From Dato CMS to Prismic

We are the Dato CMS to Prismic migration experts

Challenges with Dato CMS

Key pain points

DatoCMS gives all the vibes of Prismic, but is somehow less flexible. It can feel like a glorified drag-and-drop schema builder. The moment you want to do anything mildly custom, the walls start closing in. And yes, the pricing stings. It scales fast, which is great for Dato, not so great for anyone trying to run a startup without selling a kidney.

The ecosystem is small, the extensions are thin, and deeper customisation often turns into “well, I guess we’re building that ourselves.” There’s no real visual editor, no guardrails for inactive billing, and once your project grows, you quickly realise drag-and-drop doesn’t magically give you validation or extensibility. If you need something genuinely custom or long-term scalable, there are better choices. Just contact us before you start one of the most expensive journeys.

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Limited customisation options

DatoCMS hits a ceiling fast if you need deeply custom logic. The drag-and-drop model is convenient, but it doesn’t give you the freedom a code-first setup would.

Pricing based on traffic

Costs scale with usage, which can get painful quickly for growing sites. Traffic spikes = surprise bills.

Steeper learning curve

While the UI is simple, the API-driven side demands more technical understanding. Non-developers may struggle once things get complex.

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Need for additional plugins

Out-of-the-box features only go so far. More advanced workflows often require plugins or custom development to bridge gaps.

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Limited feature set scalability

Great for small–mid projects, but larger, more demanding setups can outgrow what DatoCMS offers out of the box.

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Potential integration issues

Certain frameworks and tools need careful configuration, and edge cases appear more often than you’d expect in more mature CMS ecosystems.

Benefits of Prismic

Key advantages

Prismic is phenomenal for simplistic page-builder-style websites. Its simplistic drag-and-drop page builder, along with the newer code-based version, helps you generate like-for-like components and automates the developers' process.

The built-in media optimisation tool is also great, so you can ensure that even if you're uploading 4mb images, they're going to be scaled down with minimal compression artefacts.

Content scheduling capabilities

Prismic makes it ridiculously easy to plan content ahead with built-in scheduling without any plugins or workarounds. Just pick a time, hit schedule, and your release goes live exactly when you want it.

Intuitive visual editor

The editor feels natural even for non-technical teams, with clean previews and simple fields. It keeps the writing flow distraction-free while still giving developers structure.

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Efficient slices feature

Slices let you build repeatable, flexible components that marketers can rearrange without breaking layouts. It’s the closest thing to structured Lego-blocks for content teams.

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Rich media embedding

Embedding images, videos, and rich assets takes seconds. You don't need to hack templates. Just paste, pick, and publish.

Flexible component reuse

Developers create once, marketing teams reuse forever. Slices and custom types make content scalable without adding complexity.

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Seamless publishing experience

Publishing is fast, predictable, and drama-free. If you want to do a small tweak or a full-page release, everything ships smoothly with minimal cognitive load.