What users are saying about
55 Ratings
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Based on 55 reviews and ratings
Optimizely Content Cloud
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Top Rated
98 Ratings
<a href='https://www.trustradius.com/static/about-trustradius-scoring' target='_blank' rel='nofollow noopener'>trScore algorithm: Learn more.</a>Score 8.4 out of 100
Based on 98 reviews and ratings
Feature Set Ratings
- Cascade Server ranks higher in 2 feature sets: Web Content Creation, Web Content Management
- Optimizely Content Cloud ranks higher in 2 feature sets: Security, Platform & Infrastructure
Security

8.0
Cascade Server
80%
8.8
Optimizely Content Cloud
88%
Optimizely Content Cloud ranks higher in 1/1 features
Optimizely Content Cloud ranks higher in 1/1 features
Role-based user permissions

8.0
80%
19 Ratings
8.8
88%
38 Ratings
Platform & Infrastructure

7.1
Cascade Server
71%
7.3
Optimizely Content Cloud
73%
Cascade Server ranks higher in 1/2 features
Cascade Server ranks higher in 1/2 features
API

7.0
70%
12 Ratings
6.8
68%
34 Ratings
Internationalization / multi-language

7.3
73%
7 Ratings
7.8
78%
29 Ratings
Web Content Creation

7.1
Cascade Server
71%
7.0
Optimizely Content Cloud
70%
Cascade Server ranks higher in 5/8 features
Cascade Server ranks higher in 5/8 features
WYSIWYG editor

6.1
61%
19 Ratings
8.0
80%
38 Ratings
Code quality / cleanliness

6.0
60%
18 Ratings
7.8
78%
38 Ratings
Admin section

8.0
80%
19 Ratings
7.8
78%
39 Ratings
Page templates

9.0
90%
17 Ratings
7.4
74%
34 Ratings
Library of website themes

5.5
55%
2 Ratings
5.0
50%
14 Ratings
Mobile optimization / responsive design

7.0
70%
15 Ratings
7.7
77%
34 Ratings
Publishing workflow

9.0
90%
19 Ratings
7.2
72%
36 Ratings
Form generator

6.4
64%
7 Ratings
5.0
50%
27 Ratings
Web Content Management

6.9
Cascade Server
69%
6.8
Optimizely Content Cloud
68%
Cascade Server ranks higher in 3/5 features
Cascade Server ranks higher in 3/5 features
Content taxonomy

8.0
80%
13 Ratings
7.6
76%
36 Ratings
SEO support

7.0
70%
14 Ratings
8.0
80%
37 Ratings
Bulk management

9.0
90%
14 Ratings
7.2
72%
32 Ratings
Availability / breadth of extensions

6.0
60%
11 Ratings
5.6
56%
32 Ratings
Community / comment management

4.8
48%
5 Ratings
5.7
57%
24 Ratings
Attribute Ratings
- Cascade Server is rated higher in 5 areas: Likelihood to Recommend, Likelihood to Renew, Usability, Support Rating, Implementation Rating
- Optimizely Content Cloud is rated higher in 2 areas: Availability, Online Training
Likelihood to Recommend

