diff --git a/packages/astro/src/content/consts.ts b/packages/astro/src/content/consts.ts
index 10734426b471..269b5a27d09d 100644
--- a/packages/astro/src/content/consts.ts
+++ b/packages/astro/src/content/consts.ts
@@ -27,3 +27,5 @@ export const CONTENT_TYPES_FILE = 'types.d.ts';
 
 export const DATA_STORE_FILE = 'data-store.json';
 export const ASSET_IMPORTS_FILE = 'assets.mjs';
+
+export const CONTENT_LAYER_TYPE = 'experimental_content';
diff --git a/packages/astro/src/content/data-store.ts b/packages/astro/src/content/data-store.ts
index 6c9b5ff69128..720be732b50d 100644
--- a/packages/astro/src/content/data-store.ts
+++ b/packages/astro/src/content/data-store.ts
@@ -1,8 +1,8 @@
 import { promises as fs, type PathLike, existsSync } from 'fs';
-import { imageSrcToImportId, importIdToSymbolName } from '../assets/utils/resolveImports.js';
-import { AstroError, AstroErrorData } from '../core/errors/index.js';
 import type { MarkdownHeading } from '@astrojs/markdown-remark';
 import * as devalue from 'devalue';
+import { imageSrcToImportId, importIdToSymbolName } from '../assets/utils/resolveImports.js';
+import { AstroError, AstroErrorData } from '../core/errors/index.js';
 const SAVE_DEBOUNCE_MS = 500;
 
 export interface RenderedContent {
diff --git a/packages/astro/src/content/runtime.ts b/packages/astro/src/content/runtime.ts
index f609f7bbd59d..abb66fac312b 100644
--- a/packages/astro/src/content/runtime.ts
+++ b/packages/astro/src/content/runtime.ts
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ import pLimit from 'p-limit';
 import { ZodIssueCode, z } from 'zod';
 import type { GetImageResult, ImageMetadata } from '../@types/astro.js';
 import { imageSrcToImportId } from '../assets/utils/resolveImports.js';
-import { AstroError, AstroErrorData } from '../core/errors/index.js';
+import { AstroError, AstroErrorData, AstroUserError } from '../core/errors/index.js';
 import { prependForwardSlash } from '../core/path.js';
 import {
 	type AstroComponentFactory,
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ import {
 	render as serverRender,
 	unescapeHTML,
 } from '../runtime/server/index.js';
-import { IMAGE_IMPORT_PREFIX } from './consts.js';
+import { CONTENT_LAYER_TYPE, IMAGE_IMPORT_PREFIX } from './consts.js';
 import { type DataEntry, globalDataStore } from './data-store.js';
 import type { ContentLookupMap } from './utils.js';
 type LazyImport = () => Promise<any>;
@@ -26,6 +26,16 @@ type CollectionToEntryMap = Record<string, GlobResult>;
 type GetEntryImport = (collection: string, lookupId: string) => Promise<LazyImport>;
 
 export function defineCollection(config: any) {
+	if (
+		('loader' in config && config.type !== CONTENT_LAYER_TYPE) ||
+		(config.type === CONTENT_LAYER_TYPE && !('loader' in config))
+	) {
+		// TODO: when this moves out of experimental, we will set the type automatically
+		throw new AstroUserError(
+			'Collections that use the content layer must have a `loader` defined and `type` set to `experimental_content`',
+			"Check your collection definitions in `src/content/config.*`.'"
+		);
+	}
 	if (!config.type) config.type = 'content';
 	return config;
 }
@@ -62,7 +72,7 @@ export function createGetCollection({
 }) {
 	return async function getCollection(collection: string, filter?: (entry: any) => unknown) {
 		const store = await globalDataStore.get();
-		let type: 'content' | 'data' | 'experimental_data' | 'experimental_content';
+		let type: 'content' | 'data';
 		if (collection in contentCollectionToEntryMap) {
 			type = 'content';
 		} else if (collection in dataCollectionToEntryMap) {
@@ -80,7 +90,6 @@ export function createGetCollection({
 					...entry,
 					data,
 					collection,
-					render: () => renderEntry(entry),
 				});
 			}
 			return result;
@@ -167,7 +176,6 @@ export function createGetEntryBySlug({
 			return {
 				...entry,
 				collection,
-				render: () => renderEntry(entry),
 			};
 		}
 		if (!collectionNames.has(collection)) {
@@ -201,7 +209,10 @@ export function createGetEntryBySlug({
 export function createGetDataEntryById({
 	getEntryImport,
 	collectionNames,
-}: { getEntryImport: GetEntryImport; collectionNames: Set<string> }) {
+}: {
+	getEntryImport: GetEntryImport;
+	collectionNames: Set<string>;
+}) {
 	return async function getDataEntryById(collection: string, id: string) {
 		const store = await globalDataStore.get();
 
