How to Choose a Digital Experience Platform (DXP)?

Today's customers expect more than just a basic website. They want personalised, seamless experiences no matter how they interact with your brand. This is why choosing the right digital experience platform (DXP) is so important. The DXP you select will determine how well you can connect with customers across all your digital channels.

DXP is like a set of tools bundled together that helps you create, manage and improve all your customer interactions online. Unlike using separate tools for different tasks, a DXP brings everything together content management, data analysis, personalisation, and connections to your other systems.

With so many digital experience platform features and options available, how do you pick the right one for your specific needs? This guide breaks down how to choose a digital experience platform (DXP) that will support your business goals both now and in the future.

What are the benefits of using a DXP

Before we explore how to choose a DXP, let's look at why you might want one in the first place:

Consistent customer experience 

A DXP helps you create consistent experiences whether customers visit your website, use your app, or log into your web portal or customer portal. This means people get the same high-quality interaction no matter how they choose to engage with you, building trust and recognition.

Personalization at scale 

DXPs let you tailor content based on what your users do, prefer, and who they are. Instead of sending everyone the same generic messages, you can create relevant experiences that speak to each customer's specific needs at just the right time.

Simpler operations 

With a DXP, you no longer need to juggle multiple separate tools. Your marketing team can create, publish, and improve content through one system. This makes everything simpler and getting new initiatives to market faster.

Data-driven decision-making 

DXPs include powerful analytics that show you how customers behave and which content performs best. These insights help you continuously improve your digital strategy, enhance user journeys, and focus your resources on what works.

Future-proof scalability 

A good DXP grows as you do. It handles more visitors, more content, and changing customer expectations. This ensures your digital foundation stays strong as your business expands and market conditions evolve.

Accelerated digital transformation 

DXPs provide the technological foundation needed to innovate quickly. Companies using platforms like Jahia can implement new digital capabilities faster, helping them respond quickly to market changes and new opportunities.

Key Factors to Consider While Selecting a DXP

Your choice in DXP should work for your needs today while supporting your future goals. Here are the key DXP features and factors to consider during your selection process:

Business objectives alignment 

Your DXP should directly support your specific business goals, whether you want to keep more customers, enter new markets, or streamline operations. First, clearly define what success means for your organization, then see how each platform's features will help you get there.

Total cost of ownership 

Look beyond just the initial price tag. Consider implementation costs, ongoing maintenance, training needs, and potential specialized staff requirements. Think about when you'll start seeing returns and how the platform's efficiency will offset costs over three years or more.

Integration capabilities 

A DXP's power comes from connecting your entire digital ecosystem. Check how well the digital experience platform capabilities work with your existing tools, including your CRM, marketing tools, and analytics systems. The best DXPs offer easy-to-use connection points and pre-built connectors for smooth data sharing.

Content management functionality 

Every good digital experience platform has a strong content management system at its core. Evaluate how easily your team can create, publish, and reuse content across channels. Look for user-friendly features like drag-and-drop editors, workflow tools, and language options that help your team work efficiently.

Personalization capabilities 

See how effectively the platform lets you create tailored experiences based on user behaviour and preferences. Look for easy-to-use segmentation tools, testing features, and recommendation systems that make personalization practical for your marketing team.

Analytics and insights 

A good DXP turns data into useful insights. Assess how the platform collects and visualizes user behaviour data. Look for reporting tools that highlight important patterns without requiring technical expertise to understand them.

User experience and adoption 

Even the most powerful platform is useless if your team finds it too complicated. Choose solutions with intuitive interfaces, good training resources, and strong support. The best DXPs balance advanced capabilities with ease of use for people with different technical skills.

Security and compliance 

Protect your organization by thoroughly checking each platform's security features. Look for data encryption, user authentication, access controls, and compliance certifications for your industry to keep your digital experiences secure.

Implementation and support ecosystem 

Consider the availability of partners, developers, and resources for your chosen platform. A healthy ecosystem with many agencies and specialists ensures you'll have access to help when needed. Platforms like Jahia come with established networks of experienced partners.

Omnichannel capabilities 

Check how well the platform delivers consistent experiences across websites, mobile apps, portals, and other touchpoints. Good Digital experience platforms let you create and manage content once, then use it appropriately across multiple channels without duplicating work.

Implementation best practices for a successful DXP adoption

To really succeed with your DXP, you need good planning, clear communication, and ongoing improvements. Follow these best practices to get the most value from your investment and encourage adoption throughout your organization:

1. Focus first on high-value scenarios that will deliver measurable results. Document specific customer journeys you want to improve, the capabilities needed to enhance them, and how you'll measure success. This focused approach prevents the project from growing too large and helps you see value faster.
2. Create a diverse team with people from marketing, IT, content creation, and customer experience to guide the implementation. This ensures all perspectives are considered, technical and business needs are balanced, and the final solution works for everyone.
3. Develop a clear plan for collecting, organizing, and using customer data within your DXP. Define data governance policies, connections with existing systems, and processes for maintaining data quality. Good data foundations are essential for personalization and analytics to work properly.
4. Set aside enough resources to train content creators, marketers, and administrators on the new platform. Create role-specific training paths, and easy-to-use documentation, and consider having trained staff teach others to build internal expertise. User adoption ultimately determines your DXP's success.
5. Instead of trying to do everything at once, break the project into manageable chunks with clear deliverables. This approach lets you adapt based on feedback, show ongoing progress, and continuously improve your digital experiences as you learn what works with customers.
6. Create clear workflows for content creation, approval, publication, and maintenance before fully deploying your DXP. Define who does what, set content standards and guidelines, and implement quality checks to ensure consistent, high-quality digital experiences.
7. See your DXP implementation as an ongoing journey rather than a one-time project. Set up processes for regularly reviewing performance, gathering user feedback, and making incremental improvements. This continuous improvement mindset ensures your digital experiences stay fresh and effective.

To sum up

There are so many options and big promises from every vendor which makes choosing a DXP overwhelming. But here's the thing: this decision isn't just about technology but it's about your customers and their experience with your brand. Take your time. Ask tough questions. Trust your gut. A DXP should feel right for your team and customers. And remember, the best platform isn't necessarily the one with the most bells and whistles, but the one that helps your team deliver experiences that keep customers coming back for more.