Migrating to Kentico CMS: A step by step approach

Are you contemplating moving away from your existing CMS platform and into Kentico CMS, but not sure where to begin? Not to worry, the Ameex team can help you devise a seamless approach to migrate from any CMS into Kentico.

There are many ways to migrate the data from another platform to Kentico CMS. The migration approach can vary depending on the source. Below we have listed a step by step approach that will help you in planning your migration.

Analyze the content
Start with analyzing the existing site content and identify the content types, quantity, patterns, analytics, and the complexities. A thorough content analysis will help you strategize your migration approach. Identify the different content types available and classify them under the structured and un-structured categories. 

Architect the Site
The next step is to architect the site in Kentico. Identify the page types, web parts, page templates, modules, media, aliasing structure, page tree, etc., and then prepare an information architecture document.

Mapping the Content
Prepare a mapping document that maps the fields in the source system with the corresponding fields in the destination system.

Migration Approach
Classify the contents that are to be migrated manually and those that can be automated.

There are several options available in Kentico CMS for the automation process

Import Toolkit- The Import Toolkit is a software utility provided by Kentico to support content migration from external sources. This tool enables you to import data from external sources into Kentico CMS. There are also many source types are supported by this tool as mentioned below

• MS SQL database
• XML file
• CSV file
• XLSX file

The import tool kit comes with the Kentico CMS installation. Refer this link https://docs.kentico.com/k8/external-utilities/kentico-import-toolkit/importing-data-from-external-sources for importing data from an external source with detailed information.

Media library Import - Migrating the media files can be a daunting task, but Kentico provides an out of box feature that allows you to upload multiple files separated by folders with minimal configuration changes. To use this feature, your site must support FTP access.

HTML2Kentico - This tool allows you to import static HTML pages into your Kentico CMS website with minimal configurations. The HTML2Kentico tool is an independent Windows application that allows static HTML pages to be converted into Kentico CMS websites. It uses REST to communicate with the target Kentico CMS instance, so there is no need for any specific modifications of the CMS system. This also means that the application will only work for Kentico CMS version 6.0 or newer versions, where REST is supported.       Refer the link for more details: http://devnet.kentico.com/articles/new-and-free-in-the-marketplace--html2kentico

Custom Tables - Custom tables can be used in Kentico by using the Supported APIs and Smart search feature. Custom Tables can also be used for document types that are custom developed.

Prepare Custom Scripts
While the tools can be effectively used to migrate content, it would still require developing custom scripts using Kentico API's to meet specific needs. Not sure what to do? At Ameex, we have a vast understanding of these tools and leverage them to migrate content in the most effective way. This reduces the costs and improving the overall quality of the migration experience. 

Gap Data Migration
The final Step in migration would be the gap data migration. While the migration is in progress, new content can be added to the live site, the time interval between the last database backup and the current date. Gap data migration involves migrating those newly added items. Maintaining a mapping table with a record for each entry of migrated content is also helpful in performing the gap data migration.

Other things to Consider

Identify and analyze the other systems that will be integrated to the site, such as CRM, Social Media, and any third-party systems. Then configure the site accordingly. Also, be sure to watch out for the Scheduled Tasks, Custom Module Loader, and Kentico Marketplace.

For further assistance, or to find out how the Ameex Kentico development team can quickly and easily transition you to Kentico, Contact us.