@@ -307,7 +318,6 @@ export function createGetEntry({
 			return {
 				...entry,
 				collection,
-				render: () => renderEntry(entry),
 			} as DataEntryResult | ContentEntryResult;
 		}
 
@@ -433,7 +443,14 @@ function updateImageReferencesInData<T extends Record<string, unknown>>(
 	});
 }
 
-async function renderEntry(entry?: DataEntry) {
+export async function renderEntry(
+	entry: DataEntry | { render: () => Promise<{ Content: AstroComponentFactory }> }
+) {
+	if (entry && 'render' in entry) {
+		// This is an old content collection entry, so we use its render method
+		return entry.render();
+	}
+
 	const html =
 		entry?.rendered?.metadata?.imagePaths?.length && entry.filePath
 			? await updateImageReferencesInBody(entry.rendered.html, entry.filePath)
diff --git a/packages/astro/src/content/sync.ts b/packages/astro/src/content/sync.ts
index 5d5c669fce2f..21c5e1b53367 100644
--- a/packages/astro/src/content/sync.ts
+++ b/packages/astro/src/content/sync.ts
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ import type { FSWatcher } from 'vite';
 import xxhash from 'xxhash-wasm';
 import type { AstroSettings } from '../@types/astro.js';
 import type { Logger } from '../core/logger/core.js';
-import { ASSET_IMPORTS_FILE, DATA_STORE_FILE } from './consts.js';
+import { ASSET_IMPORTS_FILE, CONTENT_LAYER_TYPE, DATA_STORE_FILE } from './consts.js';
 import type { DataStore } from './data-store.js';
 import type { LoaderContext } from './loaders/types.js';
 import { getEntryDataAndImages, globalContentConfigObserver, posixRelative } from './utils.js';
@@ -49,7 +49,7 @@ export async function syncContentLayer({
 
 	await Promise.all(
 		Object.entries(contentConfig.config.collections).map(async ([name, collection]) => {
-			if (collection.type !== 'experimental_data' && collection.type !== 'experimental_content') {
+			if (collection.type !== CONTENT_LAYER_TYPE) {
 				return;
 			}
 
diff --git a/packages/astro/src/content/types-generator.ts b/packages/astro/src/content/types-generator.ts
index 7398290db42e..07df4192efab 100644
--- a/packages/astro/src/content/types-generator.ts
+++ b/packages/astro/src/content/types-generator.ts
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ import { AstroError } from '../core/errors/errors.js';
 import { AstroErrorData } from '../core/errors/index.js';
 import type { Logger } from '../core/logger/core.js';
 import { isRelativePath } from '../core/path.js';
+import { CONTENT_LAYER_TYPE } from './consts.js';
 import { CONTENT_TYPES_FILE, VIRTUAL_MODULE_ID } from './consts.js';
 import {
 	type ContentConfig,
@@ -45,7 +46,7 @@ type CollectionEntryMap = {
 				entries: Record<string, ContentEntryMetadata>;
 		  }
 		| {
-				type: 'data' | 'experimental_content' | 'experimental_data';
+				type: 'data' | typeof CONTENT_LAYER_TYPE;
 				entries: Record<string, DataEntryMetadata>;
 		  };
 };
@@ -366,7 +367,7 @@ async function typeForCollection<T extends keyof ContentConfig['collections']>(
 	}
 
