Contentful was built as a developer-first platform with a "headless CMS" approach that appeals to engineers. However, what Contentful customers end up lacking is a product that solves better page performance, SEO, and organic growth. Contentful gives you an API framework to work with, but leaves you with all of the work of creating the site experience.
At RebelMouse, you can have the best of both worlds. Our platform spans the spectrum of headless to traditional CMS platforms. You can choose to utilize RebelMouse in the way that works best for your team and business.
Contentful and RebelMouse are both platforms that offer features for creating, managing, and delivering digital content. But here are some key differences that make RebelMouse stand out.
Performance
The decision to allow companies to develop their own front-end systems (i.e., a headless CMS) was initially viewed as an attractive option. However, it has become apparent that Contentful, although capable of facilitating a do-it-yourself approach, is one of the least effective CMS platforms in terms of Core Web Vitals performance. Core Web Vitals are Google’s new benchmark for page performance, and could make or break your site’s ability to deliver. Click here to learn more.
The challenge to maintain consistent site performance is steeper for small teams, because the issues that cause slow page speed require significant engineering expertise and investment to fix. For companies operating in the digital realm with limited resources, such as those with an annual budget of less than $5 million, the DIY approach facilitated by Contentful is often not a viable option.
Page performance isn’t just a feature at RebelMouse, it’s woven into our culture. We power the fastest sites on the open web, and we have the data to prove it.
HTTP Archive, a tracking platform that crawls the web to identify trends and record historical patterns, frequently reports on how top content management systems have weathered Google’s steep standards on performance through its Core Web Vitals Technology Report. As you can see, RebelMouse has consistently outperformed Contentful on Google's most critical metrics since 2020:
HTTP Archive’s Core Web Vitals Technology Report showing Core Web Vitals performance between RebelMouse and Contentful.
Technical SEO
Contentful's CMS relies heavily on a user's ability to develop and execute their own technical SEO strategy, which can be a daunting undertaking. There are a multitude of technical elements that require careful attention to detail, and the significant effort required to implement them can be challenging for many. In practice, the majority of Contentful sites fall short of the technical SEO standards required for optimal search engine performance.
RebelMouse’s SEO technology centers around best practices for search, including:
- Detailed metadata
- Out-of-the-box structured data
- Real-time keyword search tool
- Intuitive recirculation linking
- Image optimizations
- Accessible data on search performance
Our holistic approach to search is a combination of these key technical SEO requirements and an editorial toolset for content creators to optimize their content for search before it’s even published. Together, these two strategies help Google's site crawler identify, index, and rank your content quickly. Click here to learn more.
Structured data is a tricky challenge for any website to master. RebelMouse offers an out-of-the-box structured data integration that sets up every page for success on search.
Ease of Use
RebelMouse's CMS is designed to be user-friendly and intuitive, making it easy for writers and editors to create and publish content. In contrast, since Contentful is a headless CMS that often gets paired with complicated and non-standard publishing workflows, it has a steeper learning curve and usually requires technical expertise to get started.
Content Creation Tools (Including AI Features!)
RebelMouse offers a wide range of content creation tools, including a comprehensive suite of AI features to help streamline the content workflow, including AI-generated headlines, built-in image generator, and text assitance.
Contentful, on the other hand, focuses more on content organization and management, and lacks some of the AI-powered content creation tools that RebelMouse offers.
RebelMouse’s OpenAI alternative headlines proposes new headline ideas and other suggested text with just a click.
Customization Optimizations
RebelMouse allows users to customize their sites with a range of templates and widgets, while still maintaining a high level of functionality. Contentful, while offering customization options, requires a more technical approach and can be challenging for non-technical users.
Here’s a table that breaks down some of these categories, along with other reasons why RebelMouse is the better choice for brands and organizations that are serious about their digital experience:
Feature | RebelMouse CMS | Contentful CMS |
Ease of Use | User-friendly and intuitive. | Steep learning curve. |
SEO Tools | Provides comprehensive SEO features, including meta description guidance and keyword optimization, along with technical SEO tools, including structured content and Schema.org markup. | Offers some advanced SEO tools, but they can be complex and require technical expertise. |
Content Creation | Built-in image editor and social media integration. | Less focus on content creation tools. |
Scalability | Scales well for small, medium, and enterprise businesses, allowing websites to grow without worrying about outgrowing their tech stack. | Offers enterprise-level scalability, making it doable for large businesses, but it can be overkill for small businesses. |
Page Performance | Offers the fastest page speeds on the open web. | Does not prioritize page speed. It’s up to individual developers. |
AI Features | Offers a full suite of AI-enabled functionality, including in-site chat, smart search, image creation, and smart tagging. | Limited AI features. |
Both RebelMouse and Contentful aim to help businesses create, manage, and distribute content. However, when it comes to usability, performance, user-friendly features, and modern publishing tools, RebelMouse’s platform stands out as the better option. With its intuitive interface, built-in content editor, robust SEO tools, and AI integrations, RebelMouse makes it easy for both highly skilled developers and non-technical users to create content that’s primed for growth.
Looking to learn more? Let’s set up a chat to see how we can transform your website.
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