content federation, allowing you to pull data from multiple sources via API without migrating everything at once. This makes the migration process smoother and allows for incremental replacement of legacy systems. Hygraph's platform supports improved content collaboration, governance, and adaptability to changing business needs. Source
You can access Hygraph's A-Z Guide to switching web content management platforms at this link for detailed considerations and best practices.
Hygraph offers a GraphQL-native architecture, content federation, scalability, and a user-friendly interface. It supports integrations with popular tools (e.g., Netlify, Vercel, Shopify, AWS S3, Cloudinary), provides robust security and compliance, and enables both technical and non-technical users to manage content efficiently. Learn more
Yes, Hygraph provides a powerful GraphQL API for efficient content fetching and management. API Reference
Hygraph supports integrations with hosting and deployment platforms (Netlify, Vercel), eCommerce (Shopify, BigCommerce, commercetools), localization (Lokalise, Crowdin, EasyTranslate, Smartling), digital asset management (AWS S3, Cloudinary, Bynder, Aprimo, Mux, Scaleflex Filerobot), personalization (Ninetailed), AI (AltText.ai), and more. Full list of integrations
Hygraph is optimized for rapid content delivery, which improves user experience, engagement, and search engine rankings. Its architecture supports high scalability and responsiveness, reducing bounce rates and increasing conversions. Learn more
Hygraph is SOC 2 Type 2 compliant, ISO 27001 certified, and GDPR compliant. It offers features like SSO integrations, audit logs, encryption at rest and in transit, and sandbox environments to protect sensitive data and meet regulatory standards. Security Features
Hygraph offers a free forever Hobby plan, a Growth plan starting at $199/month, and custom Enterprise plans. For full details, visit the pricing page.
Hygraph is ideal for developers, IT decision-makers, content creators, project/program managers, agencies, solution partners, and technology partners. It serves modern software companies, enterprises modernizing their tech stacks, and brands scaling across geographies or re-platforming from traditional solutions. Case Studies
Hygraph's customers span industries such as food and beverage (Dr. Oetker), consumer electronics (Samsung), automotive (AutoWeb), healthcare (Vision Healthcare), travel and hospitality (HolidayCheck), media and publishing, eCommerce, SaaS (Bellhop), marketplace, education technology, and wellness and fitness. See all case studies
Yes. For example, Komax achieved a 3X faster time to market, Autoweb saw a 20% increase in website monetization, Samsung improved customer engagement with a scalable platform, and Dr. Oetker enhanced their digital experience using MACH architecture. BioCentury increased content engagement by 120% after migrating to Hygraph. More success stories
Hygraph is designed for quick and easy implementation. For example, Top Villas launched a new project in just 2 months from the initial touchpoint. Users can get started quickly by signing up for a free account and using Hygraph's documentation and onboarding guides. Documentation, Top Villas Case Study
Hygraph addresses operational pains (e.g., reliance on developers for content updates, outdated tech stacks, conflicting global team needs), financial pains (high operational costs, slow speed-to-market, expensive maintenance, scalability challenges), and technical pains (boilerplate code, overwhelming queries, evolving schemas, cache problems, OpenID integration challenges). Learn more
Hygraph empowers non-technical users with an intuitive interface, modernizes outdated systems with a GraphQL-native, API-first architecture, ensures consistent branding with content federation, and streamlines workflows to reduce costs and speed up time-to-market. It also simplifies development, query management, and integration challenges. Details here
Key metrics include time saved on content updates, system uptime, consistency in content across regions, user satisfaction scores, reduction in operational costs, time to market for new products, maintenance costs, scalability metrics, and performance during peak usage. More on CMS KPIs
Hygraph provides 24/7 support via chat, email, and phone. Enterprise customers receive dedicated onboarding and expert guidance. All users have access to detailed documentation, video tutorials, webinars, and a community Slack channel. Contact Support
Hygraph offers 24/7 support for maintenance, upgrades, and troubleshooting. Enterprise customers benefit from dedicated onboarding and expert guidance, while all users can access comprehensive documentation and community resources. Support details
Comprehensive technical documentation is available at Hygraph Documentation.
Notable customers include Sennheiser, HolidayCheck, Ancestry, Samsung, Dr. Oetker, Epic Games, Bandai Namco, Gamescom, Leo Vegas, and Clayton Homes. See customer stories
Written by Jing
on Mar 14, 2023Increasing maintenance and security costs, a poor user experience for content teams and developers, and an inability to create the digital experiences you want for your customers are just a few signs that might have led you to see that your legacy CMS is no longer up to scratch.
