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Microsoft SharePoint vs. Optimizely Content Management System

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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    SharePoint

    Score7.9 out of 10
    N/AMicrosoft's SharePoint is an Intranet solution that enables users to share and manage content, knowledge, and applications to empower teamwork, quickly find information, and collaborate across the organization.

    $5

    Per User Per Month

    Optimizely Content Management System

    Score8.5 out of 10
    N/AOptimizely Content Management System (CMS) is purpose-built for marketers, and fully composable for developers. The CMS supports the end-to-end content lifecycle, helping users to deliver on-brand, high-impact digital experiences that 'wow' audiences.N/A
    Pricing
    SharePointOptimizely Content Management System
    Editions & Modules
    Plan 1
    $5.00
    Per User Per Month
    Plan 2
    $10.00
    Per User Per Month
    Office 365 E3
    $20.00
    Per User Per Month
    No answers on this topic
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    SharePointOptimizely Content Management System
    Free Trial
    YesNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoYes
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeRequired
    Additional Details
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    SharePointOptimizely Content Management System
    Considered Both Products
    Microsoft
    No answer on this topic
    Optimizely
    Chose Optimizely Content Management System
    Much better than using SharePoint but then again SharePoint is not really a CMS so is not a very good comparison. I have not used other CMS products and have limited exposure other than an in-house built one. That comes with it's own set of problems such as increased overhead.
    Incentivized
    Chose Optimizely Content Management System
    I think the security and stability of Optimizely Content Management System exceeds that of its competitive platforms.
    Incentivized
    Chose Optimizely Content Management System
    Optimizely Content Management System has an easier user interface from a WISIWIG perspective. Optimizely Content Management System has a less convenient workflow for approvals.
    Incentivized
    Chose Optimizely Content Management System
    Sitecore, DNN, Sitemaker, Wordpress. Sitecore was almost on par with the features offered through Optimizely. I believe we chose Optimzely based on cost, reviews from others, the availability of a CDP, and the testing and personalization features.
    Incentivized
    Chose Optimizely Content Management System
    It is much more intuitive and easily customizable.
    Incentivized
    Chose Optimizely Content Management System
    Better overhaul applicability to our business. As a relative newcomer to the healthcare industry, it has been a steeper than expected learning curve for me. I can't say it enough ... Optimizely makes it easy to do the work. The hardest portion of the changeover has been the …
    Incentivized
    Chose Optimizely Content Management System
    I was not involved in the evaluation process for any of these systems. We chose Episerver CMS because it met the highest number of features for our use cases, and seemed to have great support and a good team running it. We were able to find an implementation partner and …
    Incentivized
    Chose Optimizely Content Management System
    Episerver is a CMS and is not quite comparable to SharePoint or Teams. WordPress is a great product but not as sophisticated as Episerver.
    Incentivized
    Chose Optimizely Content Management System
    Episerver outranks these products in most cases. There are some functions in each product that you would love in Episerver but when you sum it up Episerver is the greatest :)
    Incentivized
    Chose Optimizely Content Management System
    We have used it for so long and had a lot of knowledge about Episerver.
    Incentivized
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    89%
    Would buy again
    51 Answers
    97%
    Would buy again
    170 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    96%
    Delivers good value for the price
    45 Answers
    98%
    Delivers good value for the price
    144 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    95%
    Happy with the feature set
    54 Answers
    93%
    Happy with the feature set
    164 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    96%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    27 Answers
    93%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    104 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    97%
    Implementation went as expected
    37 Answers
    86%
    Implementation went as expected
    120 Answers
    Features
    SharePointOptimizely Content Management System
    Security
    Comparison of Security features of Microsoft SharePoint and Optimizely Content Management System
    Feature
    Microsoft SharePoint
    -
    Ratings
    Optimizely Content Management System
    8.4
    169 Ratings
    2% above category average
    Role-based user permissions00 Ratings8.4169 Ratings
    Platform & Infrastructure
    Comparison of Platform & Infrastructure features of Microsoft SharePoint and Optimizely Content Management System
    Feature
    Microsoft SharePoint
    -
    Ratings
    Optimizely Content Management System
    7.8
    166 Ratings
    0% below category average
    API00 Ratings7.8159 Ratings
    Internationalization / multi-language00 Ratings7.8127 Ratings
    Web Content Creation
    Comparison of Web Content Creation features of Microsoft SharePoint and Optimizely Content Management System
    Feature
    Microsoft SharePoint
    -
    Ratings
    Optimizely Content Management System
    7.7
    194 Ratings
    2% below category average
    WYSIWYG editor00 Ratings7.6178 Ratings
    Code quality / cleanliness00 Ratings7.9166 Ratings
    Admin section00 Ratings8.0178 Ratings
    Page templates00 Ratings8.0172 Ratings
    Library of website themes00 Ratings7.497 Ratings
    Mobile optimization / responsive design00 Ratings7.9176 Ratings
    Publishing workflow00 Ratings8.1172 Ratings
    Form generator00 Ratings6.4131 Ratings
    Web Content Management
    Comparison of Web Content Management features of Microsoft SharePoint and Optimizely Content Management System
    Feature
    Microsoft SharePoint
    -
    Ratings
    Optimizely Content Management System
    7.5
    180 Ratings
    0% below category average
    Content taxonomy00 Ratings8.0165 Ratings
    SEO support00 Ratings7.1164 Ratings
    Bulk management00 Ratings6.9137 Ratings
    Availability / breadth of extensions00 Ratings7.5142 Ratings
    Community / comment management00 Ratings8.0117 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    SharePointOptimizely Content Management System
    Small Businesses
    HCL Connections
    Score9 out of 10
    Umbraco CMS
    Score6.9 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    HCL Connections
    Score9 out of 10
    Square Online
    Score7.7 out of 10
    Enterprises
    HCL Connections
    Score9 out of 10
    RWS Tridion Sites
    Score9 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    SharePointOptimizely Content Management System
    Likelihood to Recommend
    8.1
    (271 ratings)
    8.6
    (223 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    9.8
    (26 ratings)
    9.8
    (34 ratings)
    Usability
    8.2
    (31 ratings)
    8.5
    (92 ratings)
    Availability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.2
    (4 ratings)
    Support Rating
    8.8
    (13 ratings)
    10.0
    (8 ratings)
    In-Person Training
    4.5
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Online Training
    6.4
    (1 ratings)
    10.0
    (4 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    6.0
    (5 ratings)
    6.4
    (2 ratings)
    Data Sharing and Collaboration
    9.2
    (51 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Data Sources
    7.6
    (50 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    SharePointOptimizely Content Management System
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Microsoft
    It's Microsoft, so it rarely goes down or unnecessarily limits access. It works, though page load times can be long if you have lots of data. I feel like the Mac vs. PC divide has started to show up for MS products, but SharePoint works well with both.
    Read full review
    Optimizely
    If you want to build a website quickly there are plenty of ways to do so with some great examples and plenty of support both from the company and in the forums. if you want to build a more complex structure you can but be ready to spend the time to build exactly what you need as a solid foundation goes a massive way before building out content and making those choices early and sticking with them helps
