From Dato CMS to Kentico

We are the Dato CMS to Kentico migration experts

Challenges with Dato CMS

Key pain points

DatoCMS gives all the vibes of Prismic, but is somehow less flexible. It can feel like a glorified drag-and-drop schema builder. The moment you want to do anything mildly custom, the walls start closing in. And yes, the pricing stings. It scales fast, which is great for Dato, not so great for anyone trying to run a startup without selling a kidney.

The ecosystem is small, the extensions are thin, and deeper customisation often turns into “well, I guess we’re building that ourselves.” There’s no real visual editor, no guardrails for inactive billing, and once your project grows, you quickly realise drag-and-drop doesn’t magically give you validation or extensibility. If you need something genuinely custom or long-term scalable, there are better choices. Just contact us before you start one of the most expensive journeys.

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Limited customisation options

DatoCMS hits a ceiling fast if you need deeply custom logic. The drag-and-drop model is convenient, but it doesn’t give you the freedom a code-first setup would.

Pricing based on traffic

Costs scale with usage, which can get painful quickly for growing sites. Traffic spikes = surprise bills.

Steeper learning curve

While the UI is simple, the API-driven side demands more technical understanding. Non-developers may struggle once things get complex.

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Need for additional plugins

Out-of-the-box features only go so far. More advanced workflows often require plugins or custom development to bridge gaps.

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Limited feature set scalability

Great for small–mid projects, but larger, more demanding setups can outgrow what DatoCMS offers out of the box.

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Potential integration issues

Certain frameworks and tools need careful configuration, and edge cases appear more often than you’d expect in more mature CMS ecosystems.

Benefits of Kentico

Key advantages

If Corporate Memphis art, dashboards, and spreadsheets are what you need, Kentico might be your happy place. The interface feels like Microsoft Office; that is, it is familiar, editor-friendly, and hard to break. And unlike platforms that need 14 plugins and a prayer, Kentico ships with the whole toolkit. It has marketing automation, e-commerce, workflows, multisite, multilingual, and the entire lot.

It scales well, handles heavy enterprise workloads, and integrates cleanly through APIs. But it is not the right fit for tiny brochure sites, but for large organizations that want everything under one roof, it’s a serious contender. If you’re unsure whether you really need the full armoury, send it our way and we’ll tell you if you’re ready for Kentico or if you’re just buying a tank to deliver pizza.

User-friendly interface

Kentico’s UI feels familiar with “Office toolbar,” like functions, rather than “developer terminals.” Editors can publish, schedule, and update content without needing a developer on standby.

Powerful built-in marketing automation, e-commerce, and customization tools

Built in tools

You don’t need to glue together 12 plugins just to run campaigns or sell products. Kentico ships with automation, personalization, analytics, and e-commerce baked in.

Flexible API and extensibility options

If your team speaks .NET, Kentico supports it. Its APIs and integration options make it easier to connect CRMs, ERPs, BI tools, and custom services without duct-tape engineering.

Workflow and role management system

It has multiple approvers, granular permissions, and strict publishing rules. Legal, marketing, and IT can all sign off without stepping on each other.

Fast onboarding + safe staging

Training is quick, publishing is simple, and staging environments keep mistakes from going live. Teams can work confidently without “oops, wrong button” moments.

Headless-ready

If you want speed, security, and headless flexibility, Kentico delivers. Content moves fast, scales well, and supports multi-site or multilingual setups without falling over.