Covering Disruptive Technology Powering Business in The Digital Age

Written By: Kathryn Grayson, Developer Advocate, Progress

If 2024 is the year you finally resolve to migrating off that old, outdated content management system (CMS) that has been slowing you down, then we are here for it!

Kathryn Grayson, Developer Advocate, Progress

However, beware! Committing to it is only the first step. For CMS migration to succeed these five things are crucial as your organisation enters into this new chapter.

1.  Consider your team’s needs and experience, not what is new and trendy.

Like with anything else, when shopping around for a new CMS, it is easy to be dazzled by all the upgrades new solutions have in contrast to your current setup. However, your CMS is dependent on the team you have at your disposal. If they do not have the skillset or need for a complex, super-powerful system, all that tech may just impede rather than empower.

A headless CMS is a great fit for companies with full development teams that need flexibility. That said, the technical intricacy can shut out non-technical users who just need to make simple content adjustments. So, organisations must not forget that as the power of any tool increases, so does its complexity, which can limit the pool of employees who can capably use the CMS.

In addition to considering the cutting-edge tech that a CMS can offer, ease of implementation, the breadth and depth of learning required, as well as speed of use will all create a far larger return on investment than the newest, trendiest feature.

2.  Rope in technical experts who “get” your legacy CMS.

Even if you are working with an external CMS migration team, having someone who knows the ins and outs of your current CMS setup will make the ride smoother. By minimising reverse-engineering the team is doing, your migration can be significantly less time-consuming and mired in friction.

Moreover, that technical expert can answer questions about your current setup, explain the minutiae of various integrations, and clarify to the team how you use the CMS—as well as how your users use the website! The result is an end product configured to prioritise your specific CMS needs and goals.

3.  Connections to external systems must be meticulously documented during CMS migration.

From helping streamline work to connecting disparate systems, third-party integrations are typically among the most highly valuable aspects of your CMS. But because every CMS handles external connections uniquely, perhaps it should not surprise that they can also be some of the most challenging aspects of a CMS to migrate successfully.

The more external system connections you have, the more complex and challenging a migration will be. Detailed documentation of how each third-party integration is configured with your current CMS will streamline things and significantly ease the migration process.

4.  Be realistic about deadlines.

A looming CMS migration deadline can really make any endeavour unpleasant, and this is true with CMS migrations, too. It is best to ensure that everyone on the team and all stakeholders have realistic expectations. The first thing to get consensus on is that this process is not going to be fast, and generally takes months – or even years depending on size and complexity of the site.

Though there is a new, more able CMS at the end of the process, it does not make it any less challenging to stay grounded amid the migration process. Bumps in the road or minor setbacks are inevitable, so the sooner you accept that even the best-laid plans will not be able to account for all the uncertainties the smoother this whole process will be.

5.  CMS migration tools do not help with custom features.

We all want to have a hands-off CMS migration experience, but as enticing as that might be, that’s never quite the case. Though wonderful for moving data and content, these tools can’t simply “copy and paste” any custom functionality in your CMS.

If you are aware of a custom feature created specifically for your site, make sure to factor in extra time for that to be rebuilt in your new CMS. Be sure to also have that technical expert ready to explain the intricacies of how it works and what it needs to do.

A Final Word on CMS Migration

There are  no two ways about it, a new CMS is going to be a learning curve. You will have to relearn a lot of the things that were second nature in your old setup.

One certain thing about CMS migration is that it will take a little bit of time and practice to get back to operating like you used to before. Be open to that breaking-in period—not least because you have a new CMS, but also because you will be richer for not confining yourself to how things used to be. You will have a far more successful and enjoyable experience if you come in ready to learn, grow and embrace all the possibilities on offer!

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