9.9
Cascade Server
99%
44 Ratings
8.8
Optimizely Content Cloud
88%
62 Ratings
Likelihood to Renew

9.1
Cascade Server
91%
26 Ratings
8.0
Optimizely Content Cloud
80%
25 Ratings
Usability

9.1
Cascade Server
91%
4 Ratings
8.8
Optimizely Content Cloud
88%
18 Ratings
Availability

6.7
Cascade Server
67%
8 Ratings
9.2
Optimizely Content Cloud
92%
8 Ratings
Performance

8.0
Cascade Server
80%
2 Ratings
Optimizely Content Cloud
N/A
0 Ratings
Support Rating

9.1
Cascade Server
91%
10 Ratings
8.0
Optimizely Content Cloud
80%
4 Ratings
In-Person Training

7.0
Cascade Server
70%
1 Rating
Optimizely Content Cloud
N/A
0 Ratings
Online Training

5.0
Cascade Server
50%
1 Rating
6.7
Optimizely Content Cloud
67%
3 Ratings
Implementation Rating

9.1
Cascade Server
91%
8 Ratings
8.0
Optimizely Content Cloud
80%
2 Ratings
Product Scalability

5.0
Cascade Server
50%
1 Rating
Optimizely Content Cloud
N/A
0 Ratings
Likelihood to Recommend
Cascade Server
Cascade Server is well suited with it's WYSIWYG editor being better than most editors that I have used in other systems. In context, editing makes adding content easy compared to the last CMS I used where you had to wing it and view the page outside of the CMS to see if it was correct. The ability mix HTML, CSS, and the Script of your choice anywhere and with ease.
The scenarios were Cascade Server is less appropriate would be in the use of compilers or programs like Visual studio. You need to go out of Cascade Server and go to other environments to perform tasks and then copy the result to Cascade Server. You can write directly in Cascade Server, but it's easier to do in and editor that is specific to a function.

Verified User
Professional in Other
Higher Education Company, 201-500 employeesOptimizely Content Cloud
Optimizely [Content Cloud] is one of the most Practical CMS's in the market which has all the necessary features to manage the website. Excellent speed and performance and user satisfaction in the front end are very good. customers and users are satisfied with the content because we display the published content according to the nature and taste of the customers and their geographical area, and all the content is categorized according to the user group. If you have a lot of content and you are a developer or IT consultant of a large organization that needs various and special facilities, I suggest you use Optimizely [Content Cloud] because it meets all your needs.

Verified User
Team Lead in Information Technology
Information Technology & Services Company, 10,001+ employeesPros
Cascade Server
- Cascade CMS makes no assumptions about your content. Templates control how the content gets displayed.
- Workflows are intuitive and allow for one or more people to review content before it is published.
- The published site is static (no database connection) which allows for faster page loads and reduced risk of attack.
Web & New Media Specialist
Cleveland State Community CollegeHigher Education, 201-500 employees
Optimizely Content Cloud
- It's easy and fun to use. You can take someone with no experience in content management and they pick it up very quickly.
- It is capable of managing multiple sites in multiple languages.
- It has good uptime. Deployments are easy and with hot-swapping, you would never know the site was being updated in the background.
- The searching capabilities are excellent. Not only can it index your own site but other content as well.
Freelance Senior EPiServer/ .NET Developer / Architect
Multiple companiesBanking, 10,001+ employees
Cons
Cascade Server
- Cascade CMS is not an out-of-the-box pre-built system that you can install, turn on and expect to be serving sites and pages on day one. It's not a blogging system like WordPress, or a drag-and-drop system like SquareSpace (both of which I've used for their own purposes). You need to have someone tasked with management and system administration – and if you implement the on-premise self-hosted version, you ought to have several people. We have the university's IT shop handling infrastructure (server hardware, containers, clustering, operating systems, load-balancing, DNS, database servers, NAS/SAN drives), our Web & Design team managing Cascade CMS (system settings, sites, templates, permissions) and managers coordinating each respective academic unit (A&S, business, education, law, marine science).
Senior Web Architect
William & MaryHigher Education, 1001-5000 employees
Optimizely Content Cloud
- Product Line vs Brand vs Manufacturer delineation, the website is built mainly to support brands and doesn't really differentiate when it comes to features (such as brand supplier pages) which is challenging especially when it comes to brand vs manufacturer. You might want to have both a manufacturer page and a brand page for a product which isn't really supported.
- With a very large database (over 1.5 million products), there can be some unique bugs, such as slowness or freezing when searching for products. There are workarounds such as by using the filter button instead.
- Could really use a "Product List" feature, so that products can be added to a list and then a customer landing page can be built for that list and email campaigns targeting that list can be used.

