CMS Migration & Replatforming
Everything about migrating between CMS platforms, replatforming strategies, and content migration best practices.
Start Here
New to CMS Migration & Replatforming? Start with these fundamentals.
How To Build A Business Case For CMS Migration
Build a CMS migration business case by quantifying the costs of your current CMS (hosting, maintenance, developer time, lost productivity), projecting the costs of migration and the new platform, and calculating expected benefits (faster time-to-publish, reduced maintenance, better performance, new capabilities). Include both hard costs (licensing, development) and soft costs (editor frustration, opportunity cost of slow delivery). Present ROI over a 3-year horizon to show long-term value.
IntermediateQuick AnswerHow To Calculate ROI Of CMS Migration
Calculate CMS migration ROI by comparing total cost of ownership (TCO) before and after migration over 3 years. Include direct costs (licensing, hosting, development) and indirect costs (maintenance hours, content team productivity, downtime losses). Factor in benefits like faster time-to-market, reduced developer maintenance, improved conversion rates from better performance, and new revenue from omnichannel capabilities. A typical formula: ROI = (Net Benefits minus Migration Cost) / Migration Cost x 100%.
IntermediateQuick AnswerHow Much Does A CMS Migration Cost?
CMS migration costs range from $5,000-$25,000 for small sites to $50,000-$500,000+ for enterprise migrations. Costs include platform licensing, development/agency fees for migration scripting and frontend rebuilds, content cleanup and restructuring, QA testing, and training. The biggest cost drivers are content volume, custom integration rebuilds, and whether you're also redesigning the frontend during migration.
BeginnerQuick AnswerHow To Handle Content Freeze During Migration
A content freeze is a period during CMS migration when editors stop making changes in the old CMS so the final migration captures all content. Keep the freeze as short as possible (ideally 1-3 days) by running multiple pre-migration rehearsals. Communicate the freeze schedule well in advance, have editors front-load urgent content updates, and consider a delta migration approach that only migrates changes since the last full migration to minimize freeze duration.
IntermediateQuick AnswerHow To Export Content From Drupal
Drupal content can be exported via JSON:API (enabled by default in Drupal 9+), the Views Data Export module for CSV/XML exports, the Migrate API for structured exports, or direct database queries. JSON:API is the most modern approach, providing access to all entity types with their fields and relationships. For complex sites with paragraphs, media entities, and custom field types, you may need to combine multiple export methods.
IntermediateQuick AnswerHow To Export Content From WordPress
WordPress offers several export methods: the built-in XML export (Tools to Export), the WP REST API for programmatic access, WP-CLI for command-line exports, and direct database queries for complex extractions. The built-in export works for basic posts and pages, but for custom post types, ACF fields, and WooCommerce data, the REST API or direct database access gives you more control and complete data.
BeginnerQuick AnswerHow Long Does A CMS Migration Take?
A CMS migration typically takes 4-16 weeks for small to mid-size sites, and 3-12 months for enterprise platforms. Key factors affecting timeline include content volume (hundreds vs. millions of pages), content complexity (custom fields, relationships, multilingual), number of integrations to rebuild, and team availability. Simple blog migrations can be done in days, while enterprise Sitecore or AEM migrations may take a year or more.
BeginnerQuick AnswerHow To Import Content Into A Headless CMS
Importing content into a headless CMS typically involves using the platform's management API or CLI tools to create documents programmatically. Prepare your content as JSON matching the target schema, write an import script that creates documents in batches (handling rate limits), upload media assets separately, and then link assets to their parent documents. Most headless CMS platforms support bulk operations for efficient large-scale imports.
IntermediateQuick AnswerHow To Migrate CMS Content Without Losing SEO
To preserve SEO during a CMS migration, create a complete URL map of all existing pages, implement 301 redirects for every changed URL, maintain your meta titles and descriptions, preserve internal linking structures, and submit an updated sitemap to Google Search Console. Monitor organic traffic closely for 4-8 weeks post-migration and fix any crawl errors immediately. Most sites see a temporary 10-20% traffic dip that recovers within 2-3 months.
IntermediateQuick AnswerHow To Migrate CMS Plugins And Extensions
CMS plugins and extensions don't migrate directly — you need to identify what each plugin does, determine if the new CMS has equivalent built-in functionality or plugins, and rebuild custom functionality where needed. Audit all active plugins, categorize them (SEO, forms, analytics, custom functionality), find equivalents in your new CMS ecosystem, and plan custom development for any gaps. Many legacy CMS plugins address limitations that modern headless CMS platforms solve natively.
AdvancedQuick AnswerHow To Migrate CMS Workflows And Permissions
Migrating CMS workflows and permissions requires documenting your current editorial workflows (draft to review to publish), user roles, and permission rules, then recreating them in your new CMS. Most workflow logic doesn't transfer automatically — you'll need to configure roles, define document-level permissions, and set up approval chains from scratch. Use the migration as an opportunity to simplify overly complex permission structures that accumulated over time.
AdvancedQuick AnswerHow To Migrate Content With Custom Fields
Migrating custom fields requires mapping each source field to a corresponding field in your new CMS schema. Export custom field data alongside your content, write transformation scripts to convert data types and formats (e.g., date formats, relationship IDs, select options), and validate that all field data imports correctly. Complex field types like repeaters, flexible content, and relationship fields often need special handling in your migration scripts.
IntermediateQuick Answer
CMS Migration Checklist
A CMS migration checklist should cover: pre-migration (content audit, stakeholder alignment, platform selection, content modeling), migration execution (data export, transformation scripts, media migration, URL mapping), testing (content verification, link checking, SEO validation, performance testing), and post-migration (redirects, monitoring, editor training, old system decommission). Having a structured checklist prevents costly oversights.
IntermediateQuick AnswerCMS Migration Project Plan Template
A CMS migration project plan should include these phases: Discovery (2-4 weeks: audit content, define requirements, select platform), Design (2-4 weeks: content modeling, schema design, frontend architecture), Build (4-8 weeks: migration scripts, frontend development, integration setup), Migrate (1-2 weeks: content import, media migration, redirect setup), Test (2-3 weeks: QA, UAT, performance testing), and Launch (1 week: cutover, monitoring, training). Assign owners to each phase and build in buffer time.
IntermediateQuick AnswerCMS Migration Risks And How To Avoid Them
The biggest CMS migration risks include SEO traffic loss from broken redirects, data loss from incomplete content mapping, extended downtime during cutover, scope creep from combining migration with redesign, and editor resistance to the new platform. Mitigate these by running migrations in a staging environment first, implementing comprehensive redirects, validating content completeness with automated checks, and involving editors early in the process.
IntermediateQuick Answer