How to Migrate from Sitecore to WordPress Without Losing SEO Performance

Migrating from Sitecore to WordPress is a complex and multilayered process. Oversights and mistakes while transferring data can lead to issues like broken links, missing metadata, and corrupted files.

Each of these errors will contribute to a poor user experience (UX) or crawlability which will affect your search engine rankings.

Fortunately, this is an avoidable problem.

In this article, let’s look at how you can migrate from Sitecore to WordPress while preserving your search engine optimization (SEO) performance. Proper execution of the best practices shared will allow you to make the most out of your new and more capable WordPress site.

1. Pre-Migration Preparation

These are the preparatory steps that will set your site and team up for the CMS transition. This phase is also essential to estimate how long it will take to migrate from Sitecore to WordPress.

SEO Audit of Sitecore Website

A pre-migration SEO audit benchmarks your search engine performance. It includes details such as current organic traffic, position for the top keywords, metadata, URL structure, and more. The aim is to use it as a default value to ensure the efficacy of the migration.

The audit report helps prevent oversights during the migration process by making it easier for you to check if everything is transferred correctly.

Here is a checklist to get you started:

• Crawl your website to gather URL data and map your directories.
• Take inventory of all your uploaded enterprise files and content.
• Document all the inbound links or backlinks. 
• Mark high-performing pages, whether in terms of traffic or conversions.
• Map the internal links to retain that strategy.
• Check canonical tags and record metadata for all pages.
• Benchmark current SEO performance such as rankings, speed, etc.

Taking Inventory of Content and Data

This involves listing all the pages, posts, images, etc., you have on your current Sitecore website. Taking inventory of existing content before the migration is crucial to ensure all the content is migrated in its original state, including the multimedia.

The steps include:

• List all the pages and posts, along with the relevant content details.
• Highlight high-value content that brings a lot of traffic or leads to prioritize them individually.
• Catalog the media assets such as images, documents, and videos.
• Note any custom forms, interactive elements, or integrations that need to be replicated in WordPress.

Structured Data and Schema Markup

Structured data and schema markup help search engines "understand" your content and rank it appropriately. They bring features like rich snippets which further boost your search engine visibility on the first page of results.

You can preserve these while migrating from Sitecore to WordPress by:

• Auditing the existing structured data including product or service details, reviews, testimonials, FAQs, and more.
• Documenting schema usage across the website to ensure nothing is overlooked.
• Leveraging plugins like Yoast SEO, Schema Pro, or Rank Math to replicate it easily in your new WordPress site.
• Testing the structured data post-migration with tools like Google’s Rich Results Test or Schema Markup Validator.

2. Migration Execution

During this phase your data is moved to WordPress and all the custom functionalities are being added to the new website. Teams are recommended to halt all the content management tasks until this is completed.

Handling URLs and Metadata

It is a best practice to make minimal changes to the URLs, if at all. This not only reduces the iota of work during the Sitecore to WordPress migration process but also decreases the likelihood of 404 errors and internal redirects down the line.

You can check out this step-by-step migration guide for various best practices that will help you retain a consistent URL structure.

Keep in mind that going from one CMS to another is an opportunity to restructure anything about your online platform, including the URL. While it may get tempting to go above and beyond to optimize the web addresses, it’s crucial to tread carefully.

Too many URL edits may cost you a handful of backlinks or deliver a slow experience to the visitor due to a 301 redirect. This can affect your search engine rankings and keyword dominance which may require you to put in additional effort to regain those positions.

Document every 301 Redirect details carefully and ensure there are no internal redirects. It may require a manual approach to discover all the instances of internal redirects and fix them individually. However, it’s worth it as it enhances the UX for the readers.

Content Migration and Structure Optimization

Always leverage reliable migration tools that specialize in moving content from one CMS to another securely and quickly. You may need to write certain custom scripts or commands when migrating certain assets.

It is recommended that teams take full advantage of the content optimization and restructuring opportunity presented during the Sitecore to WordPress migration.

Enterprises and businesses across the world know that their website’s SEO can be improved in many obvious ways. Things like updating the titles, changing the meta description, and adding alt text to images can improve search engine rankings.

