Migrating websites from another platform to Duda allows your agency to focus on a single platform and lower the overall cost of ownership by saving on maintenance costs and staff hours. Depending on the websites needing to be migrated, we offer several migration types: data, manual, and fast. In this article we explain each migration type along with the benefits and limitations.
Data Migration
A data migration is completed using Duda’s API and connected data to push website data into custom templates. This is similar to our instant site flow. Data migration works best for clients whose website data is easily accessible in a CRM or database and who are comfortable using an API and technical integrations. In addition, the websites being migrated all need to use a similar template for this method to be effective.
The benefit to data migration is that it can be completed quickly and it gives users access to full editor features, updated website designs, and Duda’s performance benefits, including: SEO, Core Web Vitals, responsive pages, pagespeed, and schema.
A data migration may not be the best option if Duda does not have a widget to support a specific feature on the original websites, or if Duda does not have a template or flow that closely matches the original websites.
Manual Migration
A manual migration is completed by manually rebuilding websites using the Duda editor. Depending on the complexity of the original websites, this can take between 3-5 hours per site. To speed up the build process, we recommend leveraging connected data, the Content Library, and custom templates. This is the easiest migration option for a few hundred websites.
The benefit to manual migrations is that it gives users access to full editor features, an updated website design or an exact copy of their original website, and Duda’s performance benefits, including: SEO, Core Web Vitals, responsive pages, pagespeed, and schema.
A manual migration may not be the best option if there is limited time and budget, or if Duda does not have a widget to support a specific feature of the original websites.
To learn best practices for a manual migration, see Move Your Website to Duda for Basic and Team Plans and Move Your Website to Duda for Agency Plan and Higher.
Fast Migration
A fast migration is completed by using a platform specific plugin to scrape and copy the original websites over to Duda. This results in a 95-99% match of the original website. For a fast migration, it typically takes 1-2 months to test the migration plugin and plan the project.
The benefit to a fast migration is that websites are published as soon as the migration is completed and the final websites are nearly identical to the original websites. Any minor changes will be unrecognizable to an average user.
A fast migration may not be the best option if you or your clients need more access to the editor than just the ability to change text and images. If you need to make substantial changes to the website, you will need someone who can edit the website in developer mode. Also, the website performance will be contingent upon the website's performance on the previous platform and you will not benefit from Duda’s performance benefits.
Your agency must have a managed account to use fast migration. If you are interested, contact your Account Manager.
Hire a Solution Partner or Duda Expert
If you are limited on time or resources, hiring a Solution Partner or Duda Expert is a great option. They can advise you on which migration option is best for your situation and then help complete it.
To learn more, check out our Duda Expert directory.