Moving your site to Drupal
We have undertaken many migrations for clients from existing content management systems to Drupal. These moves are prompted by a number of factors, and include:
- Price. This often occurs where proprietary systems have proven to be expensive in terms of hosting and licensing.
- Lack of flexibility. This happens where systems are hard to change (for example WordPress, which is often incredibly easy to change in terms of layout but hard to change in terms of deep functionality), or where digital partners lack the expertise or will to meet client needs.
- Security. We’ve had to pick up sites that have been hacked because they have not been properly maintained.
- Vanished digital partner. Sometimes companies can refocus their business or cease trading and leave clients high and dry.
No migration is ever undertaken lightly by a client. In point of fact, organisations will stick with moribund systems for a very long time until the problem gets so bad that it can no longer be ignored - in short, the site will be moved when a crisis is imminent or has already happened.
As a result, migrations can be challenging for everyone involved. There may be interruption to service if the old site has been hacked. There might well be a pressing organisational driver for change which has made an old inflexible system a liability that prevents the organisation moving forward. Comms teams can come under sudden pressure to make change happen very quickly.
It’s for these reasons that I’d advise anyone thinking about migration to start planning early. The longer you leave a migration, the more likelihood there is that the migration will be rushed and there may not be time available to handle the change in a sensible and thoughtful manner. Moreover, while a migration can be a chore, it’s also an opportunity to step back and take a moment to think through your needs. Perhaps the drivers behind your original site are no longer valid. Migrations can give you space to rethink your needs and set about a rebuild that really takes your digital presence forward. It’s the last thing you want to rush.
We can help migrate all site content, functionality and even retain an old site's exact look and feel if that's needed but generally speaking even pressured migrations should add value rather than just simply offer a rescue package. For examples of migrations we have carried out for clients, please take a look at our case studies for Southdown and Centre for Mental Health.
Photo Barth Bailey on Unsplash