Beyond Plone: The Power Move to Django and Wagtail for Next-Level Web Development

Over the past two decades, the Plone CMS has become less viable due to its limited flexibility, outdated technology stack, and shrinking community support. With these challenges in mind, many organizations are exploring more modern solutions that offer greater scalability, active development, and a vibrant ecosystem.

At Six Feet Up, we believe transitioning to Django or Wagtail is a smart move due to their strengths in flexibility, security, and long-term sustainability. In my experience, developers find the learning curve for Django much easier and content editors find the interface more modern compared to Plone.

Django: The Go-To Framework for Custom, Scalable, and Data-Driven Web Applications

Django is a high-level Python web framework that is suitable for a wide range of applications, from simple websites to complex, data-driven web services. It’s often described as the web framework “for perfectionists with deadlines” because it enables developers to build secure and scalable applications quickly, without sacrificing quality.

Flexibility and Customization

Django provides a high degree of flexibility and customization options. It's well-suited for organizations that:

• Need to build complex, custom web applications beyond just content management
• Want full control over the data model and backend logic
• Require integration with many third-party services and APIs

Scalability and Speed

Django’s robust architecture efficiently powers high-traffic sites like Instagram, DoorDash, and National Geographic. It offers extensive performance optimization features, seamlessly integrates with caching mechanisms, and allows for database tuning.

Admin Interface

Django's built-in admin interface allows for quick and easy management of content and data. While not as feature-rich as Plone's, it can be customized extensively, reducing the dependency on a development team.

Wagtail: The Modern Solution for Flexible, Scalable, and Collaborative Content Management

Built on top of Django, Wagtail is a modern CMS that balances Django's framework robustness for developers with an intuitive admin interface for content editors. It’s designed to support collaboration across roles and departments, making it a powerful tool for organizations looking to streamline content management while maintaining technical rigor.

Robust Content Management Capabilities

Organizations should consider Wagtail it if they:

• Need a flexible, customizable platform for bespoke content-driven sites
• Need fine-grained content workflows and permissions
• Require features like hierarchical page structures and content scheduling
• Are looking for an efficient, scalable platform that can grow with traffic needs

User-Friendly Interface

Wagtail’s admin interface is intuitive and app-like, enabling non-technical users to create, manage, and publish content with ease. Content editors can handle everything from visibility settings to approval workflows without extensive training.

Page Tree and URL Management

Wagtail's page tree structure and URL management are similar to Plone's, making it easier for content editors to transition.

Rich Text Editing

Wagtail offers a powerful rich text editor with features like inline image insertion and customizable formatting options.

Essential Tips for Transitioning to Django and Wagtail

1. Opt for Django if you need a flexible web application framework with complete control over the backend, ideal for complex, custom applications.
2. Consider Wagtail if you prefer an opinionated solution that comes with strong content management tools right out of the box.
3. Expect performance improvements over Plone, especially for read-heavy sites, with easier optimization options.
4. Prepare for a different hosting strategy as you will need to adjust to a relational database setup, which requires some new considerations for hosting and scaling.
5. Plan for a learning curve as developers familiar with Plone and Python will need some time to adapt, but the transition is generally smooth. Many find Django and Wagtail easier to get started and work with than Plone.
6. Leverage community support and events: Both Django and Wagtail have active communities that offer frequent updates, extensive documentation, and rich resources. Attending events like DjangoCon, which draws about 400 attendees each year, and Wagtail Space provide valuable learning and networking opportunities for developers.
7. Try Scaf™, Six Feet Up’s project bootstrap tool, to kick-start your development journey and help you deploy a Django site on Kubernetes in minutes.

If your organization is considering exploring Django or Wagtail, we are happy to share our experience and provide assistance. Let’s talk.