Features to Include for Digital Experience Platform Development
Summarize the article:
ChatGPT
Perplexity
TL;DR
If you’re a content-heavy business → prioritize strong CMS + asset orchestration
If you’re a retailer → implement personalization + CDP + omnichannel delivery
If you’re an enterprise → focus on multi-tenancy + asset orchestration + self-service
Most digital experience platforms (DXPs) today already check all the boxes for sought-after features. They offer advanced personalization, content management, omnichannel experiences, and data analytics. Still, even with seemingly right tools, many companies fail to capture value.
Why the disconnect? Forrester’s 2025 evaluation suggests the issue isn’t a lack of features. It’s the manageability of the DXP platform. The challenge is knowing which capabilities actually matter, how intelligently they are orchestrated, and how quickly you can put them to good use.
If you’re a business owner looking to adopt or evolve a DXP, this guide is for you. We’ll discuss:
Why feature selection matters and what to pay attention to
What features to include and when you actually need them
How to pick the right features based on your business model
What a DXP is and how it differs from a CMS
A digital experience platform (DXP) is a well-integrated suite of tools designed to manage the entire customer journey across all touchpoints. Unlike standalone apps that typically handle just one aspect of the journey, a DXP combines customer profiles, data analytics, personalization, and content management on web, mobile, and so on in one place.
A content management system (CMS) is, in fact, one of those standalone apps we just mentioned. It serves a single purpose: to create, manage, publish, optimize, and store digital content. In short, its core focus is content delivery.
You may have even started with a CMS. And for a while, it was enough. But eventually, you keep noticing the gaps in functionality that desperately need to be filled. Here are the most common cases that indicate you’re ready to move beyond a CMS:
You manage multiple channels and customer touchpoints
Personalization is mostly manual or inconsistent
Your teams have to deal with numerous disconnected tools
Time-to-market for new experiences has slowed down
If any of the above is the case, you might need a DXP. The good news? You don’t necessarily have to start from scratch. For example, we help companies gradually modernize their CMS stack into DXP-ready architecture through our CMS development services.
Why features matter in digital experience development
Before discussing must-have digital experience platform features, let’s figure out why you need them in the first place. With “AI-powered everything” appearing in every software pitch, the features you decide to add become the foundation of your digital strategy.
However, to save you time, a DXP isn’t the right move for every business.
Who this is not for
If you’re managing a simple website with a static product catalog, a full-scale DXP is overkill. The same applies to businesses that don’t rely heavily on personalization (or other advanced features) and multi-channel journeys. In this scenario, a CMS will likely serve you better.
Who probably does not need a full DXP yet
If your current omnichannel strategy consists of a website and an Instagram feed (in other words, two to three channels maximum), you likely don’t need a DXP. Or if your customer data fits comfortably in a basic spreadsheet and tools aren’t fragmented, you are better off working on your content within a CMS.
Why features matter in DXP development
The right features reduce friction. The wrong ones create it. And while the best digital experience platforms offer similar toolsets, what matters is how effective those features are in your business context. Below are the reasons DXP features might be exactly what you need.
Supporting end-to-end customer journeys
The modern customer has lost their patience. According to the 2025 B2B Buyer Benchmark Report by Contentful, over 84% of buyers say self-service tools are critical when choosing a vendor. They don’t want to contact customer care for every minor inquiry. They want a solution that lets them move through their journey without friction.
A DXP provides features that support this end-to-end journey: customer portals, advanced search, personalized content, and integrated customer data across touchpoints.
Enabling omnichannel consistency
Customers also expect one continuous experience. If your brand looks amazing on a mobile app, but the website feels like a relic from 2015, their trust fades. Thus, every channel must be connected — and look consistently. A DXP fixes that with centralized everything and real-time sync.
Scaling digital experiences across markets and teams
As you grow, managing processes manually (or using a limited set of tools) becomes practically impossible. Just imagine taking care of multiple regional websites with localized content or separate partner portals with role-based access.
Yet, proper DXP features, such as modular content and asset management, along with integrations, let you scale efficiently. Partnering with an enterprise portal development company is a way to build these complex architectures easily.
