Key Takeaways
-
Kentico Xperience 13 reaches end of life at the end of 2026, after which all support, security patches, and maintenance cease entirely. Unlike previous version upgrades, there is no clean migration path to carry what you've built into the next platform.
-
Moving to Xperience by Kentico is effectively a replatform, not an upgrade. Organizations rebuild on a new architecture while inheriting the same .NET dependency, developer bottleneck, and agency reliance they had before.
-
For large organizations managing multiple sites, Kentico's core limitations, including application recompiles on every code change, developer dependency for routine marketing tasks, and a narrow specialist talent pool, carry over to XbyK.
-
Content.One gives large distributed organizations federated governance, marketer-controlled publishing, and a true SaaS delivery model built for managing dozens or hundreds of sites without specialist agency dependency or forced migration cycles.
With Kentico Xperience 13 reaching end of life at the end of 2026, the platform will no longer be receiving bug fixes or new features. But enterprises currently using the platform may still be deciding whether to migrate to Xperience by Kentico or consider another option.
For large organizations managing multiple websites, the migration process requires content modeling, integration work, governance configuration, and team training that often takes months to execute correctly. That means making the right choice about whether to stay with Kentico or seek an alternative is even more important.
If you’re wondering whether rebuilding on Xperience by Kentico is actually the answer, or whether this forced migration is the moment to step back and ask a bigger question about the platform you’ve been building on, this article will help you decide.
What Kentico Xperience 13 End of Life Means
Many companies currently on Kentico Xperience 13 have already made their decision months ago. But just as many, if not more, have been delaying that decision for as long as possible, because they’re treating it like previous upgrades.
Different From Previous Upgrades
Unlike previous version upgrades, the latest Kentico end-of-life scenario means that Kentico ceases all support, maintenance, updates, and security repairs, and organizations are completely responsible for security and maintenance. However, this time there is no simple migration tool or content transfer process to carry what you've built over to the next platform.
One Kentico customer who had undergone the migration mentioned that, “Not just that XbyK offers fewer features, but we need to start from scratch. We need to re-develop all the customizations. The migration tool from K13 to XbyK is a joke."
The Migration to Xperience by Kentico
Migrating from Kentico 13 to Xperience by Kentico is a major product milestone for the company. It also means migrating to a completely new platform, similar to migrating to another vendor entirely. So organizations need to take into account the different content models, templates, custom modules, and integrations, not just the features they might be considering.
As one Kentico customer on G2 mentioned, “Xperience by Kentico is missing many things that Xperience 13 has and it functions differently from a structural standpoint. It is frustrating to have a product we like so well and then be forced to move to a new product that we're not even sure we can use.”
Rebuilding on XbyK also doesn't change the underlying dependency structure, since XbyK is also a .NET platform. For organizations without internal .NET developer capacity, even by migrating, they will be dependent on specialist agency partners to handle various tasks.
Why Organizations Are Moving Off Kentico
Aside from the end of support deadline, there are a few reasons why organizations are considering moving away from Kentico entirely.
Every Code Change Requires a Full Application Recompile
In Kentico Xperience 13, code changes don't deploy as they do on modern platforms. Consequently, any modification, such as adding or updating a template or making a backend change, requires recompiling the entire application. This forces site administrators to take the site down while it rebuilds. For teams managing multiple sites, that friction is one of the reasons they consider switching to another platform.
Marketing Teams Still Can't Work Without Developers
Making changes to page structure or creating new layouts or campaign components requires developer involvement for changes not supported out of the box. As one reviewer mentioned, certain advanced customizations still require developer involvement, which can slow things down slightly compared to more plug-and-play platforms.
As marketing teams seek ways to accelerate execution and go-to-market activities, this can be problematic.
The Talent Pool Is Narrow and Getting Narrower
Kentico runs on .NET, which requires a specialist skill set with a significantly smaller developer community than modern JavaScript-based platforms. For large organizations managing multiple sites without a dedicated internal .NET team, this forces dependency on specialist agencies for multiple tasks.
Why Content.One for Large Organizations Moving Off Kentico
For large distributed organizations evaluating what comes after Kentico, they need a platform built for the operational reality of managing content across dozens or hundreds of sites, with distributed teams and real governance requirements.
Federated Multisite as Core Architecture
Large organizations need mult-site governance with defined approval templates, brand guardrails, and compliance requirements. However, these capabilities need to be built into the core architecture rather than simply configured after the fact.
In Content.One, federated multisite isn't an enterprise add-on or a configuration project but instead part of the core product architecture. Organizations can launch, scale, and govern multisite ecosystems across brands, regions, and business units while sharing content from a single domain and keeping governance tight, so local teams can ship experiences faster.
For example, local operators need to be able to publish within those guardrails without developer support and without breaking brand standards or compliance requirements. Content.One also offers the ability to manage permissions across HQ, regions, and franchisees with SSO, approval workflows, and activity logs purpose-built for multisite teams.
True SaaS with Automatic Updates
Enterprises moving away from Kentico shouldn’t be limited to on-premises deployment only. Instead, they need the option of a SaaS platform with automatic updates that lowers infrastructure overhead.
Content.One runs as a hybrid PaaS/SaaS with rolling weekly updates. This means that teams will never be stuck on an outdated release or negotiating upgrade contracts. Additionally, every fix, security hardening, and performance boost deploys seamlessly to all tenants without maintenance windows.
Marketer Independence Without Breaking the Design System
Large enterprise-scale and distributed marketing teams, such as franchise managers, regional communications teams, and branch marketing staff, need to publish independently without routing structural changes through a developer ticket. The right platform gives local operators real autonomy while maintaining brand and compliance standards.
Content.One's visual editing enables marketing and communications teams to make structural page changes on the rendered page without opening a developer ticket. Unlike drag-and-drop page builders that allow marketers to make layout decisions that break the design system, Content.One's editing experience operates within the guardrails developers have already established. This way, marketers get real publishing autonomy without developers spending their cycles cleaning up after it.
Developer Freedom Alongside Marketer Independence
When developers aren't fielding content update requests, they're available for work that actually requires them. Content.One provides full API access and a proprietary rendering and templating layer that gives developers control over architecture and integrations without becoming a day-to-day publishing bottleneck.
For organizations concerned about implementation complexity, Content.One also offers on-demand developers who can be engaged directly without managing a separate agency relationship or negotiating a new contract every time the project scope expands.
What Teams Can Gain By Moving to Content.One
Content.One is built around the operational reality that large, distributed organizations actually face. Trying to manage multiple sites, lean central teams, local operators who need to publish independently, and leadership that needs governance and visibility without becoming a bottleneck.
When The Salvation Army needed to unify its digital presence, the starting point was five separate CMSs, more than 50 domains, slow updates dependent on outside vendors, and no brand consistency across 3,000+ locations. After consolidating onto Content.One, the organization achieved a 70% reduction in publishing time, 4x faster page loads, 50% traffic growth, and a 15% lift in donation engagement.
If you're evaluating a Kentico alternative ahead of the end-of-support deadline, contact us to see how Content.One handles distributed content operations at your scale.
Need help solving for Kentico Alternative: Enterprise Content Operations Without the Upgrade Cycle with your organization? Click Here to Setup a time to talk through a solution.
Meet the Author
Randy Apuzzo
CEOBuilding web for 20+ years, love helping customers with technology, and still loves to code.
Book a call with Randy Apuzzo