What Are Migrations?
Migrations are about moving your content, users, media, and structure from one platform into another. This can mean:
- Migrating legacy Drupal sites (7, 8, 9, or 10) into Drupal 11.
- Moving from other CMSs like WordPress, Sitecore, Joomla, or custom-built systems.
- Extracting content directly from databases or APIs into Drupal.
We use Drupal’s Migrate API combined with custom migration scripts and plugins to make the process repeatable, safe, and testable.
Why This Matters
- Legacy platforms often reach end-of-life and stop receiving security support.
- Outdated sites can’t keep up with modern accessibility, performance, or compliance requirements.
- Manual migration (copy-paste, rekeying data) is time-consuming and error-prone.
- A scripted migration ensures data integrity, consistency, and accuracy.
- A migration is also a chance to streamline content models, remove legacy bloat, and modernise workflows.
What We Do
- Analyse your current platform and scope the migration.
- Map content types, fields, taxonomies, media, and users to their new home.
- Use Drupal’s Migrate API to build structured migrations.
- Write custom migration plugins when contrib support doesn’t exist.
- Handle complex cases like media libraries, multilingual content, or nested relationships.
- Validate migrated data with automated and manual checks.
- Provide rollback and re-run strategies for safe, iterative migrations.
Implementation Approach
- Audit – Review your existing platform for content, structure, and risks.
- Plan – Define destination architecture and migration mappings.
- Build – Develop migration scripts and test plugins.
- Run – Execute migrations iteratively with validation.
- Deploy – Launch into production with clean, tested data.
- Handover – Documentation and training for repeat runs.
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Who This Is For
- Organisations on Drupal 7 needing to move to Drupal 11.
- Teams wanting to migrate from non-Drupal CMSs like WordPress, Sitecore, or Joomla.
- Businesses moving from custom-built legacy platforms.
- Agencies inheriting old or unsupported sites.
Real Example
We migrated a government agency off a custom CMS into Drupal 10. The migration covered ~100,000 content items, a large media library, and 5,000 users. We built custom migration plugins for legacy formats and validated the migration in multiple test runs before cutover, ensuring clean data and minimal downtime.
FAQs
Can you migrate from non-Drupal sites?
Yes. We build migrations from WordPress, Sitecore, Joomla, or custom CMSs.
Can you migrate content only, or full sites?
We can do either. Content-only migrations are common, but we also handle users, media, and configuration.
Will our site look the same after migration?
Not necessarily — a migration focuses on moving your data. We can combine it with theming or redesign work if you need the same look or a new one.
How long does a migration take?
It depends on site size and complexity. Simple sites may take a few weeks, while large enterprise migrations may span several months.
Can we do the migration in stages?
Yes. We often break migrations into iterative runs — for example migrating content first, then users, then media. This reduces risk and gives you checkpoints.
What if some of our legacy data is messy or inconsistent?
We can clean and normalise content as part of the migration, so you don’t carry forward years of accumulated issues.
Do we need to freeze content while migrating?
Not at first. We run test migrations multiple times. Near launch, there’s usually a short “content freeze” window to sync final updates.