In fact, you can do much more than just optimize the on-page elements.

Start by evaluating the technical SEO foundation of your website. Site structure, crawlability, and URLs can be enhanced. Then, as mentioned earlier, you can move to the meta details such as title tags and alt attributes.

The best part is that it becomes easier with WordPress. You can leverage plugins like Yoast SEO and Rank Math to streamline this. The Image Alt Text plugin is another useful tool that makes it easier to quickly add alt text to images on your CMS.

XML Sitemaps & Robots.txt

XML sitemaps and the robots.txt file work like GPS for search engine crawlers. Proper maintenance of these ensures thorough and efficient indexing of all your web pages and prevents accidental blocking of important content.

There are a few ways you can ensure they stay updated and accurate:

• Generate a brand new XML Sitemap using WordPress plugins like Yoast SEO or Google XML Sitemaps that reflect your new site’s structure.
• Manually submit the new sitemap to Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools.
• Double-check to ensure the robots.txt file is correctly instructing the search engines on which pages to crawl and index.
• Use the robots.txt Tester in Google Search Console to identify and fix issues.

3. Post-Migration SEO Management

After moving to WordPress, teams need to closely monitor and actively test their website thoroughly. This is important for reaping all the benefits associated with the open-source CMS while protecting the search rankings.

Monitoring SEO Performance

The months following the Sitecore to WordPress migration are crucial as the search engines adapt to the new WordPress site. Rankings and traffic may fluctuate, and it’s vital to closely monitor the relevant metrics to quickly isolate issues.

Try to remain as proactive as possible. When you discover an anomaly, jump on it and get it sorted. For traffic monitoring, you can leverage:

• Google Analytics: A robust platform for tracking and reporting website traffic and user behavior.
• Adobe Analytics: A powerful tool for real-time customer intelligence and advanced segmentation analysis.
• Matomo Analytics: An open-source alternative to Google Analytics, offering complete data ownership.
• Clicky: A real-time analytics tool known for providing actionable insights with a simple interface.
• Fathom Analytics: A privacy-focused analytics platform, offering simple, no-nonsense insights.

Similarly, for rank tracking:

• Google Search Console: A free tool that helps monitor, maintain, and troubleshoot your site's presence in Google search results.
• Bing Webmaster Tools: Provides insights into your site’s performance and visibility on Bing.
• Ahrefs: A comprehensive SEO toolset for backlink analysis, rank tracking, and competitive analysis.
• Semrush: A versatile SEO and digital marketing tool for tracking rankings, analyzing competitors, and performing keyword research.
• Site Checker Pro: An SEO audit and rank tracking tool offering detailed reports on website health and performance.

Optimizing for Mobile and Speed

Mobile devices are becoming more popular and search engines like Google consider the user experience on these devices to be a crucial ranking factor. It is critical that your new WordPress website performs well on handheld devices, regardless of the operating system and browser.

Here are the optimization tips that will help you achieve that:

• Select a WordPress theme that is mobile-friendly and offers a highly responsive experience across devices.
• Leverage image compression tools to decrease the size of the graphics without losing much quality to speed up loading.
• Install caching plugins to store static versions of your pages to reduce server load and boost site performance.
• Compress HTML, CSS, and JavaScript files to improve loading times further.
• Distribute your content globally across various content delivery networks (CDNs) to ensure faster delivery.

Looking forward: Partner with Multidots for a seamless migration

The WordPress CMS provides many advantages over Sitecore such as ease of use, affordability, and security. However, preserving the SEO performance is central to all of these benefits. 

Handling the CMS migration process in-house, particularly for large and complex enterprise sites can increase the likelihood of oversights and errors. Moreover, hiring professionals full-time can incur a significant cost while slowing the overall process down.

A better strategy is to partner with an experienced Sitecore to WordPress migration agency to streamline the CMS transition.

Multidots has successfully migrated large and heavy Sitecore-powered enterprise or business websites to WordPress with minimal downtime. Our battle-tested approach ensures your SEO performance remains as such while enhancing the site performance and UX.

Ready to make the switch? Contact us today for a consultation.

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