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Pros
    Microsoft
    • We track employees' performance sheets, which are accessible to the employee, his manager, and HR, and this helps with transparency.
    • We maintain technical process documents and SOPs, which help us quickly provide relevant documents during audits.
    • We maintain incident documents change request forms in SharePoint, which helps us in tracking the changes.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Optimizely
    • I think the user interface for content admins is very good and very competitive. And compared to other providers, the technology that CMS in particular has. So the way it integrated the net ecosystem is very well because it follows the MBC pattern. So basically it just allows really simple implementations for what would normally be complex components on any other sort of vendor that's out there.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    Microsoft
    • Windows Explorer users have some difficulty having to constantly UPLOAD / DOWNLOAD files. Specifically on the DOWNLOAD when they are used to Drag & Drop in & out of LOCAL folders via Window's explorer.
    • Microsoft SharePoint supports multiple "library" types. When implementing our "image" library the search function is done via "tags" and boolean logic. This is challenging to most end users. I'd like our users to be able to search our Microsoft SharePoint image library without having to enter KEYWORD or other BOOLEAN logic.
    • Microsoft SharePoint can also be an internal website for each department or company wide communication tool but I believe these features are geared for much larger organizations. Since we are a SMB we really aren't using these features. So maybe something more useful to SMBs would be nice.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Optimizely
    • Magento did have some nice tools for creating product groups or carousels for promotion. Opti seems to be lacking in that.
    • A blog - maybe this is available and we don't have it installed, but a searchable blog would be very appreciated.
    • Structured Data/MicroData - maybe it's our install, but this seems to be missing
    • Meta data: we have access to limited types and need to make a request from IT, it would be nice to be able to access more to adjust for SEO needs.
    • When in a folder on the BLOCKS tab, it would be wonderful to hit the MEDIA tab and stay in that same folder.
    • I have some less technical people that will make folders with spaces - which Opti handles, but it would be great if it wouldn't accept a space or gave an error message not to use them.
    • I think I know why the extra code is added to urls and image links, but it causes issues when taking things from our testing site to the live site. For example, I need to copy the Navigation from Inspect Element on testing to put it in production. I have learned to work around it, but it's not my favorite.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    Microsoft
    It's integral to our business. It's already included with most of the Office 365 licensing we buy, so the cost is effectively zero. It stores our files, it is the foundation for custom applications, and Microsoft only continues to enhance its functionality and its connections to other Microsoft tools. SharePoint just keeps getting better and better.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Optimizely
    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.
    Read full review
    Usability
    Microsoft
    No usability issues reported. Individual teams also have allocated areas which replace legacy shared drives on local LANs. Access to Sharepoint resources is fully integrated with corporate Active Directory with additional two-factor authentication required for administrative users. Users have access to Microsoft Services Hub which allows you to create, manage, and track support requests while staying current on Microsoft technologies with access to select self-paced learning paths
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Optimizely
    From our editors perspective they find the CMS system easy and to clear to use. Our developers find it very easy to design on and appreciate the level of service support available. It's also always evolving and getting better every year. We find this investment reassuring and encourages us to try keep pace and see how we can continue to push the envelope and continue to improve all aspect of our websites and online touch points.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Reliability and Availability
    Microsoft
    No answers on this topic
    Optimizely
    Unplanned outages or errors are fairly rare in our instance. And when there are issues, they're usually fixed fairly quickly
    Read full review
    Support Rating
    Microsoft
    Support for SharePoint is quite good. Microsoft provides good support. Microsoft offers
    • Quick turnaround time for issues
    • A range of support services
    • Access to a network of resources
    • Escalation of issues
    • Ongoing development and commitment to produce enhancement
    The majority of support is required for initial installation. Once complete and the system is operating we have had very few support issues.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Optimizely
    I attended multiple trainings/tutorials early in the process. The vendor-supplied content about Optimizely was engaging for users/attendees (I often analyze training content, compliance programs, governance plans), which helps our OCM people by having good "word of mouth" about the product long before a rollout ever happens. I actually when the user-focused portion of the Optimizely Academy twice in 2022 to ensure I had a grasp on operability and to be able to support the training and OCM efforts
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    In-Person Training
    Microsoft
    The face to face training I received was on SharePoint Administration. It was rushed as there was a lot of information to cover and the application of the labs weren't that great either. I like to be able to relate what I am learning to what I am currently doing.
    Read full review
    Optimizely
    No answers on this topic
    Online Training
    Microsoft
    I like to learn at my own pace and online training allows for that. Additionally, you can skip through pieces of content that you already know or are already comfortable with. Microsoft actually offers great videos on their website for basic fundamental SharePoint Training. I have used these training videos in some of my own training sessions with end users.
    Read full review
    Optimizely
    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
    Read full review
    Implementation Rating
    Microsoft
    Planning to the last detail would be advised. SharePoint is a very large application that takes a lot of finesse to get operational
    Read full review
    Optimizely
    I was not fully involved.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Alternatives Considered
    Microsoft
    The reasons for selecting MS SharePoint are: SharePoint provides ease of use and web design assistance and support SharePoint helps you schedule your content for publishing. enables users to share documents with external parties and offers a better internal structure of the content and better indexing and searching capabilities.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Optimizely
    Optimizely Content Management System is much more feature rich, and less complex that the other CMS platforms we have used. Optimizely Content Management System is more intuitive in how the content is structured and how easy it is to pull blocks of content to create the layout of a page.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Return on Investment
    Microsoft
    • It comes with Office 365. It won't cost you any additional charges.
    • It will help you to streamline your communication and work as a central hub for all tasks, files[,] and events[.]
    • Setting it up will need a bit [of] planning. If you jump blindly it will become a confusing place for your team members and make them frustrated[.]
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Optimizely
    • Flexibility with design that allows us to work towards our mission of 'Tennis Opened Up'
    • Speed of deploying content, meaning users can really on us for the most up-to-date content on tennis in Britain
    • Ability to have different logged-in areas for different user groups, allowing us to create more bespoke and personalised experiences
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ScreenShots

