We analyze your AEM setup - content models, integrations, and APIs - to design a migration strategy optimized for Payload’s structure
02
Content & Data Migration
We extract structured content from AEM and re-model it for Payload collections and relationships
03
Backend & API Development
We implement Payload with custom logic, access control, and integrations tailored to your business
04
Next.js Frontend Integration
We rebuild the frontend with NextJS and connect it directly to your Payload API for top performance
05
Deployment & Enablement
We deploy Payload to your chosen environment (Vercel, AWS, DigitalOcean, etc.) and onboard your team for independent operation
How we work
Governed and Scalable, by Design
We design content models, editorial workflows, and governance into the architecture from day one to make you CMS clean and usable as your team, markets, and channels grow.
Editorial UX boosts your marketing team's speed and freedom. They can build pages, launch campaigns, and manage content without needing developer help.
Performance & AI SEO by Default
Each project includes a complete SEO + LLM optimization. Performance baseline as standard: Core Web Vitals, structured data, rendering strategy, and AI SEO setup.
Already live? Our Next.js SEO audit gives you an actionable, dev-ready assessment of where you stand.
Predictable & Efficient Delivery
90% of our projects fit the initial budget. That comes from the time we invest upfront — understanding exactly what we're building before a single line of code is written.
Our CMS Kit has page builders, navigation, localization, content models, and SEO settings. It boosts every engagement. Plus, it won’t limit your choices. It's a smart starter refined across dozens of production deployments, not a constraint.
Feature Mapping
Heavy enterprise DXP
A full-scale digital experience platform with significant infrastructure and operational overhead
Lightweight headless CMS
Offers a lightweight headless architecture that reduces complexity and accelerates development and deployment
License-driven ecosystem
Comes with high licensing, hosting, and upgrade costs
Open-source ownership
Open-source and self-hosted, giving organizations full ownership of their code, data, and infrastructure with predictable costs
UI- and config-heavy setup
Relies on extensive UI configuration, templates, and platform-specific concepts
Code-first content modeling
Defined entirely in code, enabling versioned, testable content models that evolve alongside the application
Platform-specific customization
Extending AEM often requires specialized skills and proprietary tooling
Native business logic in code
Allows teams to build custom logic - hooks, access control, workflows, and validations - directly into the CMS using TypeScript
Website-centric DXP
Traditionally optimized for website and campaign delivery
API-driven content backend
Acts as a pure content and data backend, exposing APIs that power websites, apps, internal tools, and digital products from a single system
Our Clients Say
FocusReactive successfully took over and enhanced our existing site and shop, making the platform faster, more stable, and significantly improving the user experience. The team delivered high-quality work on time, reduced development overhead, and proved to be proactive, knowledgeable, and highly reliable throughout the collaboration.
Gerben Dijkstra
Product Owner, glimble by Arriva
FocusReactive has been an exceptional partner, delivering all our requirements ahead of schedule. Their team feels like an extension of ours, understanding our strategy and anticipating our needs. They helped us build two modern, SEO-friendly marketing websites that our marketing team can easily manage without relying on developers. The team is incredibly talented, responsive, and always takes pride in their work. Thanks to FocusReactive, we've been able to scale our marketing efforts more effectively. We couldn’t have asked for a better partner.
Mike Addonizio
VP of Marketing at Betway
FocusReactive completed the project on time and added extra tasks without compromising the schedule. As a result, the client was pleased with the new site's look and feel. FocusReactive held weekly virtual meetings to share accomplishments and questions. They were organized and flexible.
David Green
Operations Director at The Mighty Shed
FocusReactive helped us launch a high-performing website with 20% faster load times and 40% less manual work thanks to seamless integrations. DatoCMS also allowed our team to update content 50% faster, all delivered with clear communication and reliable project management.
Gal Lampel
Operations Manager, QuantHealth
We picked FocusReactive over other partners because of their no-nonsense approach, technical know-how, experience and price. FocusReactive’s work has doubled SEO traffic in the first week and has received positive feedback from stakeholders. A lot of companies have layers of sales on top of them and if you don't plan in advance, you cannot get the resources needed. FocusReactive ensures that you are never blocked because they will prioritise for you.
Payload CMS is a top choice for developers building custom admin panels. With its code-first approach, built on NextJS, TypeScript, and React, it offers full control over both backend structure and frontend experience.
Engineering the ultimate NextJS CMS stack: a breakdown of production-ready architectures built for enterprise scalability, SEO performance, and validated by real-world high-traffic use cases.
