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separator Resources separator Sitecore to WordPress migration guide: What enterprise teams need to know

Topics

On this page

TL;DR

Why enterprises leave Sitecore

The move to XM Cloud requires another major rebuild

The DXP capabilities never became part of daily work

Specialist dependency raises operating costs

Sitecore vs WordPress at a glance

Plan the migration before choosing tools

Understand the migration risks

Audit the existing Sitecore setup

Document the Sitecore stack

List third-party integrations

Audit every Sitecore function/feature you’re using

Trace workflows from start to finish

Audit your content

Map users, roles, and permissions

Review media and DAM requirements

Establish the SEO and performance baseline

Evaluate your WordPress architecture options

Choose the right hosting for your WordPress site

Set up the migration environments

Development

Staging

Live

Secure your Sitecore data

Migrate the Sitecore frontend to WordPress

How the frontend build runs

Migrate the Sitecore backend to WordPress

Migrate Sitecore content to WordPress

Sitecore Content Serialization

Sitecore PowerShell Extensions (SPE)

RESTful Services

Data mapping

Import methods

Preserve SEO equity

Set up redirects

Migrate SEO metadata

Take care of the technical SEO

Run post-migration QA

Validate content

Check the design

Review the media library

Run functional testing

Test performance

Check security

Validate SEO

Test analytics and tracking

Sitecore to WordPress post-migration considerations

Evaluate alignment with migration goals

Benchmark performance metrics

Gather feedback from stakeholders

Assess SEO impact

How moving to WordPress looks at scale

Use the migration to build an AI-ready platform

Get the 20-hour free discovery

Frequently asked questions

How long does a Sitecore to WordPress migration take?

Will we lose SEO rankings?

Can WordPress match Sitecore's personalisation capabilities?

What happens to our Sitecore content model?

Is WordPress secure enough to replace Sitecore?

How much does a Sitecore to WordPress migration cost?

Can our team maintain WordPress after migration?

Is Sitecore XM Cloud really a replatform or just an upgrade?

Last updated on Sep 14, 2026

Sitecore to WordPress migration guide: What enterprise teams need to know

The Sitecore XM Cloud quote has arrived. Your team may call it an upgrade, but the scope looks closer to a replatform.

Sitecore’s own migration guidance supports that assessment. It describes the move from Sitecore XP to XM Cloud, now part of the SitecoreAI product family, as a significant change in how teams develop, manage, and deliver digital experiences. However, XM Cloud isn’t Sitecore XP moved to the cloud. It uses a SaaS, headless-first architecture with a separate rendering application and a new SDK layer.

If you have to replatform anyway, this is an opportunity to evaluate whether you want to rebuild inside the Sitecore ecosystem or move to infrastructure you control.

This Sitecore to WordPress migration guide walks you through that second path. It explains the business case, costs, planning, architecture, hosting, content, SEO, testing, launch, and post-migration operations.

rtCamp has completed 500+ enterprise WordPress engagements, including migrations from AEM, Kentico, Drupal, and enterprise CMSs. We help companies leave proprietary platforms with a clear plan for what happens to their content, code, and integrations. We are also a WordPress VIP Gold Agency Partner, SOC 2 Type II compliant, and ISO 27001 certified.

TL;DR

Why enterprises leave Sitecore

Sitecore was built for large organisations with complex digital experience requirements. But most companies use it to publish pages. And pay for the rest anyway.

The Sitecore license cost is only one part of the bill. It also requires specialist developers, regular upgrades, infrastructure, and ongoing partner support.

We call the total effect the Platform Tax. It’s the cumulative cost of staying on a platform that no longer fits how the organisation works: license fees + upgrade cost + consultant dependency + opportunity cost of every delayed roadmap item. Applied to Sitecore, it looks something like this. 

Sitecore can cost $170,000–$450,000 a year to run: $60,000–$150,000 for licensing, $40,000–$120,000 for hosting, and $70,000–$180,000 for maintenance and upgrades. Over five years, the Sitecore total cost of ownership can reach $700,000–$1.5 million.

Want figures based on your actual Sitecore contract? Use our DXP TCO Calculator to see what your Sitecore platform costs against a comparable WordPress setup →

The move to XM Cloud requires another major rebuild

XM Cloud reduces the infrastructure workload associated with Sitecore XP, but an existing XP implementation cannot simply be moved as is.

Sitecore XP renders pages within the .NET application. XM Cloud separates content management from the presentation layer, so the frontend becomes its own application, built with Next.js and connected to Sitecore through APIs. Existing MVC renderings and other platform-specific customisations therefore need to be rebuilt or replaced. Integrations must also be adapted to the new architecture. Sitecore provides tools for migrating content and media, but moving the data is only one part of the project.

The DXP capabilities never became part of daily work

Sitecore is often selected for personalisation and customer-data capabilities. Years later, the marketing team uses Sitecore to create and publish web pages. As a result, the organisation pays for the broader product while relying on a small part of it.