    Optimizely Content Management System Screenshots

    Screenshot of Content delivery: Developers can use modern GraphQL and REST APIs to query content from any source and send it to any channel or device.Screenshot of User roles and permissionsScreenshot of (SaaS CMS): Visual Builder: Add an image: Optimizely Visual Builder offers a range of editing features designed to make content creation and layout building intuitive and accessible to both technical and non-technical users. A drag-and-drop system is used to add, move, and rearrange elements within the layout, for quick and flexible content organization.Screenshot of (SaaS CMS): Visual Builder: Create an experience: Create an Experience functionality in Optimizely Visual Builder offers a code-free way to build and manage captivating digital experiences. It offers pre-built content blocks or elements (like text, images, buttons, forms, etc.) that can be positioned on the page layout as desired. Visual Builder offers extensive options to customize the appearance and behavior of these elements. Users can modify colors, fonts, sizes, animations, and even add interactive features providing flexibility in arranging content, accommodating various design needs and responsiveness across different screen sizes.Screenshot of (SaaS CMS): Visual Builder: Publish: The Visual Builder displays changes in real-time as they are made. This includes side-by-side previews for different devices like desktops, tablets, and mobiles. Before publishing, the Interactive Preview mode can be used to test elements like forms, buttons, and other interactive components to ensure they work as expected on the live site. Changes can then be published directly from the Visual Builder interface, making them instantly available to site visitors.Screenshot of the central location to manage assets, editing and publishing content.