To stay competitive in the digital landscape, you need a dynamic and user-friendly website. As a smart business owner, you may have relied on Content Management Systems (CMS) like Joomla to create and manage your digital presence. However, as your business evolves and technology advances, it becomes crucial to migrate your website to an advanced CMS like Drupal.

Since website migration is a complex process, and even the slightest mistake can have significant consequences such as lost data or functionality. But don't worry, with the right guidance and knowledge from Drupal Experts, this transition can be a seamless process with many benefits for your website, including improved performance, security, and access to new CMS features.

Before delving into how to avoid the common migration mistakes, let’s understand why Drupal is the superior choice for scaling digital experiences.

What are the benefits of migrating from Joomla to Drupal?

Drupal is a robust and flexible CMS platform, capable of handling more complex websites with ease. It offers a wider range of modules and plugins for customization, making it more versatile than Joomla.

In contrast, Joomla has a steeper learning curve and is not as customizable as Drupal website. It may be a good choice for smaller, simpler websites, but not the best option for larger, more complex websites.

Additionally, Drupal has a strong focus on security, with regular updates and a dedicated security team.

Overall, if you want a powerful, flexible, and secure CMS for your website, Drupal is the way to go. It offers more features, customization options, and security measures than Joomla, making it a superior choice for businesses of all sizes.

Watch this webinar to find out why Drupal is the right choice for your business.

How to avoid the common mistakes while migrating from Joomla to Drupal?

#Mistake 1: Not documenting the migration

Before starting the migration process, create a thorough documentation plan. Document everything from content, plugins, custom functionalities to template construction. This documentation will be essential if any issues arise before or after the migration process.

#Mistake 2: Failing to back up resources

Maintain a backup of all the current resources including databases, files, and configurations. This will guarantee that you have a copy of everything if something goes wrong during the migration process.

#Mistake 3: Ignoring system requirements

When rewriting the custom functionality or themes, ensure to support the most recent PHP file versions. This is necessary to keep your website secure and function optimally.

#Mistake 4: Not testing the migrated data

Create automated test cases to verify the migrated data from Joomla site to avoid any errors. Also, check the relation between content and the users, metadata for the content and menus, and other important data. This will ensure that the migrated data is accurate and usable.

#Mistake 5: Migrating manually

Automate the migration process with available tools and functionalities. This ensures that the migration process is precise and efficient, while avoiding mistakes that can occur when done manually.

Discover 10 Drupal modules that will help you make a seamless transition from Joomla to Drupal.

#Mistake 6: Not testing the migration

Data loss is a common problem that occurs during migration. To migrate the data correctly, ensure that the fields are correctly mapped in the migration files and run the test import with small pieces of content.

#Mistake 7: Not optimizing website for search engines

To keep SEO rankings in place after migration to Drupal site, verify that:

• There are no broken links, and all canonical links are accurately migrated and updated. This process ensures that users can access links from search engines without being redirected to 404 pages.
• All metadata and structured data are accurately transferred.
• All on-page optimization factors, such as titles, headings, and descriptions, are correctly set up in Drupal.

#Mistake 8: Neglecting website performance

Poor performance leads to poor user experience. To avoid this, set all caches and relationships within the content properly. This will ensure that your website performs optimally, and users have a great experience.

Learn more: How to Optimize Your Site for Better Performance?

#Mistake 9: Overlooking website security

When migrating, all user roles and permissions should be correctly migrated. To ensure that your website is secure, and users' data is protected, avoid adding deprecated codes and functionalities and, remove unsecured contrib modules and themes.

#Mistake 10: Failing to hire the right Drupal expert

Website migration is a complex process that requires extensive knowledge of both Joomla and Drupal, as well as the technical skills required to complete the transition flawlessly. By consulting an experienced and certified Drupal developer and partner like Altudo, you can ensure that the migration is completed correctly, efficiently, and without any issues that could negatively impact your website's performance.

Drop in your contact and our team of certified Drupal experts will guide you through your entire migration and implementation journey to help you set up your website for success.

Conclusion

Migrating from Joomla to Drupal can be tricky, but with proper planning and execution, you can ensure seamless website migration from Joomla to Drupal without any loss of data or traffic. You can achieve this by planning the migration process thoroughly, choosing the right modules, avoiding the common mistakes mentioned in this article, and following the best practices.