Specialist dependency raises operating costs

A mature Sitecore implementation depends on a small group of certified developers. That creates a labour premium and key-person risk.

Routine work can move slowly when editors need development support to adjust a component or change how structured content appears. The cost then extends beyond engineering rates. Campaigns wait, experiments get postponed, and the product roadmap fills with CMS maintenance.

The decision to leave should come from your actual architecture, however. Staying may be the better option when:

For everyone else, the XM Cloud project creates a natural point to compare the cost of staying with the cost of leaving.

Sitecore vs WordPress at a glance

If you are on Sitecore, you know why you chose it. That decision wasn’t wrong, but does the same reasoning still hold?

Sitecore’s DAM is mature, and its customer-data products connect to the CMS through a single vendor relationship. That coherence has a cost: Sitecore sets the pricing, the upgrade schedule, and the product roadmap. When Sitecore decides XP customers need to move to XM Cloud, the decision has already been made for them.

WordPress is open-source. The organisation owns the codebase, chooses the infrastructure, and adds or removes tools without renegotiating a contract. At enterprise scale, it can support heavy traffic and large brand portfolios. For example, Penske Media Corporation, which owns Rolling Stone, Variety, and Billboard, handles hundreds of millions of monthly pageviews on WordPress VIP. One of our clients, Cox Automotive, runs eight brands on a shared WordPress codebase, while Al Jazeera uses WordPress as its global editorial platform.

One more thing to add: Sitecore Personalize is a separately licensed product. WordPress personalisation runs on infrastructure the organisation already owns. rtCamp delivers it as one of the 5 AI Dimensions, a set of AI capabilities built into every migration engagement, with no additional licensing. 

The main differences are easier to see side by side. 

AreaSitecoreWordPress****Platform modelProprietary DXP sold through enterprise contractsOpen-source software with no licence feeArchitectureSitecore XP uses an integrated .NET architecture; XM Cloud uses a SaaS, headless modelCan run as a conventional CMS or headless platformEditorial workMature editing tools, though custom layouts may depend on Sitecore developersGutenberg blocks and patterns let editors build pages from approved componentsContent modellingTemplates, fields, items, and taxonomiesCustom post types, fields, blocks, and taxonomiesMultisiteNative support for multisite and multilingual implementationsWordPress Multisite supports many sites on a shared codebasePersonalizationBuilt-in rules for region, referrer, UTM, landing page, and visitor status. Advanced use requires Sitecore Personalize. The same basic rules can be added through plugins or CDN. Advanced tools can be chosen independently.HostingCustomer-managed infrastructure for XP; Sitecore-managed SaaS for XM CloudChoice of managed enterprise hosting or customer-controlled infrastructureProduct roadmapControlled by SitecoreControlled by the organisationSpecialist availabilitySmaller pool of Sitecore developersBroader WordPress and PHP talent pool

Plan the migration before choosing tools

A Sitecore migration should begin with outcomes. Define what the organisation expects to improve and how you will measure it.

Goal****MeasurementReduce platform costCompare annual platform and support spend before and after migration.Increase publishing speedMeasure time from approved draft to publication.Reduce developer dependencyTrack CMS-related editorial tickets per month.Preserve search trafficCompare organic sessions and rankings before launch and at 30, 60, and 90 days.Improve performanceCompare Core Web Vitals by page type.Simplify multisite managementMeasure shared code and component reuse across brands.Improve release reliabilityTrack deployment frequency, failed releases, and rollback rate.

Then decide whether the project will retain the existing design or include a redesign. That choice affects component scope, content transformation, QA, training, and timeline. A late decision can force the team to rebuild completed work.

With that agreed, you can scope the enterprise CMS migration and test the approach before starting the full build. At rtCamp, the work runs through the following stages:

Audit → We map your Sitecore architecture, content, integrations, and URL structure. The output is a phased migration roadmap with confirmed risks and budget. This stage is 20 hours, free, and can start in 7 days.

Pilot → A contained first delivery. We migrate one section of the site end to end, validating the approach prior to the full build.

Phased Build → Frontend, backend, and content migration run in parallel. We build on a staging environment while the live site stays live throughout.

Enablement → We deliver editorial documentation and role-specific training before launch, so the team publishes independently from day one.

Hypercare → 30 days of dedicated monitoring, issue resolution, and performance optimisation after go-live. Included as standard.

Evolution → Ongoing maintenance, managed growth, or staff augmentation. The average rtCamp client engagement runs six years.

Understand the migration risks

Migration problems often begin with dependencies the team did not know existed. It might be an undocumented integration or a custom field used by one region. When these dependencies surface early, they are cheaper to deal with.