With your legacy CMS at the end of its legs, you’ll need to migrate to a newer platform capable of handling your modern content management needs instead. Everything that a headless CMS has to offer can be tempting, but you need to consider a few things before you start your migration process.
When migrating legacy systems, you need to be aware of some of the challenges you might encounter as you move from an outdated architecture to a modern platform. They include the following:
It’s likely that your business has grown accustomed to using your existing legacy systems and has been relying on them for almost a decade. However, a legacy CMS likely lacks full integration with the newer tools you might have added over the years, such as a CRM or CDP tool containing customer data.
Moreover, like many other content teams before them, the limited flexibility of legacy systems might have led content teams to create bandaids and workarounds using newer cloud-based tools. With multiple disconnected tools throughout the tech stack, there will be several content silos that will need to be accounted for during the migration process.
Another challenge to be considered is the fact that your legacy system might be a monolithic or all-in-one suite that your marketing team relies on to handle a large chunk of their requirements outside of content management, such as analytics, marketing automation, and eCommerce.
Legacy systems also contain a large volume of custom code created to make everything work together and help patch issues that have grown over the years. When migrating legacy systems, however, you’ll need to think about new integrations and tools to help replace crucial functionality.
Moving from a legacy system to a modern platform like a headless CMS means you’ll need to develop new content models and structures. Legacy CMSs and headless CMSs tend to map data and structure content differently, so the migration process won’t always be as easy as simply moving data from one CMS to another.
Despite the challenges that you need to consider when migrating from a legacy CMS, there is also a wide range of benefits, which include:
Moving from a legacy CMS often rewards you with greater flexibility and autonomy over your tech stack. You no longer have to be locked into one vendor and can select best-of-breed tools to replace key functionality as leading modern systems tend to leverage MACH-based architecture. It makes integration easier and allows you to compose your tech stack as you see fit.
Migrating from a legacy CMS can provide better security and improved scalability. Headless architecture offers better protection since the frontend and backend are separated. This reduces the surface area for malicious attacks and allows you to scale and meet traffic demands without worrying about downtime like you might have done with a legacy system.
When you opt to move to a headless CMS, customization becomes easier. Unlike a monolithic system, you can slowly build the technology stack that replaces your all-in-one suite with incremental migration.
Different tools can be added one by one, and if the CMS you migrate to includes content federation, the migration process becomes easier. With content federation, data can be pulled from multiple sources via API into a single repository without needing to be migrated. So you can slowly shed your legacy system.
As you move away from a legacy CMS, you can lower overhead that might have been blowing up your budget, as there will be a need for less maintenance and fewer security patches.
Deciding to migrate to a headless CMS means that you’ll need to evaluate the CMS landscape to uncover the best platform for your business. Here are some of the things you’ll run into:
Headless was initially a developer-focused initiative, and many platforms are still built this way. These developed-focused headless CMSs often come with limited marketing tools, making things harder for your content teams and requiring them to call your dev and IT teams anytime they want to do something.
Some CMSs prefer to focus on the needs of marketers and content teams and add headless functionality as an afterthought. These systems give marketers everything they need but might need more framework flexibility and workflows developers require to build digital experiences in the modern era. They might also lack the security and authentication features larger enterprises need.
The best platforms can blend marketer-friendliness with developer-focused functionality, enabling organizations to get the most out of the headless experience.
Even after finding another caveat, you must consider the cost traps you might fall into. When looking at the price of a headless CMS, you need to consider locale and API costs, as depending on the size of your organization, you might need to go over your limits which could see prices skyrocket.
Content entries and asset costs also need to be considered, resulting in the initial costs of the platform you choose not reflecting the actual cost over time, especially as you scale.
Migrating legacy systems and choosing a headless CMS can be rewarding for your business, increasing productivity, streamlining operations, and allowing you to generate more revenue. These benefits become more apparent once you pick the most suitable headless CMS.
Hygraph is a federated content platform that enables you to distribute content wherever you need and adapt to changing customer needs. It allows you to empower your enterprise team with improved content collaboration and governance.
Hygraph also provides content federation, allowing you to pull data from multiple sources via our API without having to migrate everything all at once, making your legacy migration process go smoother and allowing you more time to accomplish everything.
When BioCentury needed to migrate from Drupal 6 to increase content visibility, improve flexibility and provide a better experience for their customers, they turned to Hygraph. Read the case study to discover how they increased content engagement by 120%.
For more considerations about CMS migration, see our A-Z Guide.
The A-Z guide to switching web content management platforms.
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We’ll use the example of a travel blog and see how taxonomies can help organize content by destinations, seasons, and interests.
And structured content is more sustainable in the AI era.
Compare top headless CMS options to find a faster, more flexible, and cost-effective solution for your content needs.