Optimizely implementation and experimentation

The platform to choose when revenue moves with conversion rate. Its experimentation heritage is the real differentiator - not the CMS, which is capable but not unique.

The decision that shapes everything after it is SaaS CMS or PaaS. We will help you make that one before we quote anything else.

Talk about an Optimizely project Compare the platforms

When Optimizely is the right call

Commerce, subscriptions or high-volume B2B lead generation, where a percentage point of conversion is a real number.
You have people who will actually run experiments - a testing tool without an owner becomes shelfware faster than any other purchase here.
Content, commerce and testing under one contract is worth more to you than picking a best-of-breed tool for each.
You are already on Optimizely PaaS and weighing the move to SaaS CMS.

When we'd point you elsewhere

You will buy the suite and use one part of it. That is the most common way money is wasted on this platform.
Deep multi-market governance across dozens of sites - Sitecore is stronger at that scale.
A content site with no experimentation ambition. You would be paying for the engine and driving in first gear - Umbraco fits better.
You need a feature only the older PaaS product has, but want the SaaS operating model. Check parity before committing, not after.

What we do with Optimizely

CMS delivery

Builds on PaaS (.NET MVC) or the newer SaaS CMS, headless where it earns its keep. We are a .NET team, so the PaaS route holds no surprises for us.

SaaS or PaaS assessment

A short piece of work that answers the question properly: feature parity against what you actually use, hosting implications, and what the migration would cost.

Experimentation programmes

Getting testing into production and into a rhythm - instrumentation, a hypothesis backlog, and a cadence your team sustains after we leave.

Commerce integration

Optimizely alongside your ERP, PIM and payment stack. The integration layer is the project; we build it in .NET.

Custom .NET →

Migrations onto Optimizely

From legacy .NET platforms, with content modelling done before templates rather than after.

Support and optimisation

Version upgrades on PaaS, performance work, and keeping the experimentation programme alive once the launch excitement fades.

Optimizely SaaS CMS or PaaS - the decision that matters

Make this one deliberately. It sets your front-end options, your hosting and your upgrade model for years.

	SaaS CMS	PaaS CMS
Hosting and upgrades	Managed by Optimizely; versionless	You or your partner; version upgrades are projects
Front end	Decoupled - host on Vercel, Netlify or your own stack	.NET MVC, or headless with more work
.NET dependency	Low - wider choice of front-end developers	High - you need .NET people, permanently
Scaling	Automatic	Managed by your team
Best when	You want lower operational burden and front-end freedom	Regulation requires specific hosting, or you need deep .NET integration
Watch out for	Younger product - verify parity for the features you rely on	Upgrade debt accumulating the way it does on any self-managed platform

Verified against Optimizely's published product documentation, September 2026.

How an engagement usually runs

Platform and model decision - two to three weeks

SaaS or PaaS, settled with evidence. Plus the content model and the integration inventory.

Build - four to nine months

Senior-only team, working in your process. Experimentation instrumented during the build, not bolted on after launch.

Run the programme - ongoing

Support, upgrades, and keeping a testing cadence going - which is where most of the platform's value actually is.

Where we've applied this

Our Optimizely work sits within wider DXP and .NET engagements rather than standalone platform builds. If you want to talk to someone who has run a comparable programme, ask us on the call and we will be straight with you about what we have and have not done.

Optimizely questions we get asked

01.

Should we move from Optimizely PaaS to SaaS CMS?

Only once you have checked parity against the features you actually use. SaaS removes upgrade work and frees your front-end choices, which is real value if hosting and version upgrades are a burden today. But it is the younger product, and a missing capability you depend on is discovered expensively. Audit first, then decide.

02.

Is Optimizely worth it if we don't run experiments?

Probably not. The CMS on its own is capable but not distinctive, and you would be paying for the part of the suite that makes Optimizely worth choosing while not using it. If nobody in your organisation owns a testing programme, look at Umbraco for cost or Sitecore for scale instead.

03.

How does Optimizely compare with Sitecore?

Sitecore is stronger for large multi-market estates and deeper personalisation; Optimizely is stronger for experimentation and commerce. Both are enterprise commitments with enterprise price tags. The full comparison, including Umbraco, is on our platform comparison page.

Let's talk

SaaS or PaaS? Start there.

A short assessment that answers the question with evidence rather than preference - before it constrains everything else you build.

Book an Optimizely assessment

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Offices: Sofia, Bulgaria