Drupal Migration Case Study

Migrating a website from one platform to another can be a stressful and uncertain time if it is not carefully planned and well executed. Whether it is migrating to Drupal from another platform like WordPress or upgrading to the latest version within the CMS, a good roadmap is necessary for smooth transition and minimal downtime.

Why migrate? There can be compelling reasons to upgrade a site, including adding functionality, and improving performance and security. Additionally, it provides the opportunity to review and refine content, and improve UI/UX design for a better user experience.

In this case study, our partner, a technology company, helps organizations manage computer security. The project required a site migration from Drupal 6 to Drupal 7 for which there was no automated migration path. The goal was to deliver just the minimum viable project to meet scope/quality, concrete deliverables, deadline and budget.

As usual, when we collaborate with a client for a migration project we begin by establishing objectives, and defining tasks, so that everyone is on the same page and resources can be allocated appropriately. The typical migration project consists of planning, preparing the site for migration, upgrading and testing. With the Drupal CMS there will platform-specific methodologies that need to be followed to ensure a trouble-free migration. Data handling in particular needs expert level attention.

Setting Objectives

In this instance, the minimum viable project required:

• Migrated main website and 8 microsites from Drupal 6 to Drupal 7
• All content and custom Content Types
• All files, including the online document repository
• All Users and Roles
• All Taxonomy terms
• All Views, including Views supporting per-page dynamic content based on keywords
• All custom Webforms
• Recreated and improved complex workflows needed by content managers and external partners
• Implemented complex role-based access control
• Customized SOLR search implementation in support of access control and workflow needs

• Implemented a fully responsive theme based on existing design
• Security improvements
• Expanded content manager tools to support:
• Extending the look and feel
• Link checking
• SEO impact evaluation

Biggest Challenges

• Rebuilding the site theme, so that there was very little or no change to the look and feel of the finished D7 site. This required a complete inventory of all the customized page layouts.
• Fully reimplementing the complex access control across the site, document repository and site search was the biggest challenge of the migration. The content management workflows required very fined grained control of both the access and the search index.

The completed project resulted in improvements in functionality, performance, usability, security, and mobile readiness, and positioned the company to maximize their website's potential as a sales channel.

When to Migrate?

The time to consider an upgrade is now, and if you are still not sure we can help with a quick evaluation, so you can make an informed decision. If Drupal is your choice, we can facilitate seamless migrations, including the just announced Drupal 8.

Contact us for a free consultation.