The State of CMS 2024: 1,700+ Users Share What Makes A CMS Great

• Over 99% of those who switched to headless reported improvements. The most common were increased ROI (experienced by 61%) and productivity improvements (experienced by 58%).
• 47% of respondents use 2-3 CMSs at once, with the leading reason being to achieve omnichannel capabilities.
• Easier/improved content scaling was the top most sought-after missing CMS feature, cited by 43% of the sample.

What makes a great CMS great?

It’s a question that CMS providers have been trying to answer since the early days of the internet. But if you want to truly understand what makes the best systems stand out from the rest, you need to go straight to the source: CMS users.

That’s why Storyblok created the State of CMS 2024. In this comprehensive report, we surveyed over 1,700 CMS users from around the world to understand how they feel about the technology they use every day, supported by reflections on data from the previous State of CMS projects.

In this report, we cover:

• The most popular CMSs for 2024 and how that trend has evolved
• The most common challenges CMS users face and their root causes
• This year's trends for features, CMS usage, and AI tools

…and so much more. Let’s take a look at some of the most surprising statistics from this year’s study.

Over 99% of those who switched to headless reported improvements

Headless CMS is still a relatively new technology. However, it’s made a huge impact in a short time: over 99% of people experienced some kind of benefit after switching to headless. The “none of the above” option only accounted for .25% of the sample - or, to put that in perspective, barely 2 out of 1,719 people.

The most common benefit was an increased ROI, experienced by 61% of users. This in particular points to the value of headless as an investment: the financial requirements to get a headless system up and running turn into tangible economic benefits. Other reported benefits included time-saving/productivity improvements (58%), easier scaling/localizations (54%), and better user experience/personalizations (54%).

Omnichannel is a leading trend in 2024

The State of CMS 2024 shows that 47% of people are using 2-3 CMSs to manage their content. More shockingly, 33% are using 4 CMSs or more. Managing multiple systems comes with a variety of downsides, including content siloes, disorganization, and inefficiency.

So why do people do it?

According to 67% of the sample, it’s to achieve omnichannel capabilities.

The appeal of omnichannel is obvious: It’s an impressive approach that allows you to provide a seamless user experience while also improving your organization’s efficiency. These benefits mean it’s no surprise that omnichannel is a huge priority this year, big enough to overshadow the many technical roadblocks that monolithic users face when embracing it.

43% of companies demand better content scaling

When asked about what features their current CMS was missing, 43% said that they wanted better/improved content scaling. It’s a clear sign that modern CMS users are growth-minded and need a system that can support those ambitions. The fact that this is reported as a missing feature also raises concern that current CMSs aren’t fully meeting their user bases’ needs.

With such a large percentage of users feeling like their current systems don’t fit their needs, we might see an increase in the usage of scaling-friendly CMS platforms in next year’s report. Hopefully, we’ll also see these platforms invest in providing such features.

Key takeaways

Through the analysis of 28 questions, one trend has stood out among the rest: CMS users are raising their standards in 2024. They’re exploring more content channels, embracing new technologies, and expecting a system that will be able to keep up with them while they do it.

Want to learn more about these trends and how they’ll impact the market this year? Download the State of CMS 2024 for free today.