WordPress to Drupal Migration: The Complete, No-BS Guide
Quick Answer: WordPress to Drupal migration takes 4–16 weeks and costs $10K–$80K. The key steps: content audit → Drupal architecture → automated migration → theme rebuild → SEO redirect mapping → testing → go-live. Done right, you won't lose SEO rankings.
⚡ Migration Quick Facts
- Timeline: 4–16 weeks (depends on site size)
- Cost: $10K–$80K
- SEO loss: Zero, if 301 redirects are done properly
- Content loss: Zero — everything migrates (posts, pages, media, users)
- Downtime: Zero — migration happens on staging first
You've outgrown WordPress. Maybe it's the security headaches. Maybe the plugin conflicts. Maybe your site is slow under traffic. Whatever the reason — you've decided to move to Drupal.
Good choice. But migration can feel overwhelming if you don't know the process. Here's exactly how it works, step by step.
The 6-Step Migration Process
Content Audit & Mapping
Before touching any code, you need a complete inventory of what you have:
- All content types (posts, pages, custom post types)
- Custom fields (ACF groups, meta boxes)
- Media files (images, videos, PDFs)
- Users and roles
- Plugins and their Drupal equivalents
- URL structure mapping
Timeline: 3–5 days
Drupal Architecture Design
This is where you improve, not just replicate. Design your Drupal content architecture to be better than what WordPress could do:
- Map WordPress post types → Drupal content types
- Design proper taxonomies and entity references
- Set up editorial workflows and user permissions
- Plan multilingual support (if needed)
Timeline: 1–2 weeks
Automated Content Migration
This is the heavy lifting. Drupal's Migrate API handles it automatically:
- All posts, pages, and custom content → Drupal nodes
- All media (images, files) → Drupal media entities
- All users → Drupal users with mapped roles
- All taxonomies → Drupal taxonomy terms
- All meta data (SEO titles, descriptions) → Drupal fields
Timeline: 1–4 weeks (depends on content volume)
Theme & Design Migration
Your WordPress theme won't directly port to Drupal, but your design can:
- Rebuild the design using Drupal's Twig template engine
- Improve responsiveness and accessibility
- Or take this as an opportunity for a fresh design
Timeline: 2–4 weeks
SEO Preservation (Critical!)
This is where most agencies mess up. Here's what you MUST do:
- 301 redirects for EVERY old URL → new URL
- Transfer all meta titles and descriptions
- Maintain or improve internal linking structure
- Generate new XML sitemap
- Submit to Google Search Console immediately
- Monitor rankings for 2–4 weeks post-launch
Timeline: 3–5 days
Testing & Go-Live
Everything happens on staging first. Zero downtime migration.
- Content validation — check every page loaded correctly
- Functionality testing — forms, search, integrations
- Performance testing — load time, caching
- Redirect testing — verify all old URLs redirect properly
- UAT (User Acceptance Testing) with your team
- DNS cutover → Go live!
Timeline: 1–2 weeks
What About My WordPress Plugins?
| WordPress Plugin | Drupal Equivalent |
|---|---|
| Yoast SEO | Metatag + Pathauto + Simple Sitemap |
| ACF (Advanced Custom Fields) | Built-in Field API (no plugin needed!) |
| WPML | Built-in multilingual (core feature) |
| WooCommerce | Drupal Commerce |
| Contact Form 7 | Webform module |
| Wordfence Security | Built-in security (core feature) |
| W3 Total Cache | Built-in caching (core feature) |
Notice a pattern? Many things that need plugins in WordPress are built into Drupal core.
Cost: What to Expect
- Simple blog migration: $10K–$20K (4–6 weeks)
- Business site with custom features: $20K–$50K (6–12 weeks)
- Enterprise migration: $50K–$80K+ (12–16 weeks)
Get exact pricing: See our full cost breakdown.
Ready to Migrate?
We've migrated 50+ WordPress sites to Drupal — from 100-page blogs to 50,000+ content item enterprise platforms. We know the pitfalls, and we know how to avoid them.
Book a free migration consultation. We'll review your WordPress site, map out the migration plan, and give you a fixed-price quote. No surprises.