CMS migration services move a website from one content management system to another while keeping its content, structure and search visibility intact. Teams migrate because the old platform is out of support, too slow, too expensive in licenses, too hard for editors, or unable to feed the channels the business now needs. The risk is the same in every case: lost content, broken links and a drop in organic traffic that takes months to recover from.
We run CMS migrations as part of our CMS development services. As a CMS migration agency, we treat the move as a data project and an SEO project at the same time. Content is extracted, transformed and imported by script, every URL is mapped to its new address, and the new site is crawled and compared against the old one before launch. We built and run our own CMS, including its redirects, sitemaps and IndexNow pings, so we know where migrations usually lose information.
What Our CMS Migration Services Include
| Workstream | What we do | What it protects |
|---|---|---|
| Content inventory | Crawl the old site, export every content type, and list URLs, word counts, traffic and backlinks per page. | Nothing gets forgotten, and you can decide what to keep, merge or retire using data. |
| Content model | Design content types, fields and reusable blocks on the new CMS, based on what the old content actually contains. | Editors get structured fields instead of one large body field full of pasted HTML. |
| Scripted migration | Extract, transform and import content with scripts, including rich text conversion, image uploads, authors, categories and tags. | Repeatable runs, so we can re-import fresh content just before launch. |
| Media migration | Move images and files, keep alt text and captions, and rewrite references inside content. | No broken images or orphaned files after launch. |
| SEO metadata | Carry over titles, meta descriptions, canonicals, noindex settings, structured data and social images. | Rankings that depend on on-page signals. |
| Redirect map | A URL-by-URL 301 map from every old address to its closest new equivalent, tested before launch. | Backlinks, bookmarks and the rankings attached to old URLs. |
| Integrations | Reconnect forms, CRM, analytics, search and other tools on the new platform. | Lead flow and reporting continuity. |
| Launch and monitoring | Launch checklist, post-launch crawl, Search Console monitoring and fixes. | Problems are caught in days, not after a quarter of lost traffic. |
Our Content Migration Process, Step by Step
The timeline below fits a typical site of a few hundred to a thousand URLs. Small moves of under 200 pages often finish in two to three weeks, and multi-site or multi-language migrations take longer.
- Audit and inventory (week 1). We crawl the current site with Screaming Frog, export content through the CMS API or database, and pull traffic from GA4 and clicks from Search Console. Every URL gets a row in the inventory with its decision: keep, merge, rewrite or retire.
- Content model and URL plan (weeks 1 to 2). We design the new content types and agree on the URL structure. Where URLs can stay the same, they do, because unchanged URLs are the safest migration of all.
- Migration scripts (weeks 2 to 4). We write scripts that read from the old system and write to the new one, converting formats along the way. We run them against a staging copy, fix what breaks and run them again until the output is clean.
- Templates and front end (in parallel). If the move includes a new front end, it is built against the migrated content rather than sample data, so layout problems surface early.
- Quality checks (weeks 4 to 5). We spot check every content type, compare word counts and headings between old and new pages, crawl staging behind password protection and test every redirect in the map.
- Launch (one planned day). A final content freeze, a last script run to pick up recent edits, DNS or routing changes, redirects switched on, sitemaps submitted and analytics verified.
- Post-launch monitoring (weeks 1 to 8 after launch). Daily checks for the first week, then weekly: crawl errors, 404s with traffic or links, indexing changes and rankings for key pages.
CMS Migration SEO: Protecting Rankings During the Move
CMS migration SEO is about changing as little as possible that search engines rely on, and handling every unavoidable change explicitly. A migration can keep its rankings, but only when URLs, content, internal links and technical signals are carried across on purpose.
- Keep URLs where you can. If the new CMS supports your current URL patterns, use them. Every changed URL needs a 301 redirect and asks Google to transfer signals.
- Redirect to the closest match. Pointing every old URL at the home page is treated much like a 404. Each old page should redirect to its true replacement.
- Avoid chains. If old URLs already redirect, update those rules to point directly at the final destination.
- Carry content across intact. Headings, body text, images, alt text and internal links should match the old page unless you have decided to improve them.
