We are the Payload to Uniform migration experts

Challenges with Payload

While Payload CMS offers a range of features tailored for Next.js applications, it presents certain challenges that might deter some users. One of the primary concerns is the learning curve associated with adopting this tool, particularly for developers unfamiliar with Next.js or headless CMS architectures. The platform's smaller ecosystem compared to more established CMS solutions means that users might find fewer ready-made plugins and third-party integrations, potentially increasing development time and complexity. Additionally, as a JavaScript-based CMS, there might be performance overhead in high-traffic environments, necessitating careful consideration of server resources and optimization strategies.

Another notable drawback is the documentation, which, while generally helpful, has been reported to contain gaps that could hinder new users from fully leveraging the platform's capabilities. The community, although growing, is still smaller than those of more established CMS platforms, which can limit the availability of peer support and community-driven resources. Moreover, being a headless CMS, Payload requires a separate hosting solution for its backend, adding an additional layer of complexity for those used to more traditional, all-in-one CMS platforms. These factors combined might make Payload CMS less appealing to users seeking a more straightforward or widely supported content management solution.

Key Pain Points

•Steep learning curve for newcomers
•Smaller ecosystem of plugins and integrations
•Potential performance overhead in high-traffic environments
•Some gaps in documentation
•Smaller community compared to established platforms
•Requires separate hosting for the backend

Benefits of Uniform

Uniform positions itself as a “composable DXP,” which is enterprise-speak for “it does a bit of everything on top of your actual CMS.” To be fair, the visual workspace is genuinely useful. Marketers get drag-and-drop control, personalization, and A/B testing without pinging developers every five minutes. And if you’re already juggling multiple systems (CMS, commerce, DAM), the orchestration layer can tidy up the chaos.

That said… we’ll be honest, we don’t really build with DXPs like this anymore. Whenever a headless tool starts shouting “DXP” from the homepage, it usually means heavyweight architecture, unnecessary complexity, and a bill only Fortune 500 companies would smile at. If you’re considering it anyway, feel free to get in touch. We’ll happily walk you through better, modern alternatives before you sink a quarter’s budget into something you probably don’t need.

Key advantages

Visual experience composition

Uniform’s visual builder lets marketers piece together pages without pinging developers every 5 minutes. It’s basically a drag-and-drop layer on top of your headless stack.

Multi-source content federation

Uniform pulls content from multiple CMSs, DAMs, and commerce tools into one interface, so you don’t need 10 tabs open to build a single page

Real-time collaboration tools

Teams can edit, plan, and experiment together without overwriting each other’s work. It’s built for big organisations where ten people touching the same page is a weekly occurrence.

Enterprise-grade scalability

Uniform is built to handle traffic spikes and heavy personalisation workloads. It’s overkill for small sites but a safe bet for enterprises terrified of a Black Friday outage.

Omnichannel content management

You can pipe the same content across web, apps, and any other channel marketing dreams up. Useful for brands juggling multiple experiences without wanting to rebuild the same page three times.