Migration guide

Can you migrate Adobe Experience Manager to Optimizely?

Last updated: July 2026 · By the Replatform Radar team — specialists in pre-migration CMS content audits

Yes — Adobe Experience Manager to Optimizely is a feasible but cross-stack migration that trades a Java/JCR platform for a .NET one. AEM stores content as nodes in the Java Content Repository and assembles pages from Content Fragments and HTL-rendered components; Optimizely models content as strongly-typed content types, pages, and blocks in a relational store, so nothing lifts and shifts. Expect to remodel the content architecture, rebuild templates and components in .NET/Razor, and re-export DAM assets rather than copy a repository. It is well within reach for teams that treat it as a rebuild-with-content-migration, not a port.

AEM is a Java application built on the JCR (Jackrabbit Oak) content repository, where pages, Content Fragments, Experience Fragments, and DAM assets all live as hierarchical nodes and are rendered through HTL templates and Sling models. Optimizely (formerly Episerver) is a .NET CMS where editors work with content types, pages, and reusable blocks that are defined as C# classes and persisted to SQL Server. Because the runtime, templating language, and storage model differ end to end, the migration is a re-platform rather than an upgrade.

Most of the effort concentrates in three places: translating AEM Content Fragment models and component structures into Optimizely content types and blocks, rebuilding the front end from HTL/Sling to Razor (or a headed/headless Optimizely delivery layer), and moving DAM assets into Optimizely's media library with their metadata intact. Authored page content can be scripted across via the JCR/Assets APIs into Optimizely's Content Management API, but the mapping logic — not the transfer — is the real work.

In your report — not a generic checklist

The Adobe Experience Manager → Optimizely detail, catered to your site

A pre-migration scan produces a report tailored to this exact transfer, covering the parts that decide whether the project goes smoothly:

How Adobe Experience Manager and Optimizely compare across the dimensions that matter for a migration
The field-mapping table — what each Adobe Experience Manager construct becomes in Optimizely
The Adobe Experience Manager to Optimizely-specific gotchas that silently cause data loss, broken links, and ranking drops
Realistic timeline & cost drivers for this migration
Your own site’s findings scored against all of it

Scan my site for this migration →

FAQ

Adobe Experience Manager to Optimizely: frequently asked questions

Can you migrate AEM to Optimizely?

Yes. Authored content and assets can be scripted across via AEM's JCR/Assets APIs into Optimizely's Content Management API, but templates and components must be rebuilt in .NET because the platforms share no runtime.

Is AEM content compatible with Optimizely?

Not directly — AEM stores content as JCR nodes and Content Fragments, while Optimizely uses strongly-typed content types and blocks, so content is transformed and mapped rather than copied.

What happens to AEM DAM assets in Optimizely?

Original assets and their metadata migrate into Optimizely's media library, but renditions, smart crops, and dynamic-media URLs are regenerated, and embedded asset links must be rewritten.

How long does an AEM to Optimizely migration take?

Most projects land between 4 and 8 months, with large multi-site or heavily personalized implementations extending past a year.