- Keep structured data. Article, Product, FAQ and BreadcrumbList markup should be regenerated on the new templates and validated.
- Block staging properly. Use password protection on staging, not only a robots.txt rule, and remove any noindex or block at launch.
- Watch Search Console after launch. Page indexing and crawl stats reports show problems in days.
For the full list we work from, see our SEO migration checklist.
CMS Migration Checklist
Use this condensed CMS migration checklist to judge whether a migration plan is complete, whoever runs it.
Before the move
- Full crawl of the current site saved, including status codes, titles, canonicals and internal links.
- Benchmarks recorded: organic sessions, top landing pages, top queries and conversions.
- Backlink list exported so linked URLs get priority in the redirect map.
- Content inventory with a decision for every URL.
- Content model approved by the people who will edit it.
- Integrations, forms and tracking scripts listed.
During the move
- Migration scripts run against staging at least twice.
- Spot checks on every content type, including the oldest content.
- Redirect map complete and tested with a crawler.
- Staging password protected.
After launch
- Old URL list crawled to confirm every redirect resolves in one hop.
- XML sitemap submitted, robots.txt checked and noindex tags removed.
- GA4, Google Tag Manager and conversion events verified.
- Search Console checked daily for the first week.
What a Completed CMS Migration Delivers
- All agreed content live on the new CMS, structured in the new content model.
- A redirect map in a spreadsheet and live on the server or edge, with a test report.
- The migration scripts, so a later re-run or a second site can reuse the work.
- A before-and-after crawl comparison showing titles, headings, canonicals and status codes.
- Editor documentation and a training session on the new CMS.
- A post-launch report covering errors found and fixed and the traffic trend against the benchmark.
We do not promise that traffic will not dip, because Google needs time to process redirects and some movement is normal. What we measure is whether every URL is accounted for, whether 404s with traffic or backlinks are zero, and whether organic traffic tracks back toward its benchmark in the weeks after launch.
CMS Migration Pricing
CMS migrations are fixed price for defined scopes. A content move covers up to a few hundred pages with a redirect map, a full migration adds a content audit and new content model for up to a thousand URLs, and large or headless migrations start from a base price and are quoted after discovery. The main cost drivers are the number of URLs and content types, how messy the source content is (pasted HTML and shortcodes take longer to convert), the number of languages and sites, whether a new front end is included and how many integrations need rebuilding.
Content Move
$2,500 one-time
One-time, 50% upfront
- Up to 200 pages or posts moved between CMSs
- Images, authors, categories and tags carried over
- URL-by-URL 301 redirect map
- Metadata and schema kept
- Current design rebuilt on the new templates
- Delivered in 2 to 4 weeks
Full CMS Migration
$6,500 one-time
One-time, milestone billing
- Up to 1,000 URLs
- Content audit and new content model
- Scripted migration with spot checks on every content type
- New templates or refresh of your design
- Redirects, sitemap and Search Console handover
- Editor training
- 30 days of post-launch monitoring
Large or Headless Migration
From $14,000 project
Milestone billing
- 1,000+ URLs, multi-site or multi-language
- Move to a headless CMS with a Next.js front end
- Integrations rebuilt on the new platform
- Traffic and ranking comparison before and after
- 60 days of monitoring
- Add-on
- SEO-only migration support: see SEO and website migrations
All prices in USD. Need something different? Ask for a custom quote.
For a migration that does not fit these scopes, ask us for a custom quote and send us your current site URL.
Common CMS to CMS Migration Paths
| From | To | What to plan for |
|---|---|---|
| WordPress | Sanity, Strapi, Contentful or Storyblok | Converting Gutenberg blocks, shortcodes and page builder markup into structured fields, and rebuilding plugin features such as SEO fields and forms. |
| Drupal 7 | Drupal 10 or 11, or another CMS | Drupal 7 is past end of life, and moving to modern Drupal is effectively a rebuild using the Migrate API rather than an upgrade. |
| WordPress | Webflow | Webflow collection limits, CSV or API imports, and rich text that must fit Webflow's rich text element. |
| Wix or Squarespace | WordPress or a headless CMS | Limited export options, so content is often pulled by crawling, and fixed URL patterns that require redirects. |
| Custom or legacy CMS | A modern CMS | Reading straight from the database, decoding old formats and recreating features nobody documented. |
| Contentful | Sanity or Strapi | Mapping content types and references, and moving assets out of Contentful's CDN. |
Each platform has export and import tooling we use where it helps: the WordPress REST API and WXR exports, the Drupal Migrate API, the Contentful CLI, Sanity's NDJSON dataset import, Strapi's data transfer commands and the Webflow Data API.
