Content Migration - How to Make the Switch to Storyblok

Embrace the thrill of new beginnings! While redesigning your website can mean starting fresh, it doesn't necessarily entail creating all-new content. It's important to preserve the valuable assets you've created over the years for your online business presence. We want you to avoid losing your hard-earned effort during a website migration.

So, what happens when you are faced with a blank website? You don’t stress, but you find a solution to migrate your content to the new design! The question is: How do you migrate your content successfully?

This article helps answer all questions related to content migration. More specifically - website content migration tools, content migration strategy, and content migration plan. It also offers some excellent content migration to new website examples. So, let's dig in.

What is content migration?

Content migration refers to the process of transferring or moving digital content from one system, platform, or environment to another. This could involve moving data from an old website to a new one, transitioning content from one content management system (CMS) to another, or transferring information between different software applications.

Content migration is often undertaken during website redesigns, platform upgrades, or when transitioning to a new technology infrastructure. The goal is to ensure a smooth transfer of data, preserving the structure, formatting, and metadata associated with the content.

This process is crucial to maintain the integrity of information, avoid data loss, and enable the continued accessibility and usability of content in the new environment. Having a proper website migration plan and a content migration strategy is what will set you up for success. We're here to help.

First thing is first: Where is the content migration from?

Switching from a monolithic CMS to Storyblok

Migrating content from a monolithic CMS can be a very complex and enduring process. To make it easier, Storyblok provides users with the necessary starter tools. They are flexible and customizable.

For example, the most common content migration we see is from WordPress to Storyblok. For that purpose, Storyblok provides users with a starter tool kit (opens in a new window) called WordPress Importer. It is an excellent starting point for migrating content from WordPress to Storyblok. Developers have a tool available for customization for your unique migration project and do not need to create such features from scratch.

The WordPress Importer can be used as-is, or it can be tailored to fit your specific needs. It can also be utilized as the base for migrating content from other monolithic CMSs to Storyblok. The use of Storyblok’s Management API in combination with these tools is also necessary, for the purposes mentioned above.

This presentation (opens in a new window) will help you understand when and how migration is done. It’s a great resource for a non-developer as it gives a clear and concise idea of the benefits that a headless setup can bring to a project. It offers a step-by-step content migration checklist.

Switching from headless to Storyblok

Migrating content from a headless CMS to Storyblok is usually more straightforward. The similarities between the different headless CMSs and the use of APIs to retrieve data from the source and transfer it to the new system is what makes it easy.

We encourage the use of Storyblok’s Management API to create, edit, and update content using a common interface. In addition, the MAPI offers upload assets and migrations.

Command Line Interface (CLI) (opens in a new window)

To make your project run smoothly, Storyblok provides an official CLI for quickly scaffolding ambitious web projects. Developers may utilize Storyblok’s CLI for content transformation.

What’s next?

Once a content migration is executed, it needs to be organized and delivered to different channels. To deliver content to your users, you can use the Content Delivery API or the GraphQL API. Both APIs are optimized for response times and are heavily cached. Let’s take a closer look at them.

Content Delivery API (CDN) (opens in a new window)

Another addition to the tools provided by Storyblok is our Content Delivery API which helps users deliver content to their audience. It is designed around the REST architecture principles and aims to deliver content onto multiple platforms. It allows users to manage the entire content platform from a single location. Refer to this documentation (opens in a new window) for further clarification.

GraphQL API (opens in a new window)

In addition to our traditional REST API, users can also use Storyblok with GraphQL, which offers several advantages, like automated documentation and strongly typed responses. The API is a read-only endpoint and is optimized for fast content delivery. Because it is read-only, you would need to use our Management API if you are looking to write, update, or delete your content or migrate from another solution.

You can find more helpful information about Storyblok’s APIs here (opens in a new window).

Last but not least, Storyblok’s Visual Editor (opens in a new window) is a game changer as it gives editors the ability to edit and organize their content with an in-context preview, including the possibility to click on components on their website.

Successful content migration & delivery projects with Storyblok

Throughout the years, we have witnessed some extraordinary projects done with Storyblok and successful content migrations are part of those projects.

For example, Virtual Identity (opens in a new window), a web development agency and a Storyblok Certified Partner, developed an entirely new platform to serve as a flagship for digital communication for a client in the healthcare industry with the help of Storyblok. When asked about their content migration experience, they told us that there was one feature that Virtual Identity found particularly helpful during the content migration & delivery process.

"Storyblok's Visual Editor has sped up the migration tremendously," said Anna Dufner, Project Manager at Virtual Identity. "The feature is an important factor for the adoption of the new CMS by the editors."

Another example is Fundbox (opens in a new window), a financial platform for small businesses that offers fast and easy access to business credit. They converted all of their website components to Vue, migrated the data to Storyblok schema, and went live within five weeks.

Lastly, we will mention Education First (opens in a new window) as an example of an excellent content migration experience. They provide life-changing education for global citizens. With Storyblok, EF saw agility within their practices and processes, making it easier to breach silos, retrieve content from different products and teams, and automate. Having a programmatic API that could hook them up to and handle component schemas and content migrations was one of the unique attributes that EF uses in handling automation.

Key takeaways

Migrating a website and your content inventory t can be a stressful process. So, run the migration with great care. Whether you are moving from a monolithic to a headless or a headless to a headless setup, this is a step that cannot be avoided.

Because of that, we at Storyblok offer fantastic tools and resources to help you in your planning phase and execution. In addition to helping you with migrating your already created content, Storybloks's CMS also helps you manage that content.

As your next read, we suggest our newest eBook on How to Switch to a Headless CMS (opens in a new window). You'll learn about key points to consider before migration, how to prepare everything for a successful transition, and how to set up the new CMS to get the most out of it.