Verified User
Administrator in Other
Business Supplies & Equipment Company, 1001-5000 employeesPricing Details
Cascade Server
General
Free Trial
Yes
Free/Freemium Version
—Premium Consulting/Integration Services
Yes
Entry-level set up fee?
Optional
Starting Price
—Optimizely Content Cloud
General
Free Trial
—Free/Freemium Version
—Premium Consulting/Integration Services
Yes
Entry-level set up fee?
Optional
Starting Price
—Likelihood to Renew
Cascade Server
Cascade Server 9.1
Based on 26 answers
Changing systems would require too much effort. Our institution is using Cascade Server, WordPress and Drupal but we only serve 2200 students so we have 1 too many content management systems. Reflecting on current technical resources we would like to drop down to 2. This effort hasn't moved forward because of the extensive work required to migrate content and train users in a new system.
Associate Director of Web Communications
Union CollegeHigher Education, 501-1000 employees
Optimizely Content Cloud
Optimizely Content Cloud 8.0
Based on 25 answers
Since I work on the implementation side of things, and do not directly own licensing for Ektron CMS, I have to base this rating off of how I think it will be received or presented to customers looking to start a new site deployment. I try to remain CMS agnostic, though my specialty is with the .NET and Microsoft stack. Because of the experience I have working with Ektron, I tend to be more forgiving with the shortcomings as I am familiar with how to work around them or past them from experience. Being familiar with the community available also helps, as you become familiar with the best approaches to find solutions to your issues. Each product has it's ups and downs and all of them are only going to be as good as the company or development team implementing them can make them. This is EXTREMELY important to remember when choosing a CMS, as it can make or break your expensive investment.

Verified User
Team Lead in Professional Services
Information Technology and Services Company, 201-500 employeesUsability
Cascade Server
Cascade Server 9.1
Based on 4 answers
Cascade CMS is completely usable on mobile devices, we can train our content editors in a single 2-hour session, and we support 1,000 users with a very small team.
There is a level of complexity for the system administrators, site managers and web programmers who implement templates and content types. But the complexity is neither arbitrary nor inconsistent – and once learned provides a powerful environment within which we can develop robust sites that are beautiful and powerful, yet easy for our content editors to manage.
Senior Web Architect
William & MaryHigher Education, 1001-5000 employees
Optimizely Content Cloud
Optimizely Content Cloud 8.8
Based on 18 answers
For me, there was a definite learning curve with this application. I had to schedule time with a power user to ask questions and get clarification on a variety of sections. For example, it's not clear to the user how the topics are defined/gathered. I ended up in a completely different area that had no explanation or context that turned out to be a sort of "library" of content topics that had nothing to do with our website.

Verified User
Strategist in Marketing
Chemicals Company, 1001-5000 employeesReliability and Availability
Cascade Server
Cascade Server 6.7
Based on 8 answers
Amazing customer service and VERY customizable.
Webmaster
Jacksonville State UniversityHigher Education, 1001-5000 employees
Optimizely Content Cloud
Optimizely Content Cloud 9.2
Based on 8 answers
Unplanned outages or errors are fairly rare in our instance. And when there are issues, they're usually fixed fairly quickly

