Adobe Experience Manager Sites (AEM)

Plan, build and run websites on Adobe Experience Manager Sites, connected to the systems behind them.

Overview

Adobe Experience Manager Sites consulting for Australian organisations

Adobe Experience Manager (AEM) Sites is Adobe's content management system for websites and other digital channels. Authors build pages from reusable components. Structured content is kept as Content Fragments, based on Content Fragment Models, and can be delivered headless to apps and other channels over AEM's GraphQL API. Content Fragments are stored in AEM Assets, so Sites and Assets work as one content platform.

Most new AEM Sites projects run on AEM as a Cloud Service. There, Adobe also offers Edge Delivery Services, a delivery framework built for page speed. Authors work in the Universal Editor, a what-you-see-is-what-you-get editor, or write pages as documents in Microsoft Word and SharePoint, or Google Drive. Adobe says Edge Delivery lets every developer reach a Lighthouse score of 100. Organisations still running AEM 6.5 on their own servers have a date to plan around: Adobe's core support for classic AEM 6.5 on premises ends on 28 February 2027.

Great Minds is a Sydney-based systems integrator, founded in 2009, that works in the gaps between platforms. We bring Adobe delivery experience to AEM Sites projects: designing the content model, building components and templates, moving content from an older CMS or AEM version, and connecting AEM to the CRM, DAM, PIM and commerce systems that feed it content and receive its leads. AI agents running on Claude and OpenAI models do repetitive work such as content inventories, mapping and migration checks. Our senior consultants own the design and sign off every release.

If AEM is one part of a wider content platform decision, our digital experience platform page covers how we compare and plan the options.

Capabilities

What we deliver on AEM Sites

Every AEM Sites engagement is scoped to where you're starting: a new site, a re-platform from another CMS, or an upgrade from AEM 6.5. These are the pieces most projects include.

01Site performance and edge deliveryWe design for Core Web Vitals from the first template. On Edge Delivery Services that means lean blocks and document-based authoring. On classic AEM it means caching, dispatcher rules and image renditions tuned to your traffic.

02Authoring and content modelsComponents, templates and Content Fragment Models that match how your marketers work, edited in the Universal Editor or as documents, with workflows and permissions for review and approval.

03Testing and personalisationExperiments and personalised variations with Adobe Target, measured against goals you agree up front, so changes to pages are decided by results rather than opinion.

04Headless and multi-channel deliveryStructured content delivered over AEM's GraphQL API to apps, single-page applications and partner sites, from the same source your website uses, so content is written once and reused.

How we deliver

An AEM Sites project, from content model to go-live

01Discover and audit

We inventory the current site: page types, components, content volume, integrations, and the traffic and search rankings that must be protected. We agree the target architecture (Edge Delivery Services, classic AEM, headless, or a mix) before any build starts.

02Design the content model

Content types, Content Fragment Models, components, templates, taxonomy and author roles. This is the decision that's hardest to change later, so we test it with your authors on real content before development.

03Build, migrate and integrate

Components and templates in short sprints, content migration with a redirect for every changed URL, and integrations with your CRM, DAM, PIM, search and analytics. AI agents do the bulk inventory, mapping and link checks; consultants review and approve them.

04Launch and hand over

Performance, accessibility and search checks before go-live, author training, and a staged cut-over. After launch we can support releases, or hand over to your platform team with full documentation.

Australian considerations

What Australian teams should check

Hosting region. On AEM as a Cloud Service, you choose an environment's primary region when you create it in Adobe Cloud Manager, and Adobe says the primary region can't be changed afterwards. Decide where content and form data should live before the first environment is set up, especially if you're an APRA-regulated entity working to CPS 234 and CPS 230.

Forms and personal information. Website forms collect personal information covered by the Privacy Act. We design forms to collect only what's needed and pass it straight to your CRM, rather than keeping copies in the CMS. If your site uses automated decisions that significantly affect people, privacy policies must say so from 10 December 2026; our guide to automated decisions and the Privacy Act explains the change.

FAQ

AEM Sites questions

Should we use Edge Delivery Services or classic AEM Sites?

It depends on the site. Edge Delivery Services suits marketing sites where page speed and quick authoring matter most. Classic AEM Sites, with its component and template model, suits sites with complex workflows, heavy integration, or existing AEM code you want to keep. We assess your content, integrations and team before recommending one.

We're on AEM 6.5. Do we have to move to the cloud?

Not straight away, but plan now. Adobe's core support for classic AEM 6.5 on premises runs until 28 February 2027, with extended support for critical fixes only until 28 February 2028, and service pack 26 is the last planned for classic 6.5. Adobe also offers AEM 6.5 LTS, the 6.5 branch that receives new features and supports Java 17 and 21. We compare upgrading to 6.5 LTS with moving to AEM as a Cloud Service, based on your code, integrations and hosting needs.

Can AEM Sites work with a DAM other than AEM Assets?

Yes. Great Minds connects Bynder to AEM Sites for organisations that use Bynder for brand management and AEM for web content, so each team works in the tool that suits it. Our comparison of AEM Assets and Bynder covers when each fits, and our AEM Assets page explains the Adobe option.

Can you migrate us from another CMS?

Yes. We inventory the existing content, map it to the new AEM content model, migrate it in bulk with automated checks, and redirect every URL that changes so search rankings carry across. Out-of-date content is flagged for review rather than copied across.

How long does an AEM Sites build take?

It depends on the number of templates and components, how much content moves, and the integrations. A focused marketing site takes weeks to a few months. A multi-brand or multi-language re-platform takes longer. We give you a scoped plan and price before work starts.

Can AEM Sites connect to our CRM and commerce platform?

Yes, and that's often where most of the value is. Forms can create leads in Salesforce or Dynamics 365, and product pages can draw on Adobe Commerce or another commerce platform. Our Adobe integration page covers the patterns we use.

Case studies