As you know, some good things must come to an end, and on 26 September, 2021 (Previously March 26, 2021 but extended due to COVID), we’ll officially say goodbye to Adobe’s Business Catalyst. Here’s an excerpt from Adobe’s product announcement:
“Adobe is committed to delivering exceptional software and services to our customers. It’s in our nature to innovate and try new things, and it was in this spirit that we acquired Business Catalyst in 2009. As we re-focus on products that broadly provide our customers with the most value, Adobe is announcing the end of development for Business Catalyst
Adobe will stop hosting existing sites on Business Catalyst…. Adobe encourages customers to download their data and migrate to other systems well before March 26th, 2021.
Customers’ data will be retained by Adobe until 26 September, 2021, after which date the data will be deleted. Data retention is for the sole purpose of allowing customers to export their data and transfer to another platform.”
Why is Adobe discontinuing Business Catalyst?
Business Catalyst has, over the years, billed itself as an “all-in-one” platform that promised a lot: hosting, email marketing, CRM, blogging, analytics, web forms, e-commerce, and more. In reality, the experience fell short of user expectations, and better alternatives – both holistic and à la carte – became available to users.
Adobe has stated that it is committed to delivering exceptional software and services to our customers. It’s in their nature to innovate and try new things, and it was in this spirit that they acquired Business Catalyst in the first place. However, as they re-focus on products that broadly provide their customers with the most value, they are now announcing the end of life for Business Catalyst.
Why You Should Start the Migration Process Now
Yes, Adobe has announced that they will host existing sites built on Business Catalyst through March 2021, but moving off of a legacy platform can easily take between 3–12 months to complete (perhaps, even more, depending on the complexity of your web properties and the team behind the migration).
That being said, there are so many incredible alternatives out there to make site management, CRM, marketing, e-commerce, and analytics easier for your team and more powerful. For example WordPress.
Our Recommended Platform
We recommend building a highly adaptable and future-proof website on the WordPress platform. WordPress powers nearly one-third of the world’s websites, from small personal blogs to the complex sites of major corporations such as Sony, Time Inc., the New York Post, and NBC. Event our own Shuttle Digital Marketing website is WordPress based.
WordPress’ websites engage viewers with the ability to browse important information, read blogs, testimonials, and interact with other social networks like Facebook, Instagram.
Need help migrating your website to WordPress?
Our team can help you get a new, modern looking website in one of the world’s most used website platforms, WordPress. To get started, simply book a chat with our team here.
