How to Migrate From Drupal to WordPress?

The open source Drupal and WordPress are two of the most in-demand content management systems used for building websites. Both have their pros and cons, and many site owners debate between using one or the other.

In recent years, WP has pulled ahead in popularity and market share, now powering over 40% of all websites. With its momentum only growing stronger, many website owners are considering migrating to WP.

However, transitioning a site takes planning and effort to successfully move all your content and functionality over. In this guide, we’ll explore the Drupal to WordPress migration process in-depth.

Why Migrate Drupal Site to WordPress?

Before diving into the details of how to migrate from Drupal to WordPress, let’s look at a few of the key reasons why you may want to make the switch:

Lower learning curve	Better extensibility	Larger community
It’s easier for beginners to learn compared to the more developer-centric Drupal.	It offers thousands of plugins to add functionality versus the limited extensions of the other platform.	The leading WP has a vastly larger user base and support community.

SEO advantages	Easier content publishing	Lower cost
Many consider WP better for SEO out of the box. Our developers prove it for every project by providing WordPress SEO services.	WordPress makes it simpler for non-technical users to publish and manage content.	Hosting and development costs are typically lower compared to Drupal.

For site owners frustrated with Drupal’s complexity, WordPress offers an appealing alternative that’s easier to use all around.

How to Prepare for a Drupal to WP Migration

Careful planning and preparation are crucial before you dive into actually migrating. Here are some key steps to take to get ready:

Back Up Your Drupal Site	Inventory Your Site’s Content
First and foremost, fully back up your original website. This gives you a way to restore your original web resource if anything goes wrong during the migration. Use the Drupal Backup and Migrate module or another backup option. You can also find out how to hire CMS developers and avoid all the mistakes of the transition.	Take stock of all the content you’ll need to migrate, including posts, pages, images, files, menus, taxonomies, users, comments, and custom content types. This helps identify what needs to be moved.

Document Your Site Functionality	Create a Migration Plan
Make a list of the key plugins, modules, themes, custom code, and other functionality powering your website. These will need WP counterparts.	Map out all the major steps and tasks concerning Drupal to WordPress content migration, database transition, files, and functionality from one CMS to the other.

Set Up Staging Environments	Pick Your New WP Host
Build temporary staging sites to test the migration process before touching your live resources and data.	Choose a high-quality managed host for optimal performance, security, and scalability. Don’t forget to include your hosting budget in the plan.

Thoroughly prepare and plan, making sure your WP migration goes as smoothly as possible when it’s time to execute.

Data Migration Elements to Keep in Mind

The most complex and time-consuming part of switching is moving all the actual information:

Posts and Pages

Drupal nodes become posts and pages in WP. You can migrate these manually or using plugins like CMS2CMS. Retain post statuses, metadata, tags, and categories.

Media Files

Upload all media, such as images, videos, and documents, from your original site’s file directories to the WP’s media library. Update references in content.

Taxonomies

Drupal vocabularies and terms can be migrated to WordPress taxonomies and terms. This retains categories, tags, etc.

Menus

The two platforms store menus differently, so they require manual migration. Recreate menus and menu items in WP.

Users

You’ll want to migrate original user accounts, roles, and permissions to matching WP counterparts, either manually or with a plugin.

With care, you can successfully migrate all your core content between the systems.

Migrating Functionality from Drupal to WordPress

In addition to data, you also need to migrate all the functionality that powers the original website over to WP:

Plugins/Modules

Identify which plugins provide analogous functionality to your initial modules. Install and configure these.

Themes

You can convert original themes to work in WP or install a new theme and customize it to match. You can also have a pro designer create a unique theme for you, but this will impact how much does a WordPress site cost.

Custom Code

Any custom PHP, CSS, or JavaScript will need to be manually ported over to work alongside WP themes and plugins.

Configuration

Specific functionality configurations will need to be recreated or replaced with similar plugins.

Workflows

Understand how key workflows occur on the old website and determine how to replicate them within WP architecture.

Recreating all your complex site functionality takes effort. But with research and testing, it can be done.