 	if (
-		(collection?.type === 'experimental_data' || collection?.type === 'experimental_content') &&
+		collection?.type === CONTENT_LAYER_TYPE &&
 		typeof collection.loader === 'object' &&
 		collection.loader.schema
 	) {
@@ -426,8 +427,7 @@ async function writeContentFiles({
 		if (
 			collectionConfig?.type &&
 			collection.type !== 'unknown' &&
-			collectionConfig.type !== 'experimental_data' &&
-			collectionConfig.type !== 'experimental_content' &&
+			collectionConfig.type !== CONTENT_LAYER_TYPE &&
 			collection.type !== collectionConfig.type
 		) {
 			viteServer.hot.send({
@@ -450,7 +450,7 @@ async function writeContentFiles({
 			});
 			return;
 		}
-		const resolvedType: 'content' | 'data' | 'experimental_data' | 'experimental_content' =
+		const resolvedType =
 			collection.type === 'unknown'
 				? // Add empty / unknown collections to the data type map by default
 					// This ensures `getCollection('empty-collection')` doesn't raise a type error
@@ -477,11 +477,8 @@ async function writeContentFiles({
 				}
 				contentTypesStr += `};\n`;
 				break;
-			case 'experimental_data':
-				dataTypesStr += `${collectionKey}: Record<string, {\n  id: string;\n  collection: ${collectionKey};\n  data: ${dataType};\n}>;\n`;
-				break;
-			case 'experimental_content':
-				dataTypesStr += `${collectionKey}: Record<string, {\n  id: string;\n  collection: ${collectionKey};\n  data: ${dataType};\n  render(): Promise<ContentLayerRenderer>;\n  rendered?: RenderedContent \n}>;\n`;
+			case CONTENT_LAYER_TYPE:
+				dataTypesStr += `${collectionKey}: Record<string, {\n  id: string;\n  collection: ${collectionKey};\n  data: ${dataType};\n  rendered?: RenderedContent \n}>;\n`;
 				break;
 			case 'data':
 				if (collectionEntryKeys.length === 0) {
diff --git a/packages/astro/src/content/utils.ts b/packages/astro/src/content/utils.ts
index 1d153cdc9901..ce83b4e01dd2 100644
--- a/packages/astro/src/content/utils.ts
+++ b/packages/astro/src/content/utils.ts
@@ -15,7 +15,12 @@ import type {
 import { AstroError, AstroErrorData, MarkdownError, errorMap } from '../core/errors/index.js';
 import { isYAMLException } from '../core/errors/utils.js';
 import type { Logger } from '../core/logger/core.js';
-import { CONTENT_FLAGS, IMAGE_IMPORT_PREFIX, PROPAGATED_ASSET_FLAG } from './consts.js';
+import {
+	CONTENT_FLAGS,
+	CONTENT_LAYER_TYPE,
+	IMAGE_IMPORT_PREFIX,
+	PROPAGATED_ASSET_FLAG,
+} from './consts.js';
 import { createImage } from './runtime-assets.js';
 /**
  * Amap from a collection + slug to the local file path.
@@ -36,7 +41,7 @@ export const collectionConfigParser = z.union([
 		schema: z.any().optional(),
 	}),
 	z.object({
-		type: z.union([z.literal('experimental_data'), z.literal('experimental_content')]),
+		type: z.literal(CONTENT_LAYER_TYPE),
 		schema: z.any().optional(),
 		loader: z.union([
 			z.function().returns(
@@ -135,11 +140,7 @@ export async function getEntryDataAndImages<
 	pluginContext?: PluginContext
 ): Promise<{ data: TOutputData; imageImports: Array<string> }> {
 	let data: TOutputData;
-	if (
-		collectionConfig.type === 'data' ||
-		collectionConfig.type === 'experimental_data' ||
-		collectionConfig.type === 'experimental_content'
-	) {
+	if (collectionConfig.type === 'data' || collectionConfig.type === CONTENT_LAYER_TYPE) {
 		data = entry.unvalidatedData as TOutputData;
 	} else {
 		const { slug, ...unvalidatedData } = entry.unvalidatedData;
@@ -155,10 +156,7 @@ export async function getEntryDataAndImages<
 			schema = schema({
 				image: createImage(pluginContext, shouldEmitFile, entry._internal.filePath),
 			});
-		} else if (
-			collectionConfig.type === 'experimental_data' ||
-			collectionConfig.type === 'experimental_content'
-		) {
+		} else if (collectionConfig.type === CONTENT_LAYER_TYPE) {
 			schema = schema({
 				image: () =>
 					z.string().transform((val) => {
diff --git a/packages/astro/src/core/dev/dev.ts b/packages/astro/src/core/dev/dev.ts
index df77de800fe6..453f1cf0c7c9 100644
--- a/packages/astro/src/core/dev/dev.ts
+++ b/packages/astro/src/core/dev/dev.ts
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ import { performance } from 'perf_hooks';
 import { gt, major, minor, patch } from 'semver';
 import type * as vite from 'vite';
 import type { AstroInlineConfig } from '../../@types/astro.js';
+import { DATA_STORE_FILE } from '../../content/consts.js';
 import { DataStore, globalDataStore } from '../../content/data-store.js';
 import { attachContentServerListeners } from '../../content/index.js';
 import { syncContentLayer } from '../../content/sync.js';
@@ -19,7 +20,6 @@ import {
 	fetchLatestAstroVersion,
 	shouldCheckForUpdates,
 } from './update-check.js';
-import { DATA_STORE_FILE } from '../../content/consts.js';
 
