As hi-tech companies respond to the needs of rapidly evolving customers, they are under pressure to succeed by balancing technology advancements and deepening customer relationships. Multiple teams within these hi-tech companies own different stages of customer journey, and hence need for a robust Content Management System (CMS) to help them realize the value of their customer experience strategy.

Migrating your company's CMS can be daunting, especially for complex hi-tech organizations with lots of content and custom functionality. To enhance the quality of user experience without any downtime, a well-thought CMS migration process is necessary, which includes selecting the right CMS as well as a migration partner.

Let’s begin by understanding why hi-tech companies are migrating from WordPress to Drupal.

Why Hi-Tech Firms Switch from WordPress to Drupal

Many fast-growing startups initially chose WordPress for its simplicity and low cost. However, as these companies scale, they often find WordPress limiting for advanced functionality and security requirements. While more complex, Drupal website can handle much more content, along with additional features such as real-time personalization and Search Engine Optimization (SEO).

Here are the key reasons we see hi-tech companies migrate WordPress to Drupal:

• Scalability - Drupal utilizes a robust architecture that can smoothly handle enormous traffic, complex data structures, and large development teams. This heftiness makes it ideal for large enterprises.


• Flexibility and Customization - Drupal has a highly flexible data model and thousands of modules that enable advanced customization for complex industry-specific needs. With Drupal websites, Hi-tech firms can craft unique digital experiences for each customer.


• Security - With its granular user permissions, enterprise-grade security layers, and a large team of core developers, Drupal offers rock-solid security that meets the needs of hi-tech companies handling valuable data and IP.


• Innovation - Drupal's open-source community is on the cutting edge of digital experience technology. Hi-tech companies can leverage personalization, AI, IoT, AR/VR, and more innovations to offer relevant user experiences.


• Support and Longevity - As an enterprise-level CMS, Drupal offers professional support services and a commitment to backward compatibility that gives companies confidence in their long-term viability.

Altudo’s WordPress to Drupal Migration Process: Phased to Minimize Downtime

At Altudo, we utilize a phased website migration process explicitly designed to minimize downtime.

Phase 1: Preparation for Website Migration

The first phase of WordPress to Drupal Migration involves preparation and planning to lay a solid foundation of the entire migration process:

• Content audit - We perform a complete audit of all content types, metadata fields, taxonomies, menus, and other entities. This documentation is critical for mapping to the new CMS.


• Custom code review - We thoroughly review all custom code, plugins, modules, and integrations with our Drupal Developers to determine the migration approach. We also evaluate APIs and 3rd party services.


• User testing - We work with a small group of end users to test key site functionality and identify potential issues early. Timely feedback informs the quality of Drupal migration decisions.


• Develop migration plan - With all information gathered, we create a detailed project plan for execution, with contingencies for any risks or challenges identified during the WordPress to Drupal migration plan.

Phase 2: Staging Migration

In this phase, we execute a full migration to a staging environment for testing before going live:

• Build fresh Drupal site - We set up a newly installed Drupal website, optimized and secure per company standards and migration plan.


• Migrate content - Using CMS migration tools, we migrate all content types, fields, metadata, taxonomies, and files to the staging site. Drupal developers also initiate menu structures and configurations reproduction.


• Custom code migration - Engineers migrate all custom modules, plugins, themes, and templates to work within the new Drupal environment. The code is optimized for Drupal standards.


• 3rd party integrations - Any 3rd party integrations, APIs, or external services are connected and tested in the new environment.


• Quality Assurance (QA) - The staging site is thoroughly tested by engineers, content editors, and end-users to identify any issues to address before go-live.

Phase 3: Deployment

With a fully tested staging site, the new Drupal CMS is deployed to production:

• Pre-launch checklist - Engineers, developers, content creators, and key users validate all key functionality prior to launch of the new Drupal website.


• DNS change - DNS settings are changed to point the domain to the new Drupal production environment.


• Go live - The new Drupal site is open to the public. The team monitors performance and logs any issues.


• Sunsetting original WordPress site - After a transition period, the old WordPress site is disabled and archived.


• Ongoing support - Our team provides ongoing enhancement, support, and training services to continually optimize the new Drupal website experience.

What are the key technical considerations for Migrating WordPress to Drupal?

There are several important technical factors we address to ensure a smooth transition:

• CDN and caching - Advanced content delivery networks and caching dramatically improve performance. We optimize these for the new site.


• Search - Custom search indexes and tools like Elasticsearch or Solr may need migration. We handle this seamlessly.


• Automation - Tasks like testing and content migration are automated as much as possible to reduce human effort and risk.


• User roles and permissions - We carefully map user roles and permissions from WordPress to equivalent functionality in Drupal.


• SEO - URL structures, metadata, and other SEO factors are migrated properly to avoid traffic loss. 301 redirects manage changeover.


• Testing - We use automated testing frameworks and iterative quality assurance testing to catch any issues.


• Security - The new Drupal infrastructure is audited and hardened to meet enterprise security standards.


• Analytics - Site analytics are preserved and migrated to maintain data integrity across the transition.

Altudo's Drupal Migration Services

Altudo has Drupal certified experts and a team of seasoned Drupal developers who have expertise in helping brands with WordPress to Drupal migration. We are an agile digital agency focused exclusively on open-source technologies like Drupal CMS. Our migration process is optimized to minimize downtime and business disruption.

What sets our Drupal migration services apart:

• Open-source specialization - We live and breathe tools like Drupal and WordPress. Our migration expertise comes from years of experience.


• Technical experience - Our engineers have the hands-on technical skills to smoothly migrate your custom codebase and data.


• Portfolio - We've migrated complex sites for High-Tech clients who are highly satisfied with our Drupal migration services.


• Holistic support - We not only handle migration, but provide ongoing management, enhancement, and 24/7 support with a global team across 7 geolocations.


• Agile process - Our iterative approach means we identify and resolve issues quickly.

Conclusion

We understand the pivotal role of informative website experience in today’s time. This underscores the importance of having a well-rounded CMS that can meet the unique needs of your business. As a digital agency experienced in CMS migration, we have helped numerous hi-tech firms switch from WordPress to Drupal. Write to us at marketing@altudo.co to book a 1:1 no-obligation session with our Drupal architects.