Headless CMS Migration Services
A headless CMS migration changes two things at once: where content lives and how it is displayed. The content side needs more modeling work than a like-for-like move, because a headless CMS rewards structured content and punishes large blocks of pasted HTML. The front-end side means rebuilding templates in a framework such as Next.js, along with features the old CMS provided for free, including sitemaps, redirects, previews and SEO fields. We plan both together so the content model matches the components the front end needs. For the platform choice and build itself, see our headless CMS development page.
Ecommerce CMS Migration Services
Ecommerce CMS migrations carry more data types than content sites: products with variants, collections or categories, customers, order history, reviews, gift cards and discount codes. Each needs its own mapping, and some cannot move at all (customer passwords, for example, usually require a reset invite). Product and category URLs carry most of the organic revenue, so the redirect map gets extra attention. Moves to Shopify are handled by our Shopify migration team, and we coordinate the content side when blogs and landing pages move to a separate CMS.
Migration, Replatforming or Redesign?
| Project | What changes | When to choose it |
|---|---|---|
| Content migration | The CMS, with the design and URLs kept as close as possible. | The platform is the problem, and the site otherwise works. |
| Replatforming | The CMS and the front end, often the hosting too. | The technology is out of date and the front end cannot be reused. |
| Redesign | Design and structure, sometimes on the same CMS. | The site looks or converts poorly, but the platform is fine. |
Combining a migration with a full redesign is possible, but it doubles the number of things that can move rankings at once. Where the timeline allows, we migrate first and redesign after the new platform has settled. If a redesign is the main goal, see our website redesign services.
CMS Migration Mistakes That Cost Traffic
- Copying content by hand. Slow, inconsistent and impossible to re-run when editors keep publishing on the old site.
- Redirecting only the top pages. Long-tail pages and old URLs with backlinks quietly turn into 404s.
- Losing metadata. Titles and meta descriptions revert to defaults because nobody mapped the SEO plugin's fields.
- Dropping internal links. Links inside content still point to old URLs, or break during rich text conversion.
- Launching with staging settings. A sitewide noindex or blocked robots.txt goes live with the new site.
- Forgetting tracking. Analytics, conversion tags and consent settings are missing on launch day, so nobody can measure the impact.
- Removing old content during the move. Cutting pages is sometimes right, but it should be a decision based on traffic and links, not a side effect.
Why Choose 95 Solutions as Your CMS Migration Agency
- SEO and development in one team. The people writing migration scripts also own the redirect map and the post-launch search checks.
- We built our own CMS. Redirects, sitemaps, schema and IndexNow are features we wrote and run, so we know what a new platform must replicate.
- Senior-led. Mustafa reviews every migration plan, drawing on 11+ years in digital marketing and a BS in Computer Science.
- You keep everything. Scripts, redirect maps and content stay with you, and contracts are in USD from our US LLC.
Who Our CMS Migration Services Are For
A good fit
- Sites on a CMS that is out of support, such as Drupal 7, or on an abandoned custom system.
- Teams moving from WordPress or a legacy platform to a headless CMS.
- Businesses with meaningful organic traffic that cannot afford to lose it during the move.
- Organizations consolidating several sites into one CMS.
Probably not a fit
- A small site with a handful of pages, where rebuilding by hand on the new platform is cheaper.
- A move driven only by a wish for a new look, with no platform problem. A redesign is the better project.
- Teams that want to change platform, URLs, design and content strategy all in one launch with no staging period.
After the move, our CMS integration services reconnect the tools around your new platform, and our CMS maintenance plans keep it updated.