 export interface DevServer {
 	address: AddressInfo;
diff --git a/packages/astro/src/core/sync/index.ts b/packages/astro/src/core/sync/index.ts
index 46fc74bb8fdb..bfd0467ae2c8 100644
--- a/packages/astro/src/core/sync/index.ts
+++ b/packages/astro/src/core/sync/index.ts
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ import { dim } from 'kleur/colors';
 import { type HMRPayload, createServer } from 'vite';
 import type { AstroConfig, AstroInlineConfig, AstroSettings } from '../../@types/astro.js';
 import { getPackage } from '../../cli/install-package.js';
+import { DATA_STORE_FILE } from '../../content/consts.js';
 import { DataStore, globalDataStore } from '../../content/data-store.js';
 import { createContentTypesGenerator } from '../../content/index.js';
 import { syncContentLayer } from '../../content/sync.js';
@@ -30,7 +31,6 @@ import type { Logger } from '../logger/core.js';
 import { formatErrorMessage } from '../messages.js';
 import { ensureProcessNodeEnv } from '../util.js';
 import { setUpEnvTs } from './setup-env-ts.js';
-import { DATA_STORE_FILE } from '../../content/consts.js';
 
 export type SyncOptions = {
 	/**
diff --git a/packages/astro/templates/content/module.mjs b/packages/astro/templates/content/module.mjs
index b7afc9433978..2d395db49541 100644
--- a/packages/astro/templates/content/module.mjs
+++ b/packages/astro/templates/content/module.mjs
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ import {
 	createReference,
 } from 'astro/content/runtime';
 
-export { defineCollection } from 'astro/content/runtime';
+export { defineCollection, renderEntry as render } from 'astro/content/runtime';
 export { z } from 'astro/zod';
 
 const contentDir = '@@CONTENT_DIR@@';
diff --git a/packages/astro/templates/content/types.d.ts b/packages/astro/templates/content/types.d.ts
index 04e7cc28998c..8fa4d8cf318c 100644
--- a/packages/astro/templates/content/types.d.ts
+++ b/packages/astro/templates/content/types.d.ts
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ declare module 'astro:content' {
 			remarkPluginFrontmatter: Record<string, any>;
 		}>;
 	}
-	interface ContentLayerRenderer {
+	interface ContentLayerRenderResult {
 		Content: import('astro/runtime/server/index.js').AstroComponentFactory;
 	}
 
@@ -109,6 +109,10 @@ declare module 'astro:content' {
 		}[]
 	): Promise<CollectionEntry<C>[]>;
 
