Optimizely for Software and Application Developers
Building intelligent digital experiences
Whether you're crafting new features, personalizing user journeys, or integrating complex systems, Optimizely empowers you to build, test, and deliver intelligent, data-driven applications.
As a software or application developer, Optimizely provides you with powerful tools for feature experimentation, customer data unification (ODP), seamless platform connectivity (OCP), and flexible content integration (CMS). It's all about enabling you to create innovative, high-performing, and personalized digital products.
Getting started
Your first steps with Optimizely
This section is for software and application developers new to Optimizely or just beginning their journey in building intelligent digital experiences. Here, you'll find foundational topics to help you integrate Optimizely's powerful tools into your projects and start building dynamic applications.
SDKs, APIs, and Graph
Explore how Optimizely's robust SDKs, comprehensive APIs, and the unified Optimizely Graph enable deep integration and customization. Learn to leverage these tools for seamless interaction with Optimizely products, fetching content, managing experiments, and extending platform capabilities.
CMS class libraries and APIs
Introduction to Optimizely Graph
Experimentation SDKs
Experimentation core concepts and datafiles
Grasp the fundamental building blocks: understand experiments, feature flags, and variations for server-side control. Learn how Optimizely's datafiles work, how they are updated, and how server-side SDKs use them to make real-time feature flag and experiment decisions.
Building data-driven applications
Discover how to integrate Optimizely Feature Experimentation into your application logic for feature rollouts and A/B tests. Learn to leverage Optimizely Data Platform (ODP) for basic customer data collection and Optimizely Connect Platform (OCP) for simple system integrations.
Server-side experimentation
Get started with ODP
OCP developer overview
Verify experiment and content setup
Learn essential debugging techniques and tools to ensure your initial Optimizely implementations are working correctly for both experiment loading and accurate content display.
Get started with Feature Experimentation
Experimentation implementation checklist
Ready to launch your first project?
You've verified your setup and are eager to see your work in action. This section provides the essential resources and guidance to help you kickstart your first Optimizely project, ensuring a smooth transition from setup to successful deployment.
Level up
Optimizing your Optimizely implementations
For software and application developers who have a solid grasp of Optimizely basics, this section delves into more advanced topics. Learn how to optimize your implementations, integrate with various backend frameworks, and leverage dynamic content and personalization features.
Experimentation and Integration
As you deepen your expertise, mastering feature experimentation best practices becomes crucial for reliable A/B testing and progressive delivery. This section also guides you through integrating various Optimizely products with your CMS, enabling a truly unified and data-driven digital experience platform.
Experimentation best practices: multiple SDKs
ODP + CMS integration
Performance and delivery
Optimize the delivery of your digital experiences through advanced caching and edge strategies for both Optimizely CMS (PaaS) and Feature Experimentation. These techniques minimize latency, reduce load on origin servers, and ensure fast, scalable content and feature delivery.
API design and data modeling
Design robust APIs and data models that consume flexible CMS content models and integrate seamlessly with experimentation data and customer profiles from ODP. Enhance modularity and reusability in your application services, including building custom connectors with OCP.
Build data-driven applications
Dive deeper into leveraging Optimizely Data Platform (ODP) for advanced customer segmentation and real-time data activation, and explore how Optimizely Connect Platform (OCP) empowers you to build robust, custom integrations that extend your application's capabilities and connect disparate systems.
Seamless DXP integration: Connecting Optimizely products
Unlock the full power of your Optimizely Digital Experience Platform by seamlessly integrating its core products. By connecting Optimizely CMS, Feature Experimentation, Optimizely Data Platform (ODP), and Optimizely Connect Platform (OCP), you can create a unified, intelligent ecosystem. This integration enables personalized content delivery driven by real-time customer data, dynamic feature rollouts, and automated workflows across your entire digital landscape.
Optimizely DXP overview
Integrating Optimizely with other platforms
Mastering Optimizely
Architectural excellence and innovation
This section is tailored for seasoned software and application developers and architects looking to maximize Optimizely's potential. Explore advanced architectural patterns, custom integrations, and strategies for delivering high-performing, scalable digital experiences.
Architecture scalable DXPs
Design complex, composable DXP architectures where Optimizely Feature Experimentation, ODP, OCP, and CMS are core components. This includes microservices, serverless functions, and cloud deployment strategies for highly scalable and resilient applications.
Extend with advanced APIs
Leverage the full power of Optimizely's Feature Experimentation, ODP, OCP, and CMS APIs and webhooks to build custom integrations, automate application workflows, and extend platform functionality for bespoke solutions.
Ensure global performance
Optimize for high traffic and multi-region deployments, ensuring robust performance for feature flag evaluation, customer data processing, and content delivery across a global audience. Implement strategies for low-latency data synchronization and application responsiveness.
Leverage unified data
Deeply integrate with Optimizely Data Platform (ODP) to leverage unified customer profiles for advanced personalization, segmentation, and analytics within your applications. Understand how data flows across the entire Optimizely DXP, including Optimizely Graph for content synchronization, to drive sophisticated application logic.
Validate your expertise: Get certified
You've mastered architectural excellence, seamless data integration, and leveraged Optimizely Graph to its full potential. Now, formalize your expertise and demonstrate your proficiency with official Optimizely certifications. These credentials validate your advanced skills in building robust and scalable digital experiences, opening doors to new opportunities in the world of DXP.
CMS (PaaS) certifications 
Experimentation certifications
ODP certifications
Staying current
Essential resources for Optimizely developers
In the fast-paced world of digital experience development, staying informed is key to success. This section provides critical resources to help you keep pace with Optimizely's evolution, anticipate future changes, and leverage the latest tools and features to their fullest potential.
Stay up-to-date with release notes
Keep track of the latest features, improvements, and bug fixes across all Optimizely products. Understanding release notes helps you leverage new capabilities and prepare for upcoming changes. View release notes: CMS (PaaS), Feature Experimentation, Optimizely Graph, Optimizely Opal
Influence the future with the product roadmap
Get a glimpse into Optimizely's strategic direction and upcoming innovations. The roadmap provides insights into planned features and helps you align your development efforts with future platform capabilities. Explore the roadmap
Additional resources for every stage
Here's a curated list of essential resources to support your journey with Optimizely, no matter your experience.
Developer docs
Your go-to source for comprehensive API references, SDK guides, and technical articles.
Optimizely World
Connect with other Optimizely developers, share insights, and find solutions in our vibrant community forums.
Slack / chat
Engage in real-time discussions, ask quick questions, and get support from peers and Optimizely experts.
Academy
Advance your skills with structured courses and certifications designed for Optimizely developers. Explore Academy courses
Support
Access direct assistance from Optimizely for technical issues and personalized help. Contact our support professionals