Arc XP

We use Arc XP Experience Platform  on the front end. In the back end, we use Amazon's service and React to create all the components.

It's easy to use, and it's flexible to create different components in the front end. You can customize everything. The backend supports a lot of users at the same time, and it almost never goes down.

Arc XP Experience Platform  is easy to use and flexible for creating different components in the front end. You can customize everything. The backend is reliable and supports many users simultaneously without significant issues.

For a small site, Arc XP Experience Platform is not worth it. The cost is high. It's better suited for larger sites with more users. They give you all the back end, so you don’t need to build a lot of architecture.

We have used this solution for one year and one or two months.

Breaking down almost never happens. They have minor issues, but those get fixed really fast, and users never experience a bad front-end experience.

With Arc XP Experience Platform, there are good backend support capabilities to easily scale up or down as needed, although it might increase costs.

Their support team is very good. They respond quickly and fix problems rapidly.

Positive

You need developers to build your site. It's not like WordPress  where you can create something without technical knowledge.

Arc XP Experience Platform pricing is high, yet you get a lot in return. The price may increase depending on your data usage and the number of modules you integrate.

It's recommended that you know your budget before continuing. If you take their team and use their solutions, development will be easier.

I'd rate the solution nine out of ten.

We implement the Arc XP Experience Platform for our clients. As a digital agency, we integrate Arc for media clients, including publishers. We handle their migration to Arc, perform testing, and utilize its features. We manage four to five websites using Arc XP. We utilize its full capabilities, including editorial tools, technical functions, and page-building features.

One of our clients, Express, previously had a team of eight developers managing a Symfony website. After migrating to Arc XP, they now handle everything with just two developers, reducing the number of full-time employees required significantly.

What we appreciate about Arc XP is its comprehensiveness. For media organizations with numerous content contributors, creators, and curators, Arc offers a complete solution that addresses all their needs. It provides all the necessary tools for managing extensive content workflows, which we find particularly valuable.

Another standout feature is its user-friendly interface. It’s very intuitive, similar to Microsoft Word, making it accessible for journalists and content creators who may not have technical expertise.

Lastly, the WebScan feature is exceptional. It functions like a newsroom project management tool, helping to organize and track content planning and workflow. This feature is unique to Arc and is highly beneficial for editorial planning.

Arc XP could add structured content. For instance, having a schema designer or the ability to define structured content would be very beneficial when creating product or recipe pages. It would enhance the way we organize and present information.

I've been using Arc XP for about three years, managing three to four heavily trafficked websites with millions of page views and over a million pieces of content.

I have been using Arc XP Experience Platform for three to four years.

Arc XP is very stable and mature. Despite frequent updates, typically once a month, it follows a careful release plan. It notifies you six months, three months, and one month before new features, giving you ample time to prepare and implement updates. This approach minimizes issues and ensures smooth transitions with no significant bugs.

I rate the solution’s stability a ten out of ten.

We manage websites that host millions of articles with no performance issues. For example, we have one site with about 50,000 articles and another with 19 million articles in Brazil. Both sites perform equally well, demonstrating excellent scalability.

I rate the solution’s scalability a ten out of ten.

We do have some tickets that we open from time to time with edge cases, like single sign-on implementation or quite complex features we want to build with third-party integration. We opened a couple of tickets. It is very quick to respond, specifically if there's some critical demand.

When issues arise with less critical features, the impact on the website might be minimal. However, as an agency acting as the intermediary between clients and Arc, we sometimes find it stressful. Even minor problems for Arc can be more significant for our clients. While this is a common challenge in the industry, we manage it as part of our role.

We used a lot of CMS. Drupal is one of them. We have also used eZ Publish

The initial setup and deployment of Arc XP are quite straightforward. Since it’s a SaaS platform, Arc XP handles the backend management, including scaling and infrastructure. This means you only need to focus on configuration, which is simple and user-friendly. Building the front end is necessary and depends on the complexity of your requirements, but the setup process is generally quick. It typically takes a couple of weeks for a large website to get everything up and running.

Arc XP is not inexpensive. Pricing starts at around $5,000 per month and varies based on the number of websites, bandwidth usage, and journalists or content contributors. The cost is all-inclusive, covering CDN, backend infrastructure, and bandwidth. It’s best suited for medium—to large websites. It might not be the most cost-effective option for smaller sites with only a few hundred articles.

Arc XP offers a system for creating websites' front ends regarding the page builder. This allows for personalization through either third-party tools or their internal Bandit tool. While a proprietary feature, the page builder is built on the React JS framework, which provides great flexibility. We can integrate various tools and functionalities, which is useful.

Additionally, we can conduct A/B testing on titles and content blocks and personalize these blocks based on user segments. This means different categories of users can see tailored versions of home pages or article pages.

It's important to consider that this fee covers everything, including CDN, hosting, and deployments, despite the pricing being a few thousand euros per month. Many hidden costs are often overlooked, but Arc XP consolidates these expenses. It’s crucial to factor in these savings when calculating ROI. Based on our experience with four or five clients, the ROI consistently justifies the investment.

Overall, I rate the solution a ten out of ten.