+	export function render<C extends keyof AnyEntryMap>(
+		entry: AnyEntryMap[C][string]
+	): Promise<ContentLayerRenderResult>;
+
 	export function reference<C extends keyof AnyEntryMap>(
 		collection: C
 	): import('astro/zod').ZodEffects<
diff --git a/packages/astro/test/content-layer.test.js b/packages/astro/test/content-layer.test.js
index 95960cd11921..a98ea7e238bd 100644
--- a/packages/astro/test/content-layer.test.js
+++ b/packages/astro/test/content-layer.test.js
@@ -3,8 +3,8 @@ import { promises as fs } from 'node:fs';
 import { sep } from 'node:path';
 import { sep as posixSep } from 'node:path/posix';
 import { after, before, describe, it } from 'node:test';
-import { loadFixture } from './test-utils.js';
 import * as devalue from 'devalue';
+import { loadFixture } from './test-utils.js';
 describe('Content Layer', () => {
 	/** @type {import("./test-utils.js").Fixture} */
 	let fixture;
diff --git a/packages/astro/test/fixtures/content-layer/src/content/config.ts b/packages/astro/test/fixtures/content-layer/src/content/config.ts
index 1f89603ecdc1..d1c51d3ff82f 100644
--- a/packages/astro/test/fixtures/content-layer/src/content/config.ts
+++ b/packages/astro/test/fixtures/content-layer/src/content/config.ts
@@ -4,12 +4,12 @@ import { loader } from '../loaders/post-loader.js';
 import { fileURLToPath } from 'node:url';
 
 const blog = defineCollection({
-	type: 'experimental_data',
+	type: 'experimental_content',
 	loader: loader({ url: 'https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/posts' }),
 });
 
 const dogs = defineCollection({
-	type: 'experimental_data',
+	type: 'experimental_content',
 	loader: file('src/data/dogs.json'),
 	schema: z.object({
 		breed: z.string(),
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ const dogs = defineCollection({
 });
 
 const cats = defineCollection({
-	type: 'experimental_data',
+	type: 'experimental_content',
 	loader: async function () {
 		return [
 			{
@@ -92,7 +92,7 @@ const numbers = defineCollection({
 });
 
 const increment = defineCollection({
-	type: 'experimental_data',
+	type: 'experimental_content',
 	loader: {
 		name: 'increment-loader',
 		load: async ({ store }) => {
diff --git a/packages/astro/test/fixtures/content-layer/src/pages/spacecraft/[slug].astro b/packages/astro/test/fixtures/content-layer/src/pages/spacecraft/[slug].astro
index 4df64a395f45..b380a03c37ea 100644
--- a/packages/astro/test/fixtures/content-layer/src/pages/spacecraft/[slug].astro
+++ b/packages/astro/test/fixtures/content-layer/src/pages/spacecraft/[slug].astro
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 ---
 import type { GetStaticPaths } from "astro";
-import { getCollection, getEntry } from "astro:content"
+import { getCollection, getEntry, render } from "astro:content"
 import { Image } from "astro:assets"
 
 export const getStaticPaths = (async () => {
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ export const getStaticPaths = (async () => {
 const { craft } = Astro.props as any
 
 let cat = craft.data.cat ? await getEntry(craft.data.cat) : undefined
-const { Content } = await craft.render()
+const { Content } = await render(craft)
 
 ---
 <meta charset="utf-8">
diff --git a/packages/astro/types/content.d.ts b/packages/astro/types/content.d.ts
index b927e93fd03b..80ce804db0ab 100644
--- a/packages/astro/types/content.d.ts
+++ b/packages/astro/types/content.d.ts
@@ -58,7 +58,7 @@ declare module 'astro:content' {
 	export type SchemaContext = { image: ImageFunction };
 
 	type ContentLayerConfig<S extends BaseSchema, TData extends { id: string } = { id: string }> = {
-		type: 'experimental_data' | 'experimental_content';
+		type: 'experimental_content';
 		schema?: S | ((context: SchemaContext) => S);
 		loader: import('astro/loaders').Loader | (() => Array<TData> | Promise<Array<TData>>);
 	};