Upgrading Your Content Management System (CMS): A Comprehensive Guide
Is your company’s website running on an outdated Content Management System (CMS)? Do you need to upgrade your instance of Sitecore, WordPress or Drupal; or, move from one CMS to another? Are you considering upgrading to a more modern, feature-rich platform? In this blog post, we’ll walk you through the key steps involved in a successful CMS upgrade project, from pre-work and kick-off to final readout and planning.
1. Pre-Work and Kick-Off
The first step in any CMS upgrade project is to hold a kick-off meeting with all stakeholders. During this meeting, you’ll review the project background, objectives, plan, and proposed deliverables. This is also an opportunity to set expectations and establish communication channels for the duration of the project.
Key Deliverables:
- Kick-Off Deck
- Detailed Discovery and Planning Plan
- Communication/Status Updates
- Review with the GH Team
It’s also important to review any existing website-related documentation, such as sitemaps and technical specifications, to ensure everyone is on the same page.
2. Current-State Review
Before you can plan for the future, you need to understand your current CMS setup. This involves reviewing current-state website features and user flows, as well as taking an inventory of existing features and prioritizing them based on importance (e.g., must-have vs. nice-to-have).
Key Activities:
- Review current-state content and information architecture
- Analyze page templates, site design, and site navigation/organization
- Create an inventory of high-level changes and critical decisions
- Conduct an infrastructure and integrations review, including data structure, development environments, security considerations, and third-party integrations
Deliverables:
- Summary of Current-State and Future-State Considerations
- Key Required Decisions
- Infrastructure and Integrations Review
3. Future-State Considerations
With a clear understanding of your current CMS, you can start planning for the future. This involves documenting high-level future-state user flows for prospective customers, existing customers, and admin users (e.g., publishing workflow, user management).
Key Activities:
- Document high-level requirements for reports, subscriptions, data services, payments, access and permissions, and compliance considerations
- Detail requirements for specific features
- Review brand guidelines and gather future-state design considerations (e.g., desktop/mobile, accessibility, language support)
- Document future-state structure and design requirements/needs
Deliverables:
- User Flows and User Journeys
- Requirements Compilation Report with Prioritization
- Design Audit Report
- Brand Guidelines Review
- Future State User Experience and Design Requirements
4. Migration Review
Migrating from one CMS to another can be a complex process. It’s important to determine high-level technical and data considerations, such as export capabilities, file types, data integrity, and data clean-up. You’ll also need to consider whether a custom migration tool is needed for importing into the new CMS.
Key Activities:
- Identify essential features that need to be retained and find equivalent plugins or custom solutions in the new CMS
- Determine business and security considerations, such as PEN testing
- Plan for testing and cutover
Deliverables:
- Feature Retention Analysis
- Summary of Migration and Cutover Considerations
- Business Requirements Documents (where applicable)
5. Final Readout and Plan
The final step is to develop a comprehensive readout of findings and a future-state plan. This will serve as a roadmap for the actual CMS upgrade project, ensuring all stakeholders are aligned on the goals, timeline, and deliverables.
Call to Action
If your company is considering upgrading its CMS, we’d love to help. Our team of experts has extensive experience in CMS migrations and can guide you through the entire process, from pre-work and kick-off to final readout and planning. Contact us today to schedule a consultation and take the first step towards a more modern, feature-rich website.