Database Migration and Setup for Drupal to WordPress

Migrating your database to WordPress involves a few steps:

1. Use phpMyAdmin or a tool like WP DB Migrate to export your database.
2. Create a new, empty WP database on your host to import the old database into.
3. Use a database tool to import the Drupal DB into WP, adjusting table prefixes and data types.
4. Install the Search Regex plugin. Run regex find/replace queries to update references to the original tables and data to their WP equivalents.
5. Test and debug data issues. You may need to run additional regex replacements to fix conflicts.

With care, your old database can be adjusted to function properly from within WordPress’ schema and environment. It’s a complicated process, and we suggest you hire a pro to deal with it.

What Tech Stack Needed to Implement the Transfer

Here are the key skills and resources needed when migrating:

Experienced developers	Staging sites	Migrate DB Pro
Knowledge of both CMS platforms simplifies migration issues. Find out how to hire WordPress programmer or hire Drupal developer.	Staging environments allow for migration testing without risk.	The knowledge of this plugin helps transfer the database from one platform to another.

Custom migration scripts	New WordPress theme	Testing and QA
Scripts written to migrate some highly customized data are a must.	A custom theme to match the original aesthetics.	Extensive testing skills help uncover data inconsistencies missed during migration.

Having both the technical expertise and converter tools from the transition, as well as having talented WP developers on your team, you’ll transfer Drupal to WordPress successfully.

Step-by-Step Drupal to WordPress Transition Based on ProCoders Experience

How to migrate Drupal to WordPress? We can only provide the general steps as every project is unique and needs an individual approach.

Based on our experience with Drupal to WordPress import, here is an end-to-end step-by-step process:

1. Document everything about your old site: plugins, custom code, content types, etc.
2. Set up local instances to test the migration.
3. Fully back up your Drupal site for safety; copy or download all the essential files.
4. Choose a managed WP host and pick a domain name.
5. On WordPress, install the plugins needed to replace your Drupal functionality.
6. Design a custom WP theme matching your old design.
7. Using a tool like CMS2CMS, convert Drupal to WordPress in terms of content – blog articles, pages, etc.
8. Export your initial database and import it into a new one on your host.
9. Use Search Regex and custom scripts to update old database references to the new platform.
10. Migrate users, roles, permissions, and other database-related data.
11. Update DNS records to point your domain to the new host.
12. 301 redirect old URLs to the new ones to retain SEO.
13. Test everything thoroughly on staging before launching live.
14. Go live and monitor closely for any migration issues!

With this approach, the migration process is streamlined while minimizing downtime and risks.

How to Optimize and Set Up Your New WordPress Website After Migration

Congratulations, your migration is complete! Here are some next steps to optimize your newly migrated WP site:

• Continue configuring settings like permalinks for optimal SEO.
• Refine your site navigation and menus for ease of use.
• Set up Google Analytics and integrate with WordPress to track site traffic.
• Install additional plugins to add desired functionality.
• Make updates and enhancements to your theme’s design.
• Create redirects for any remaining orphaned old URLs.
• Build out your internal linking structure to boost SEO.
• Create new site content, blog posts, and pages to grow your site.
• Configure caching via hosts and plugins to improve site speed.
• Submit XML sitemaps to search engines for better indexing.

Take the time to optimize and enhance your new site to reap the full benefits of converting Drupal to WordPress.

How ProCoders Can Help Convert Your Website from Drupal to WordPress

If migrating from Drupal to WordPress seems complex, our developers can handle the process for you. 

Choosing ProCoders means opting for over 9 years of experience in software development, working with only middle and senior engineers that we hire full-time, and receiving full-cycle tech support. All candidates go through a 4-stage interview process and we pay them WordPress developer salary each month, so it’s only fair that we hire the best possible talent!

Our team has extensive experience tackling complex Drupal to WP migrations. Here’s how we can help:

• Our pros can help map your existing site architecture and functionality.
• We can fully migrate your database, content, media, taxonomies, and more to the new platform.
• Our developers will either convert your old theme to WP or build you an all-new custom one.
• We’ll identify and implement the proper plugins needed to recreate functionality.
• After migration, we’ll optimize your new website for performance and security.

Let our experts handle the busy work so you can focus on your business. 

Conclusion

Migrating from Drupal to WordPress gives you a chance to move your site to a more user-friendly, flexible platform to unlock new possibilities. But planning is key – by following a structured process, you can make the transition smooth and start using the full power of the big, strong WP.