Not sure if you're ready to switch from a basic CMS to a full DXP?
Bits Orchestra can assist you in DXP feature selection and orchestration.
Core DXP features (And when you actually need them)
Not every DXP feature deserves equal attention. You need to implement the ones that suit your current needs and leave room for further enhancements. Here are the core functionalities you might want to include:
Content management and asset orchestration
Content management and asset orchestration are the foundation of all DXP platforms. These features enable content creation, management, storage, and distribution across channels. They also support different asset types, including text, images, audio, and video.
Why it matters: Content is king. And this applies to digital experiences. This functionality prevents situations where different teams use different versions of the same logo and generally offers a more scalable, consistent way to manage and reuse content.
Technical considerations: Look for hybrid headless capabilities. You want the API-first flexibility for devs, but a “what you see is what you get” (WYSIWYG) interface for editors. Consider integrating a digital asset management (DAM) system as well.
Business outcome: You achieve faster content production and consistent messaging across different touchpoints.
When to prioritize: Immediately. This is your starting point.
Omnichannel experience delivery
Omnichannel delivery ensures your content looks and functions perfectly on every channel, including web, mobile, email, kiosks, and even IoT devices.
Why it matters: Customers do not distinguish different channels. They only see one brand. A flawed mobile experience ruins the work you did on the web.
Technical considerations: Prioritize a decoupled architecture. This allows you to update the user interface without changing the backend code. Also, implement channel-specific rendering and optimization.
Business outcome: You get a consistent customer journey across all touchpoints, which leads to higher conversion rates and retention.
When to prioritize: When you move beyond a single channel or want to unify experiences across platforms. This is especially relevant in such industries as retail, where consistent cross-channel journeys are a must, and retail software development services make all the difference.
AI-driven personalization and targeted content
Personalization uses AI and machine learning to serve users the right content at the most appropriate time.
Why it matters: Generic content is ignored. These digital experience platform capabilities deliver relevant offers based on customer behavior and preferences.
Technical considerations: If possible, integrate with customer data platforms (CDPs). Think about which AI/ML models you’ll use (built into a DXP or third-party solutions).
Business outcome: You’ll likely get a higher average order value (AOV), increased conversions, more efficient marketing, and deeper customer loyalty.
When to prioritize: When you have steady traffic and enough content variations to actually power an AI engine, implement personalization.
Customer data and profile management
Customer data and profile management are often handled by a customer data platform (CDP) integrated into the digital experience software. It collects and unifies all customer information from multiple sources.
Why it matters: Your personalization and analytics capacities depend on customer data. Without a unified storage, your DXP works in silos.
Technical considerations: First off, integrate a CDP or create a dedicated data layer. Enforce data governance and compliance procedures. Ensure that data is accessible in real time.
Business outcome: You receive a 360-degree view of the customer, enabling better targeting and more accurate analysis.
When to prioritize: When you’re pulling customer data from multiple systems and struggling to make sense of it. Or when personalization is ineffective.
Digital analytics, experimentation, and real-time insights
Analytics includes A/B testing, heatmaps, user behavior tracking, performance optimization solutions, and more to continuously improve digital experiences.
Why it matters: Without analysis, you’re just guessing. For example, instead of arguing over button colors, you let the data decide.
Technical considerations: Integrate with analytics tools, preferably with A/B and multivariate testing capabilities. Enable real-time data processing.
Business outcome: You build a culture of continuous improvement and get ROI from every digital initiative launch.
When to prioritize: When you’re invested in growth and need to validate what works.
How to choose the right features for your DXP
Before implementing a digital experience management platform, you need to be absolutely confident in your choice of features. Here’s how to approach the selection process:
Clarify your business goals and use cases
What to do: Start with the outcomes you want to achieve. Define what you aim your DXP to enable, such as increasing conversions or speeding up campaign launches.
What to decide: Think of the use cases, target audiences, success metrics, and user journeys of the highest priority.
Example: “Reduce time-to-launch for landing pages from 2 weeks to 5 days.”
