How to Migrate from Umbraco to WordPress (Step-by-Step Guide)

Why Migrate from Umbraco to WordPress?

Umbraco is an open-source CMS built on the .NET framework to manage and develop websites and applications. Although Umbraco is claimed to be flexible, its performance tends to decrease for large and complex projects. Additionally, due to its developer-focused nature rather than user-focused, it lacks built-in e-commerce features, providing us with sufficient reasons to migrate to WordPress.  

Confused about choosing Umbraco or WordPress? Let’s look into eight reasons why WordPress shines more than Umbraco.

1. User-friendly interface: WordPress was originally developed for blogging purposes and designed to support content creators. It does not require any technical expertise; on the other hand, Umbraco needs expert guidance.
2. Vast plugins and Themes: WordPress has over 60,000 plugins, making it easy to utilize real-time analytics, backups, and more. In Umbraco, analytics must be performed through a paid package.
3. Wider community support: More forums, tutorials, and resources are available for WordPress, but Umbraco has a smaller community support base.
4. Scalability and Flexibility: WordPress is flexible enough to support small, medium, and large enterprises. Moreover, WordPress's multisite functionality allows businesses to manage multiple websites from a single WordPress installation.
5. SEO capabilities: Plugins like Yoast SEO offer advanced features for optimizing individual pages in WordPress. Umbraco needs third-party solutions to integrate SEO optimization.
6. Future-Proofing: WordPress supports a backup facility, whereas exporting the data itself can be a significant task in Umbraco.
7. Multilingual: Through WordPress Multilingual Plugin (WPML) or Polylang plugin, creating a multilingual website becomes possible. On the other hand, Umbraco also supports multilingual content, but managing the site becomes complex.
8. Secure and Affordable: WordPress releases its updates often, which helps to identify vulnerabilities quickly and securely. It offers high-quality themes and plugins at no cost. Updates for Umbraco 8 post-EOL are about to get stopped, making it vulnerable to a security breach.

Things to Consider Before Migrating from Umbraco to WordPress

Umbraco to WordPress migration requires several factors to be taken into account.

• Content Mapping: Ensure Umbraco document types, templates, and fields are mapped to WordPress equivalents.
• Content Formatting issues: Discrepancies are encountered when displaying the content from Umbraco. With the help of the WP All Import plugin, this can be solved.
• Design and Theme selection: Users are used to the Umbraco site design and aesthetics, so your WordPress design and theme should also closely match that. Consider a design that aligns with a seamless user experience during WordPress theme selection.
• Plugin selection: There are no direct plugins available to export the data directly from Umbraco to WordPress. With the help of plugins like WP All Import, Advanced Custom Fields (ACF), Custom Post Type UI, Media Sync, Yoast SEO (Or Rank Math), and Better Search Replace, an Umbraco to WordPress migration can happen smoothly.
• Data loss and downtime: During any migration, data loss is a common concern. By taking regular backups and a rollback strategy, missing any critical data can be avoided. To minimize the downtime, perform the Umbraco to WordPress migration during off-peak hours.
• User Roles and Permissions: Create a list of current users set up in Umbraco and configure WordPress roles and permissions accordingly.
• Hosting environment: Care needs to be taken when selecting a hosting environment because both Umbraco and WordPress differ in their environment. 
  WordPress runs in PHP/MySQL, and Umbraco runs in .NET Framework. Consider factors like server speed, uptime, scalability, security features, and whether managed WordPress hosting makes a good fit for the organization. ‍
• Data migration strategy: Plan how the data will be exported from Umbraco and imported into WordPress. Explore and choose the correct method, either XML exports, CSV imports, or using any migration plugins. Care should be taken to prevent data loss and maintain its integrity.‍
• SEO and URL Preservation: Note the current URL structure and SEO settings in Umbraco. Plan a comprehensive redirect strategy to maintain search engine rankings and avoid broken links and traffic.

How to Migrate from Umbraco to WordPress (Step-by-Step)

Umbraco to WordPress migration can reduce maintenance costs and enhance user experience. It requires careful planning, technical execution, and validation. The key steps involved in transferring Umbraco to another host (WordPress)  are

