Do you have an old Drupal 7, Drupal 8 or Drupal 9 website which needs migration? Do you need to update to a new release within Drupal 10? Do you want to migrate your Drupal website to another CMS or do you want to migrate your website from another CMS to Drupal? As Drupal experts we successfully completed many migrations and updates. A Drupal migration is often the chance to improve your website.
Drupal migration refers to the process of moving a website's content, data, and sometimes its structure from one environment to another. This can involve upgrading from an older version of Drupal to a newer one, transferring content from a different CMS to Drupal, moving content from Drupal to a different CMS or moving a site from one server or hosting provider to another.
Types of Drupal migrations
1. Upgrading Drupal Versions
Major version upgrades migrate from one major version of Drupal to another, such as from Drupal 7 to Drupal 10. This often involves significant changes in the underlying architecture and requires a thorough process to ensure compatibility and functionality. Minor version upgrades are smaller, more incremental updates within the same major version (e.g., from Drupal 10.1 to Drupal 10.2) and are generally simpler than major version upgrades.
2. Migration from Another CMS
This involves transferring content from a different content management system (such as WordPress, Joomla, or custom-built systems) to Drupal. It requires mapping the data structures of the source CMS to Drupal’s data structures.
3. Migration to Another CMS
Migrating from Drupal to another CMS involves transferring content, data, and functionality from a Drupal-based website to a new content management system. This can be a complex process due to differences in data structures, features, and underlying technologies between Drupal and the target CMS.
4. Server or Hosting Migration
Moving a Drupal site from one server or hosting provider to another without changing the Drupal version. This typically involves transferring files and databases and ensuring the new environment is properly configured.
Drupal migration approach
So a Drupal migration refers to the process of moving data from another source, like a previous Drupal version or a different platform entirely, into a new Drupal website, or from Drupal to another CMS. Drupal offers a built-in framework called the Migrate API to support migrations.
- Migrate API: This Drupal core functionality provides the tools and structure for developers to define and execute data migrations. It offers a flexible approach to handle complex and large-scale website migrations.
- Data Sources: The data you migrate can come from various sources, including older Drupal installations (Drupal 6/7 to Drupal 9/10), databases of other platforms, or even CSV files.
Main approaches to Drupal migrations:
- Migration Plugins (YAML): This method involves defining migration configurations in YAML files. It requires some knowledge of YAML syntax and object-oriented programming (OOP) concepts.
- Contributed Modules: The Drupal community offers various contributed modules built on the Migrate API. These modules might provide user interfaces (UI) to simplify migrations for specific source platforms, like migrating content from WordPress to Drupal.
Drupal migrations enable you to move your content and user base to a new Drupal website or to another CMS while potentially improving data structure and functionality. Drupal migration can be a complex process, but with careful planning and execution, it enables organizations to benefit from the latest features, improved performance, and enhanced security of newer Drupal versions or environments.