Audit your current stack and content operations
What to do: Map out every tool you’re currently using and identify bottlenecks.
What to decide: Determine which systems to keep and which to replace. For workflows that cause the most delays, decide on the alternatives.
Example: You may discover that content is created in one tool and then manually adapted for each channel. This is a sign you need omnichannel delivery functionality.
Not sure if your current stack is a solid foundation?
Before you commit to a full DXP, you need to know exactly where you stand. Bits Orchestra can identify the technical debt and build a roadmap for your DXP transition.
Define must-have vs nice-to-have DXP features
What to do: Create a prioritized feature list tied directly to business impact.
What to decide: Separate critical features from “future ideas” to avoid overengineering.
Example: Personalization is perfect for an eCommerce platform, but a nice-to-have for a company that is still stabilizing its content workflows.
Map features to customer journeys and internal teams
What to do: Align each feature with a real customer journey stage and the team responsible for it.
What to decide: Establish who uses what and at which stage. Make sure the features are beneficial both for the end-customers and your internal teams.
Example: If customers drop off during onboarding, consider implementing a self-service portal that includes detailed walkthroughs.
Check integration, composability, and scalability needs
What to do: Evaluate how your DXP will connect with your existing and future systems.
What to decide: Determine which integrations are necessary (CRM, ERP, CDP, AI services). Verify that the digital customer experience platform can connect easily. Give preference to composable architecture.
Example: Check if your DXP can pull customer data from your CRM in real time.
Score and shortlist DXP options against your checklist
What to do: Use a scoring model to evaluate vendors based on your priorities.
What to decide: Give higher weight to criteria such as usability and ease of integration rather than just the plain number of features.
Example: One vendor might have more features, but another one wins because of the API flexibility offered.
Plan a phased implementation and ownership model
What to do: Avoid the big bang launch. Plan a phased rollout that prioritizes the most important features.
What to decide: Determine your operating model and KPIs (time-to-publish, experimentation velocity, self-service adoption, and so on).
Example: Start with content management and omnichannel delivery. Then, add personalization and analytics.
Where DXPs are heading in the next 3–5 years
Digital experience platform providers are evolving their products by adding AI-powered features and adopting composable, cloud-native, and experience-led architectures. Let’s take a closer look at that.
AI, automation, and predictive experiences (with governance)
AI development solutions will switch from being assistive to full orchestration. They will advance personalization and content generation even further.
Still, while over 90% of brands and agencies surveyed by StackAdapt in 2026 agree that AI improves personalization, only one in five have fully integrated it.
The shift toward composable digital platforms
Monolithic digital experience management platforms will be replaced with composable architectures. This is where you connect different tools via APIs.
Cloud-native and experience-led architectures
Digital experience platform companies are increasingly moving to cloud-native, often microservices-based environments. These architectures are directly tied to the quality and speed of customer experiences.
Key takeaways for your next DXP initiative
Features don’t inherently promise value. They only matter when they directly support your business goals.
Start with foundations, then add intelligence: content and delivery first, personalization and analytics later.
Audit your current tech stack before starting with digital experience platform services and plan a phased, gradual rollout backed up by KPIs.
Plan your DXP implementation with Bits Orchestra
We know how to architect a system that actually works for your business.
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FAQ
When should businesses move from CMS to DXP?
When you’re adding new channels or having trouble connecting different tools. Moving to a DXP may also be necessary if you need advanced features such as personalization.
How does a DXP improve complex customer journeys?
A DXP delivers consistent, personalized content across all channels, which directly impacts customer satisfaction and makes their journeys simpler. This is especially critical in B2B with multiple stakeholders and higher self-service expectations.
How do I phase DXP implementation to control budget and risk?
Start with core foundations (content management + omnichannel delivery), then gradually add CDP, personalization, and analytics.
What security and compliance features are required in a DXP?
The best digital experience platform examples include AI governance, auditability, and data protection, not just SSO/roles.
What integrations should I plan for when adopting a DXP?
Consider such integrations as CDP, analytics, AI services, and experimentation tools. These are must-haves for 2026.
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