1. Plan, Audit, and back up the Umbraco site: Before transferring the Umbraco site to WordPress, it is crucial to plan it thoroughly. Conduct a thorough audit of your Umbraco website and list all pages, blog posts, news articles, and custom content types that need to be transferred.
   Note down all the features and dependencies of Umbraco and make a checklist of what needs to be done in WordPress. Define a clear objective and migration goals to understand what the organization will gain through this Umbraco to WordPress migration. Inform stakeholders early to ensure that conversion is happening and that expectations are captured.
   Back up the entire Umbraco site, including database, media files, code, custom templates, and store it in the cloud. Faster restoration can be done if there is any issue with migrations.‍
2. Setting up WordPress: To start with the Umbraco to WordPress migration, set up a clean and secure WordPress in a staging environment. Many hosting providers offer one-click WordPress installation. If not, do a manual installation with the latest WordPress version by selecting a reliable host that supports both PHP and MySQL. ‍
3. Content mapping, Structuring, and preparation:  Umbraco and WordPress handle content in their own way. An important step is to map the content structure of Umbraco to WordPress. Umbraco’s Document types need to be mapped to WordPress’s posts, pages, or custom post types. Umbraco’s properties will become WordPress’s Custom Fields. Umbraco’s Rich Text editor (RTE) output contains specific markup for internal links or media. This needs to be handled while importing the data to WordPress.‍
4. Export data from Umbraco: This is an important step in the Umbraco to WordPress migration. Umbraco does not support exporting its content directly. This can be done by using any of the following methods.
   
   • Umbraco supports content in a structured way. With the help of Umbraco’s export tools, export the data in either XML or CSV format.
   • Manually copy the content into WordPress for small sites.
   • Query directly into Umbraco’s database, write scripts, and insert them into WordPress tables. This method requires database schema knowledge and is very risky.
5. Import content into WordPress: Start importing data into WordPress by using the custom scripts of the WP All Importer plugin. This plugin helps us to import blog posts, pages, and custom post types. If it is done manually, then paste the content into WordPress. Map Umbraco fields to the corresponding field in WordPress. The imported data will not have media files.
6. Migrate media files: Download all media files, like images, videos, and documents, from the Umbraco media folder. Use an FTP client to upload them to WordPress media files. But still, the image and file paths will point to old Umbraco’s URLs. Map the Umbraco fields to the corresponding WordPress fields. Better Search Replace plugin helps us to update the image path and references within the content.
7. Rebuild WordPress design: Improve your site’s front-end design in WordPress by replicating layouts for the homepage, blog, and key templates similar to Umbraco. Pick a custom-built theme that aligns with your requirements. Make sure to install necessary plugins such as WP All Import, Advanced Custom Fields (ACF), Yoast SEO or Rank Math, Redirection, and Media sync.
   
   • WP All Import is used for importing structured content. 
   • Advanced Custom Fields (ACF) allows you to define custom groups across different content types.
   • The Redirection plugin helps WordPress manage URL redirects.
   • The Media Sync plugin can detect the media files from Umbraco and register them in WordPress.
   • The Yoast SEO plugin is used for SEO migration.
8. SEO optimization: This step is crucial for SEO preservation. Configure the Redirection plugin to forward the old Umbraco URLs to point to new WordPress URLs. Implement 301 redirects for changed URLs to prevent traffic and ranking loss. Yoast SEO plugin to migrate meta titles and descriptions. Recreate Umbraco’s custom functionality using plugins or custom development.
9. Test and go live: This is the final step. We need to do rigorous testing, launching, and maintenance. Thoroughly test the new WordPress site on the staging environment. Verify all the data, functionalities, links, forms, responsiveness, and content display in the WordPress site. Test mobile responsiveness, site’s speed, and media in the staging environment. Once testing is complete, deploy it in the production environment. After testing is satisfactory, update the DNS settings to point to the new WordPress site.

What to Do After You Migrate from Umbraco to WordPress

Post-migration steps are essential for ensuring long-term success and security of your website. Some steps need to be done:

• Ongoing maintenance and rankings: Validate all the data by checking the links,  forms, and mobile responsiveness in the new WordPress site. Track and monitor the website’s performance, speed, and SEO metrics using the Google Analytics tool. 
• Regular backups: Use UpdraftPlus or the All-in-One WP Migration plugin to ensure that regular backups are taken. It can help us restore the previous version easily.
• Security checks: Do a scan of the WordPress website and check for any malware or vulnerabilities.
• User training: Invest in training programs for the employees about the working structure of WordPress, its dashboard, and content management features. Document all the necessary steps and changes that were done for the Umbraco to WordPress migration.
• Decommission Umbraco: Once the results are satisfactory and stable, archive all the Umbraco data and uninstall Umbraco.

Why Choose Entrans for Your Umbraco to WordPress Migration

Migrating a website from one Content Management System to another can be a complex undertaking, and the transition from Umbraco to WordPress is no exception. At Entrans, we specialize in Umbraco to WordPress migration services. We provide end-to-end custom solutions tailored to satisfy your needs and align with business objectives. 

A team of data engineers and experts brings a lot of experience from many migration projects. This helps you avoid common problems and reach your business goals faster.

Want to know more about it? Book a free 30-minute consultation call!

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