Migrating from Drupal to WordPress
Seamlessly Migrating from Drupal to WordPress: Leveraging WDG’s 12 Years of Experience
Moving from Drupal to WordPress might seem like a huge undertaking, especially for organizations with large, content-heavy websites. At WDG, we’ve spent over 12 years navigating complex migrations for clients across the non-profit, government, and enterprise sectors, so we understand how to make this process smooth and successful. Whether you’re a non-profit like the Ford Foundation migrating to WordPress or an entity like the United States Institute of Peace on Drupal, we’ve worked with organizations like yours, successfully managing transitions without missing a beat.
Our dual expertise with Drupal and WordPress means that we’ve seen it all—from Drupal 5 to 10 and WordPress as a simple blogging tool to the robust, Gutenberg-based enterprise web applications it powers today. This deep knowledge lets us handle migrations efficiently, from managing complex database transfers to converting Drupal modules into WordPress plugins. If your organization is moving from Drupal’s content structures to WordPress’s Gutenberg editor, you’re in good hands. We’re one of the few agencies that’s perfected this transition, even utilizing React and Gutenberg natively to ensure your new WordPress site runs smoothly.
Preserving Creative Integrity During Migration
One of the things we pride ourselves on is the balance between technical precision and maintaining your brand’s creative vision. At WDG, we’ve developed a process where our creative and development teams work closely together, making sure the design and branding aren’t compromised during the technical migration. This means that while we handle the heavy lifting—moving content, preserving functionality, and optimizing the site’s performance—your brand’s look and feel remains consistent and impactful.
Whether it’s a large-scale non-profit, a government website, or an enterprise brand, we make sure that the user experience and creative elements stay intact, while seamlessly moving everything behind the scenes.
Enterprise Hosting: Partners with Pantheon and WordPress VIP
We’re not just experts at migration; we’re also trusted partners with Pantheon and WordPress VIP, managing over 100 large-scale websites across these platforms. These hosting solutions offer the kind of security, performance, and scalability that enterprise clients need, and we know how to get the most out of them. Whether you’re planning to move to Pantheon or WordPress VIP, our team ensures that your migration is not only seamless but also optimized for speed, security, and future growth.
Contributing to the Open Source Community
We believe in giving back to the open-source communities we work within. Over the years, we’ve contributed several popular WordPress plugins that help make the web a better place, including WP Jarvis and an accessibility plugin designed to make sites more user-friendly. Looking ahead, we’re excited to be on the verge of launching a powerful SEO-powered AI plugin in 2025, which will help businesses supercharge their search engine optimization efforts on WordPress. This commitment to the community is part of what drives us to keep pushing the boundaries of what’s possible on these platforms.
Project Management that Drives Success
When it comes to large migrations, having a great project management team can make all the difference. At WDG, we take project management seriously because we know it’s key to delivering successful outcomes—especially for complex transitions like moving from Drupal to WordPress. Our team works closely with you from day one, mapping out every step of the process to ensure nothing is left to chance. We’ve developed a process that’s collaborative and transparent, making sure that every milestone is clear and every deadline is hit. By the time we’re ready to launch, there’s no guesswork—just a smooth transition to your new platform, ready to deliver a better experience for your users and more flexibility for your team.
Why is WDG the Right Choice for Your Drupal to WordPress Migration? What makes WDG different? It’s simple: we know both platforms inside and out. If you’re considering moving your site from Drupal to WordPress, WDG is the partner that can make it happen smoothly, securely, and with all the creative and technical excellence you need.
Key Considerations for a Successful Drupal to WordPress Migration
Migrating from Drupal to WordPress is a complex project, and there are several critical factors to consider to ensure a smooth transition. Before beginning, here are some key things to watch for and important questions to ask your web team – feel free to use this as a Drupal to WordPress migration cheat-sheet:
Content Structure Compatibility:
Ensure that the agency has a clear plan for migrating your Drupal content types, fields, and taxonomies into WordPress’s structure. Ask: How will you map Drupal content fields to WordPress custom fields or Gutenberg blocks? Will any content be lost or need significant reformatting?
Module-to-Plugin Mapping:
Drupal modules will need to be replaced with equivalent WordPress plugins. Make sure your agency has experience with this. Ask: Do you have a process for identifying Drupal modules and mapping them to WordPress plugins? How do you ensure that the same functionality will be available in WordPress?
Database Migration:
Migrating the database from Drupal to WordPress can be tricky, especially with custom content types and user roles. Ask: How will you handle the migration of content, users, and media from Drupal to WordPress? Will the existing database structure be preserved, or will it need significant restructuring?
SEO Preservation:
Search engine rankings can suffer during a migration if not handled carefully. It’s important to ensure that URLs, metadata, and SEO settings are preserved. Ask: How will you manage 301 redirects to ensure SEO is maintained post-migration? What steps will you take to preserve URL structures, metadata, and on-page SEO elements?
Custom Functionality and Integrations:
Many Drupal sites have custom functionality that needs to be replicated in WordPress. Ask: How will you replicate any custom Drupal functionality in WordPress? Can you handle API integrations or custom-built features in WordPress?
Design and Creative Integrity:
Your site’s design and branding should remain consistent during the migration. Ask: How will you ensure the design remains intact during the migration? Will you be able to use Gutenberg blocks or other tools to maintain creative flexibility in WordPress?
Performance and Scalability:
As you move from Drupal to WordPress, ensure your site can handle high traffic and perform efficiently. Ask: How will you optimize the site for performance and scalability on WordPress? Will the hosting environment (Pantheon or WordPress VIP) be optimized for speed and up-time?
Testing and QA:
Thorough testing is crucial before launch to ensure everything works as expected. Ask: What is your process for testing after the migration? How do you handle bugs or issues that arise during QA?
Post-Migration Support:
Ongoing support is critical after the migration to ensure smooth operations. Ask: What post-migration support do you offer? How long will you provide support for issues that might arise after launch?
