ICGN
Moved a global corporate governance network onto Drupal 10, on an AWS platform redesigned for a membership that never sleeps.
Read the case study: ICGN →
Contentful migration
Into Contentful from almost anything, scripted and rehearsed until cutover is routine. We move content into Contentful from Drupal, WordPress, Sitecore, Adobe Experience Manager and bespoke systems. Every migration is written as code: the same scripts run on staging and production, every change is reviewed, and the scripts are yours when we hand over. We never move content by clicking around in the interface.
Where you're starting from
- Drupal
- WordPress
- Sitecore
- AEM
- Bespoke
Where you go next is decided in the Blueprint. Sometimes the answer is to upgrade.
Which situation are you in?
Drupal or WordPress
From an open-source CMS
Drupal paragraphs, taxonomy, media and translations, or WordPress custom post types, ACF fields, Gutenberg blocks and WPML. Seventeen years of Drupal means we know where the content is really kept.
Field-level mapping into a model built for reuse.
Sitecore or AEM
From an enterprise DXP
Templates, datasources, presentation details, content fragments and the DAM unwound and remodelled, across several sites and locales where you have them.
Licence costs down, content structure kept.
Bespoke
From a custom system
A home-grown CMS, a MySQL or MongoDB database, or structured exports. If it has a schema we can query, we can map it.
Old data read for what it means, not what it is called.
What usually goes wrong, and how we stop it
Moving into Contentful goes wrong in predictable ways. Most of them come from treating the migration as a copy and paste job instead of a piece of software.
1
Fixes made in production
Problems patched by hand after go-live leave no source of truth. We fix the script and run it again, so staging and production never drift.
2
Rich text flattened
Contentful's rich text is not HTML. Every body field goes through a tested transformer, so formatting, embeds and links survive the move.
3
Broken internal links
Old links point at old IDs. Every reference is looked up and rewritten, and every old URL gets a redirect, tested before cutover.
4
Media left behind
Images, PDFs and video referenced from old paths are inventoried and moved as assets, so editors aren't finding gaps for months.
5
"It worked on staging"
The same scripts run on staging and production, repeatedly, until the final run holds no surprises.
6
Old structure carried over
"Port everything as it is" is the most expensive sentence in a migration. We use the move to fix the content model, not preserve its problems.
How a Contentful migration runs
Typically eight to twelve weeks for a mid-size site
- Source auditContent types, fields, media, redirects and integrations inventoried and risk-scored.
- Target modelThe Contentful content model designed, with migration scripts in version control.
- Mapping and scriptsA target for every field and a transformer for every rich text body, reviewed as code.
- RehearsalsFull runs against a staging environment, with counts and sample checks each time.
- CutoverA planned window, redirects live, editors trained and a rollback ready.
Migrations we've run
University of London Housing
Replaced the accommodation service's platform so students and landlords could find each other, and the team could run it themselves.
Read the case study: University of London Housing →Questions
If yours isn't here, it's usually quicker to ask on the phone.
Which systems can you migrate into Contentful?
Drupal 7 to 11, WordPress, Sitecore, Adobe Experience Manager, Umbraco, Kentico and bespoke databases. If the content can be queried, it can be mapped.
Will our content be frozen during the move?
Only for the final run and its checks. Because the scripts have been rehearsed against your real content, that is usually hours rather than days.
Do we own the migration scripts?
Yes. They live in your repository and are handed over with documentation, so your team can run, extend or audit them later.
Is Contentful the right choice for us?
It suits organisations publishing to several channels with a team that can own a front end. If you run one website and want a page builder, a traditional CMS may be simpler. A Blueprint answers that before you commit.
Who looks after Contentful once we are live?
WebsiteSupport.io, our sister company, if you want it. Or your own team, with the scripts, documentation and training we hand over.
After launch
Contentful support and maintenance →Already live? WebsiteSupport.io looks after it
Once a Contentful site is live, our sister company WebsiteSupport.io keeps it patched, monitored, hosted and improving.
Start with a Blueprint!
Three weeks, from £5,500 + VAT. Credited against the build, and yours to take to any supplier.