CMS explained: Types, features and benefits for 2025 - William Reed case study
Les experts en médias B2B de William Reed ont utilisé code.store pour un déménagement de site web complexe. 22 sites web, des centaines de lettres d'information automatisées et une logique de mur de formulaires avancée font de cette migration l'une des plus complexes que nous ayons réalisées.
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From a patchwork of CMS platforms to a unified one
William Reed, a century-old international B2B publisher, operates 21 websites across food, beverages, nutrition, hospitality, and cosmetics. But internally, the reality was more complicated for this established company:
- Six different CMS platforms coexisted, including Ibexa, a proprietary system at the end of its lifecycle.
- Editorial workflows were limited (no preview, fragile SEO setup, outdated media library).
- Maintenance was heavy and costly, with every update requiring external development and technology expertise.
With millions of pages and 119 newsletters generating subscribers and advertising revenues, the company needed to succeed in a critical CMS migration to protect both its audience and revenue streams whilst leveraging the latest information and digital asset management capabilities.
Contexte
William Reed was dealing with multiple challenges that many companies face:
- A proprietary CMS (ezPublish, Ibexa legacy system) at end-of-life and unsupported.
- Six CMSs to maintain, creating technical debt and additional costs for the company.
- Limited workflows that slowed down editorial teams and content management processes.
- Constant dependency on external developers for basic CMS development tasks.
- SEO and advertising revenues at risk due to obsolete architecture and lack of modern features.
- No unified digital asset management across their publishing empire.
- Inability to leverage latest information and technology advances in content management.
"We had reached the end of a cycle. The complexity of our tools was becoming a barrier. We needed a single, robust system built for the future." — John Barnes, CDO of William Reed
Solution
The migration represented a unique opportunity for the company to:
- Centralise the management of 21 international websites under one unified CMS platform.
- Improve SEO performance and secure advertising revenues through better content management.
- Build a custom lead generation engine: 119 automated newsletters, advanced segmentation, and dynamic paywalls.
- Reduce technical debt and maintenance costs while improving features accessibility.
- Simplify content creation for editors and enable multiple users collaboration.
- Guarantee a scalable Content Management System designed for future growth and technology integration.
- Implement modern digital asset management capabilities.
- Enable mobile app content distribution and cross-platform publishing.
- Integrate advanced plug-ins and CMS tools for enhanced functionality.
Why Arc XP?
Arc XP proved to be the best fit: a cloud-based Content Management System designed by The Washington Post for international publishers, combining media-first CMS power with simplicity. This website CMS solution offers the perfect balance of traditional CMS reliability and headless CMS flexibility.
For comparison, other enterprise solutions like CMS platforms offer different approaches to content management software.
The code.store approach
The project was structured around three pillars leveraging modern technology:
- Agile SCRUM methodology: 9–12 sprints with progressive validation and CMS development best practices.
- MACH architecture (Microservices, API-first, Cloud-native, Headless): Arc XP as the core, ReactJS front-end, integrations with Piano, Adobe, GAM.
- Build–Operate–Transfer: progressive transfer of expertise to internal teams and multiple users training.
A QA pipeline with automated tests at every stage ensured data integrity and a "zero bug" launch, incorporating the latest information security features.
CMS development and implementation results
In just 12 months, companies can achieve remarkable transformations:
- 21 sites migrated in a single day using advanced CMS tools.
- From 6 CMSs to 1 unified Arc XP platform with comprehensive features.
- 300k+ SEO redirects → traffic and ad revenues preserved through proper content management.
- 119 automated newsletters → faster lead generation and subscriber growth via integrated CMS services.
- Editors empowered with a modern interface, streamlined workflows, and faster time-to-market.
- Unified ecosystem: Piano, Adobe, JWPlayer, Megaphone, and OneTrust integrated with Arc XP, demonstrating superior CMS platform capabilities.
Key benefits for William Reed
Today, William Reed benefits from advanced content management software that delivers:
- A unified cloud CMS covering 21 sites and 119 newsletters with comprehensive digital asset management.
- A built-in lead generation engine (segmentation + dynamic paywalls) powered by modern technology.
- Preserved SEO performance, securing advertising revenues through optimised content management.
- A scalable Content Management System built for long-term growth, supporting multiple users and advanced features.
- Enhanced mobile app integration and cross-platform content distribution.
- Streamlined plug-ins management and CMS tools integration.
FAQ
What is a Content Management System (CMS)?
A Content Management System (CMS) is the backbone of digital publishing and website CMS technology. In short, it answers the question: What CMS do publishers use to manage content at scale?
What does CMS stand for?
CMS stands for Content Management System - a comprehensive platform that enables multiple users to collaborate on content creation and management.
What is a CMS platform?
A CMS platform enables publishers to:
- Create, organise, and publish multi-format content (articles, videos, podcasts, newsletters).
- Manage users, roles, and complex editorial workflows with multiple users access.
- Optimise SEO through metadata, redirects, and dynamic sitemaps.
- Centralise content delivery across websites, newsletters, mobile app integrations, and social media.
- Utilise plug-ins and advanced features for enhanced functionality.
Well-known management systems (WordPress, Drupal, Adobe) are sufficient for blogs or showcase sites, but they quickly reach their limits for a large international enterprise publisher. High-performing teams need content management systems that scale with their operations and their ambitions.
Which CMS is best for publishers?
The answer depends on your specific needs. Traditional CMS solutions work well for simple sites, while headless CMS architectures offer greater flexibility for complex, multi-channel publishing requirements.
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