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We are the Magnolia to Dato CMS migration experts

Challenges with Magnolia

Magnolia is the definition of “enterprise for the sake of enterprise.” The setup is heavy, the learning curve is brutal, and unless you have a Java team lying around, good luck getting anything done without burning through budget. The proprietary modules lock you in fast, integrations feel like a maze, and the admin interface slows to a crawl once you start dealing with real content volume. The pricing is expensive, opaque, and somehow still manages to feel bad value. If you're not a Fortune 500 with a tolerance for pain, it’s a project risk.

And honestly, who even uses Java anymore?

Key pain points

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Steep Java learning curve

Magnolia expects your team to be fluent in Java and its ecosystem, which slows onboarding and makes even simple tasks feel heavier than they should.

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Resource-intensive setup

It demands serious infrastructure and long setup cycles, which immediately rules it out for teams that expect fast iteration or modern DevOps workflows.

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Vendor lock-in concerns

Once you're in, you're in. Magnolia’s proprietary modules make moving away painful, expensive, and often not worth the engineering time.

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Complex third-party integration

Connecting Magnolia with modern tools and APIs isn’t straightforward, usually requiring custom Java work instead of simple plug-and-play integrations.

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Native subscription support

Licensing is firmly enterprise-tier, with opaque pricing and steep annual fees that can balloon quickly, a bad fit unless you're Fortune 500.

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Proprietary module reliance

Key features live behind Magnolia’s own tightly controlled modules, limiting flexibility and forcing teams to work the “Magnolia way” instead of choosing best-in-class tools.

Benefits of Dato CMS

DatoCMS has a low learning curve, clean UI, and a drag-and-drop schema builder that lets teams shape content without a single existential crisis. Editors love it. Developers tolerate it. Everyone gets to ship faster.

The APIs are solid, the media pipeline is excellent, and the multilingual tooling is actually usable. But lto be honest, it’s expensive, and the drag-and-drop approach means it’s not exactly winning awards for flexibility. Still, if you want something that feels polished out of the box and integrates nicely with Next.js, Shopify, and friends, DatoCMS delivers a pretty smooth experience.

Key advantages

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User-friendly interface

DatoCMS has a clean, approachable UI that editors can pick up instantly. Little training needed, and teams can publish content without tripping over the system.

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Flexible API-based approach

With both GraphQL and REST, you can query content however you prefer. It gives developers freedom to shape data flows without fighting the CMS.

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Seamless integration

DatoCMS works smoothly with popular frameworks and tools like Next.js, Gatsby, and Shopify. Plug it in, fetch content, and you’re off.

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Efficient data retrieval

The GraphQL API is fast and predictable, making it easy to pull exactly the data you need without overfetching or messy workarounds.

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Powerful image tools

Dato handles image optimisation, responsive resizing, and transformations automatically. Your site stays fast without custom pipeline work.

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Real-time updates

Content changes sync instantly across environments, giving teams quick feedback and reducing the “save, refresh and hope” cycle.

Get in touch

Book a meeting with us to discuss how we can help or fill out a form to get in touch