Scaling Page Builds Through CMS Migration

Overview

As a Product Designer at BMO, I played a key role in migrating public-facing pages from our old stack (legacy page builder) to a headless CMS (Contentful).

I helped define how pages were audited, categorized, and prioritized, enabling teams across multiple lines of business to scale page creation while improving consistency, reliability, and speed.

Problem

The legacy page builder created major constraints:

  • Pages required developer support to build and update

  • UX patterns were inconsistent across LOBs

  • Migration scope lacked structure and prioritization

Opportunity

Migrating to a headless CMS created an opportunity to:

  • Enable non-developers to build pages

  • Leverage a modular system for consistency

  • Improve speed, consistency, and accessibility

  • Increase reliability through structured, system-driven layouts

Process

Migration Strategy

I audited hundreds of pages across multiple LOBs and introduced a categorization system to guide migration:

Page Categories

  • Straight Migration
    Pages that aligned with existing modules
    No new development required

  • Requires Module Amendments
    Pages that fit the system with minor enhancements

  • Requires New Modules
    Net-new patterns that expanded system capabilities

This approach allowed us to:

  • Build a flexible and prioritized backlog

  • Identify low-effort, high-impact pages early

  • Balance speed with long-term scalability

System in Practice

I contributed to both building and evolving the system:

  • Designed new modules to support emerging needs

  • Amended existing modules to expand functionality

  • Ensured accessibility and consistency across all modules

This allowed the system to:

  • Support diverse use cases

  • Scale without breaking consistency

  • Continuously evolve with product needs

Solution

A module-based system within Contentful allowed teams to assemble pages without engineering support:

  • Pages are composed using reusable modules

  • Content is structured and managed through the CMS

  • UI patterns remain consistent across pages

This reduced the need for one-off implementations and created a predictable, repeatable way to build pages across teams.

Developer-dependent → System-enabled

Impact

  • Contributed to scaling Contentful adoption from 344 to 2,105+ live pages, reaching 54.3% migration and accelerating progress toward 100% migration by FY26

  • 40% of pages migrated, delivered two months ahead of the FY25 deadline

  • Enabled faster page creation across multiple lines of business through modular, CMS-driven workflows

  • Reduced reliance on developers by enabling designers and content authors to build pages using reusable modules

  • Improved consistency, reliability, accessibility, and performance across digital experiences

Reflection

This work reinforced the importance of designing not just pages, but systems and processes that enable teams to scale efficiently.

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