How to Migrate a Website from WordPress to Craft CMS?

Why Choose Craft CMS Over WordPress?

Is WordPress not enough anymore?

It depends. WordPress is great for getting started. But if you’ve ever tried to build something more custom, you’ve probably run into its limitations.

WordPress works well for blogs and simple websites. But once things get more complex, it can slow you down. Adding new features often means installing more plugins. That creates clutter, slows down the site, and causes problems when updates break things.

“So, what makes Craft CMS different?”

Craft CMS gives you complete control from the start. You define your own content types, fields, and structure. And it’s built for all, including developers and bloggers. Craft runs faster, has better security, and doesn’t come packed with tools you don’t need. 

Plus, fewer plugins mean fewer updates, fewer conflicts, and way better performance.

A Quick Guide to WordPress to Craft CMS Migration of a Website

1. Pre-Migration Assessment

Break down the things you need to assess before moving towards migrating your website from WordPress to Craft CMS.

• List All Your Content

Open your WordPress admin and note everything like pages, blog posts, custom post types, categories, tags, and media files.

• Note Down Plugins and Their Roles

Check your active plugins. Some might control key features like SEO, custom fields (like ACF), image sliders, or contact forms. Make a list and write down which one you’ll need to rebuild in Craft.

• Review Your Theme and Layouts

Look at how your current theme is set up. Which parts are editable? Does it use a page builder or shortcodes? This helps you plan your new templates in Craft more clearly.

• Identify What Needs to Stay or Go

This is a good time to clean up. Remove unused plugins, delete old drafts, and decide what content doesn’t need to be migrated.

Following these pre-migration assessment steps will help save time and effort later and avoid hassles during the migration.

2. Setting Up the Craft CMS Environment

Follow this step by step process to set up Craft CMS on your local machine

Step 1: Check System Requirements

Craft CMS needs PHP 8.0+ and a MySQL or PostgreSQL database. Most modern hosting or local dev setups support this. Make sure your system has Composer installed, it’s used to install Craft.

Step 2: Install Craft Using Composer

Open your terminal or command line and run:

This creates a new Craft CMS project in a folder of your choice. The setup process will guide you through setting up the database and admin account.

Step 3: Set Up a Local Development Environment

You can use tools such as Laravel Valet, MAMP, and more to run Craft locally. Pick one you’re comfortable with.

Set your local site root to the /web directory inside your Craft project folder.

Step 4: Configure Your .env File

Craft CMS utilizes an .env file to store settings like the database name, username, and password. Open the file and update it with your local details. 

Step 5: Access the Craft Control Panel

Once everything is installed and connected, open your browser and go to http://your-local-site/admin. You’ll see the Craft Control Panel. This is where you’ll build your content model, templates, and more.

3. Modeling Content in Craft CMS

So now that Craft is installed, what’s next?”

Now it’s time to build your content structure. Craft CMS gives you full control, but you’ll need to plan it right.

Step 1: Understand How Craft Organizes Content

Craft doesn’t use Posts and “Pages” like WordPress. It uses:

• Sections such as news or blogs
• Entry Types mean different layouts within a section
• Fields that include text and images
• Categories and Tags

Step 2: Match WordPress Content to Craft Structures

Now, go back to the content list. Each WordPress post type will likely become a Section in Craft.

Set up each section one by one in the Craft Control Panel.

Step 3: Create Custom Fields

WordPress uses plugins like ACF for extra fields. In Craft, you can customize such fields yourself using the right field types

Use these custom fields inside your Entry Types so you can match the same data from WordPress, including things like author bio, featured image, or client logos.

4. Exporting Content from WordPress

So, how do we get all the content out of WordPress?

Start with the built-in Export tool in your WordPress dashboard.

It works fine for basic stuff like posts, pages, and media. But for anything custom like ACF fields, custom post types, or user data. You can use more advanced plugins like WP All Export.

• It gives you control over what you export and lets you choose the format (usually CSV or XML).
• Back your media files and back up the database; it’s always good to have a copy of everything.

What about the tricky stuff like custom fields and layouts?

That’s where things can get a little manual.

• Use the export plugin to include custom fields in your export file.
• Check how fields are labeled because you’ll need that info when mapping them to Craft later.
• Also, organize your exports by content type. For example, keep blogs, testimonials, and team members in separate files.

This makes importing smoother and keeps your Craft setup clean.

5. Importing Content into Craft CMS

Option A: Using the WP-Import CLI Tool

• Step 1: Install the WP-Import tool via Composer on your development machine.
• Step 2: Prepare your WordPress export files and decide which content type you want to import.
• Step 3: Run the import command in your terminal. The tool will guide you through mapping WordPress fields to Craft fields.
• Step 4: Look for prompts and errors during the process. Fix any issues that occur.
• Step 5: Check your Craft Control Panel to confirm all content is transferred correctly once importing finishes.

Option B: Using the Feed Me Plugin

• Step 1: Install the Feed Me plugin in your Craft Control Panel.
• Step 2: Organize your WordPress export files in CSV or XML format, organizing content types individually.
• Step 3: Upload the files through Feed Me and map each WordPress field to the corresponding Craft field.
• Step 4: Handle any complex fields or linked content during the mapping step.
• Step 5: Run a test import to make sure the data looks right before importing everything.
• Step 6: Review your site content and fix any errors found after import.

Conclusion

So, you’ve seen how moving from WordPress to Craft CMS can give you more control, better performance, and a cleaner setup. The process might sound like a lot, but breaking it down step-by-step makes it easy to migrate WordPress to Craft CMS.

You can hire Craft CMS development services from Digital4Design to begin with the technical side. Our team of skilled experts helps you plan and execute everything from migration and setting up Craft CMS to rebuilding your site’s design. We make the switch smooth and stress-free so you can focus on what matters

Discuss your project requirements and seek assistance from expert WordPress and CMS development specialists.