Verified User
Analyst in Information Technology
Government Administration Company, 1001-5000 employeesPerformance
Cascade Server
Cascade Server 8.0
Based on 2 answers
Does a great job.
Web Administrator
True Value CompanyInformation Technology and Services, 51-200 employees
Optimizely Content Cloud
No score
No answers yet
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
Cascade Server
Cascade Server 9.1
Based on 10 answers
They have always regarded any question or problem we encountered as very important. We have never felt that they ignore or downplay any issue and not once has anything been left unresolved. They also hold an annual conference where users are invited to attend and share their experiences and wisdom with the entire Cascade community. And with the care and support the provide, we all feel a part of that community.
Manager, Campus Web Technology
SUNY Upstate Medical UniversityHospital & Health Care, 5001-10,000 employees
Optimizely Content Cloud
Optimizely Content Cloud 8.0
Based on 4 answers
Working with Ektron Support has always been a pleasure. They are quick to respond, extremely knowledgeable, and truly care about resolving your issue. I have never once been disappointed with their response.
DHS Webmaster
Allegheny Department of Human ServicesInternet, 51-200 employees
In-Person Training
Cascade Server
Cascade Server 7.0
Based on 1 answer
Training was helpful.
Web Administrator
True Value CompanyInformation Technology and Services, 51-200 employees
Optimizely Content Cloud
No score
No answers yet
No answers on this topic
Online Training
Cascade Server
Cascade Server 5.0
Based on 1 answer
Still needed that physical help
Web Administrator
True Value CompanyInformation Technology and Services, 51-200 employees
Optimizely Content Cloud
Optimizely Content Cloud 6.7
Based on 3 answers
Ektron is one of the best solution for .Net platform. Over the years have improved the performance issues that the previous versions had. My only complain is right now you can't do Page builder pages if you choose to have a MVC architecture

Verified User
Team Lead in Information Technology
Hospital & Health Care Company, 1001-5000 employeesImplementation Rating
Cascade Server
Cascade Server 9.1
Based on 8 answers
The key to any CMS implementation is PLAN, PLAN, PLAN. Proper planning with Cascade can increase your satisfaction exponentially once the site migration/creation is complete. When all is said and done, your implementation can make your site run like a Yugo or Maserati. Be smart and deliberate in your decisions. Drive the Maserati. It is already paid for.
Marketing Manager
HCC Medical Insurance ServicesInsurance, 51-200 employees
Optimizely Content Cloud
Optimizely Content Cloud 8.0
Based on 2 answers
No answer on this topic is available.
Alternatives Considered
Cascade Server
We selected Cascade server seven years ago, and the CMS environment at the time was clearly different than it is today. We decided to go with a vendor solution rather than a free solution because the long term cost in hosting a free solution is not, in fact, free; we've found Cascade to have been an excellent choice for us.

Verified User
Manager in Information Technology
Higher Education Company, 1001-5000 employeesOptimizely Content Cloud
Among all the CMS products that I've tested, Episerver had a stronger coupling with an e-commerce product (Episerver Commerce), and that was the main reason we went with it. Besides that, the main reasons why I wouldn't go with each, would be mainly:Joomla:
- Many plug-ins in the marketplace were very poorly written, managed by very small/one person shops, and held very little reliability for a commerce solution.
- Ability to adapt to business demands was very low.
- Very high cost for implementing; commerce model didn't suit our business model well.
- Didn't suit our traffic needs. While the CMS support was similar, the integration between Epi CMS & Commerce provided a better experience for our users.
Senior .NET Application Developer
Jenson USARetail, 51-200 employees
Scalability
Cascade Server
Cascade Server 5.0
Based on 1 answer
I used it only a few times.
Web Administrator
True Value CompanyInformation Technology and Services, 51-200 employees
Optimizely Content Cloud
No score
No answers yet
No answers on this topic
Return on Investment
Cascade Server
- Initially, ROI was positive - because we completely redesigned the website when we implemented Cascade.
- Over time, the inability to keep up with the latest interactive tools has reduced visitors time on site.
- Also over time, the difficulty of use has led to less buy-in by backend users, leading to outdated pages, little timely information, and lower visitors.

Verified User
Professional in Marketing
Higher Education Company, 51-200 employeesOptimizely Content Cloud
- Ektron has cost our non-profit huge sums of money with little to no return. Most of our web initiatives have been put on complete hold as we have begun to outsource most of our work to third parties as our website is a mishmash of technologies and patchwork fixes.
- Ektron has slowed down workflows considerably and all of our content editors refuse to produce content they do not absolutely have to, resulting in the web content manager (me) taking on most tasks or retraining people on a continuous basis.

Verified User
Employee in Information Technology
Non-Profit Organization Management Company, 201-500 employees