Challenges
- Lack of independence for creative teams with a monolithic DXP
- Difficult to preview content before publishing
- Site speed slowed down by complicated infrastructure
Founded in 2012, Knab is a Dutch bank with a focus on serving freelancers. As a modern commercial bank, they have a significant online presence.
Knab faced a problem familiar to many modern banks: their content management system was slowing them down. Here’s how they made the switch to a modern headless CMS to improve both the customer experience and the experience of the teams working with content.
The challenge of scaling with a monolithic system
Knab relied on a traditional monolithic DXP to create digital experiences for their customers. This type of all-in-one platform gives teams a single place to create and manage content, but comes with some common drawbacks. As the project grows, it starts to become more and more complex, and this results in slower page speed for customers and complex work for developers to maintain.
These types of systems are also complex for content creators, requiring lengthy onboarding processes for new users. Another pain point for Knab was the lack of the ability to preview content using the DXP.
Daniel Abrahamse, Product Owner of Digital Channels, shared the challenges with Knab’s previous set up: “Before implementing Kontent.ai’s exceptional headless CMS, we were constrained by a cumbersome monolithic system and numerous SaaS platforms. This fragmented setup made standardization and agile scaling impossible, while also creating a significant dependency on traditional vendors.”
Knab invests in headless architecture
Knab began their search for a new content management system by exploring all the options on the market. A headless solution seemed promising, but many headless vendors seemed to be only focused on the developer experience.
Kontent.ai, however, provided a different approach. It offers a headless CMS that’s dedicated to the authoring experience, with user-friendliness at its heart. This makes it easier for companies to make the switch to a headless CMS. The speed, flexibility, and lightweight nature of Kontent.ai was also appealing. After careful evaluation, Knab made the choice to use Kontent.ai to power their digital experiences.
Daniel shared more on what this means for Knab:
Kontent.ai pays dividends
Making the switch to Kontent.ai started to pay off immediately. A more user-friendly interface helped content creators work faster and build out new content and pages independently. Tasks that took hours or more in their old system can now be accomplished in a matter of minutes.
“With Kontent.ai, the content editing process is now so much faster. We don’t need to consult a giant rulebook to create content–everything is clear, straightforward, and easy to use. This improved usability translates to a much faster content creation process,” said Karin Broeksma, SEO Specialist.
- A huge upgrade for the team is the introduction of powerful preview capabilities, allowing them to see how their digital experiences will look and feel across multiple channels and viewports. The team also uses Web Spotlight, which gives them a WYSIWYG-like editor within a headless CMS.
- Collections, a Kontent.ai feature that helps create boundaries for content, makes it easier for teams to ensure content is consistent across the site. With collections, the team can ensure that when they update a piece of content that’s used in multiple places (like a conversion button), it updates across all the places it’s used.
- Permissions, workflows, and user roles in Kontent.ai give teams the appropriate levels of access and edit rights that they need, which keeps content well-governed and thoroughly reviewed before publishing.
An unexpected benefit is the quality of support from Kontent.ai. With an in-app chat support that’s always available, the team at Knab can get their questions answered at any time of day. And since Kontent.ai is a SaaS product, it’s constantly receiving updates that make their day-to-day work easier (like the recent update that gives teams the ability to activate Innovation Lab features for themselves).
By embracing a modern headless CMS, Knab has found a significantly faster, more user-friendly way to work with content. If you’re looking for something similar for your business, don’t hesitate to set up a demo with Kontent.ai.