What can go wrongHow we reduce itIncomplete discovery❗Custom code, workflows, or integrations appear late and change the scope.✔️Audit the architecture, configuration, content, and connected systems before confirming the roadmap.Poor content mapping❗Sitecore items become generic WordPress pages, making structured content difficult to reuse or manage.✔️Define the WordPress content model first, then test it on a representative section.SEO loss❗URLs change, redirects fail, or metadata and language signals disappear.✔️Crawl the existing site, map every URL, and compare staging against the SEO baseline.Long content freezes❗A one-time export leaves editors unable to publish while the new platform catches up.✔️Migrate in repeatable batches and use delta migrations for content changed after the first run.Integration failures❗Forms appear to work but leads never reach the CRM, or analytics records the wrong events.✔️Test the full journey from the visitor action to the final system.No rollback path❗Sitecore is decommissioned too early, or the team cannot restore the WordPress release after cutover.✔️Rehearse the launch, define rollback triggers, and keep Sitecore available until WordPress is stable.

The next step is to trace how Sitecore works today, including things stakeholders assume happen somewhere else.

Audit the existing Sitecore setup

Sitecore implementations collect years of custom code and integrations. Before moving any of it, find out what you are going to move.

Document the Sitecore stack

Start with the platform itself. Record the Sitecore version, deployment model, hosting, search provider, databases, CDN, caching, multisite setup, and languages. Then record the Sitecore products in use. Here’s a quick list of Sitecore’s solutions for reference:

Once you have the list, find a WordPress alternative for each product in use. If you are running Sitecore Personalize, for example, you need to decide what handles personalisation on WordPress. It might be Logic Hop, HubSpot, or a custom build.

Sitecore solution****In use?****WordPress equivalentCMS☐ Sitecore Experience Manager
☐ Content Hub One
☐ Sitecore XM CloudWordPress CMSSearch☐ Yes / ☐ NoAlgolia, SearchWP, customCDP☐ Yes / ☐ NoSegment, Twilio, customPersonalize☐ Yes / ☐ NoLogic Hop, Uberflip, HubSpot, customContent Hub (DAM)☐ Yes / ☐ NoGoDAM, Cloudinary, customConnect☐ Yes / ☐ NoZapier, Make, customSend / other apps☐ Yes / ☐ NoList alternatives

List third-party integrations

Document every external system connected to Sitecore. A typical setup may use Salesforce for sales, HubSpot for marketing automation, Slack for collaboration, Google Analytics or Parse.ly for reporting, and Cloudflare for performance.

For each integration, record what it does today and how it will connect to WordPress. For example, rtCamp developed the WordPress VIP for Salesforce integration to send WordPress data to Salesforce, which won the “Top Partner Innovator” award.

Note: List any other third-party integrations that you lack in your current setup and need to build on your new WordPress stack.

Audit every Sitecore function/feature you’re using

Some Sitecore features have a direct WordPress equivalent. Others require a plugin, external service, or custom build. Sitecore forms, for example, could move to Gravity Forms or a custom solution connected to your CRM. List every built-in and custom function your team uses, then record how it will be handled in WordPress.

FeatureAvailability in WordPressMigration strategyVisual Editor (WYSIWYG)✅ Built-in (Gutenberg)Direct mapping with frontendForms🧩 Via pluginsPlugins: Gravity Forms, WPForms, or a Custom solution.Co-editing🧩 Via pluginsPlugins: Google Docs integration, or a custom solution.Other custom featuresResearch their availabilityBuild a strategy

Keep in mind that this is an initial mapping exercise. Final tool choices come after the requirements are clear.

Trace workflows from start to finish

Your CMS sits at the intersection of your business processes, like sales, marketing, service, and others. Before migration, map every automated workflow that runs through the platform. Let’s take email automation as an example. 

A user fills out a form on the Sitecore site, the submission goes to Sitecore Send, and an automated response goes back to the user. That entire sequence needs to be rebuilt in WordPress, usually with a form plugin like Gravity Forms connected to HubSpot. 

Build a table to list all your existing Sitecore workflows or automations and how you’ll move them over to WordPress. It might look something like this:

WorkflowCurrent process in SitecoreWordPress migration planEmail automationForm → Sitecore Send → Automated responseGravity Forms + HubSpotWorkflow #2……

Audit your content

Count and classify everything stored in Sitecore. Preserve relationships between items, fields, media, languages, and reusable components. Also, flag any obsolete content that won’t need to be transferred to your new WordPress site.

These would be:

Map users, roles, and permissions

Document all roles in the current Sitecore setup, their permissions, and what they can access. The goal is to map each one to a WordPress equivalent before migration begins. For example, a Sitecore Admin maps directly to the WordPress Administrator role with no changes needed. Other roles don’t transfer as cleanly.

Review media and DAM requirements

At this step, you have to understand where your media files live today, and where they will live in WordPress.

If your organisation uses Sitecore Content Hub, the migration needs a decision on what replaces it. There are three paths:

Use this table to document your current DAM usage and if the WordPress media library, with custom enhancements, can meet your needs:

FeaturesWordPress defaultPotential enhancementsAdvanced organization✅ Categories & TagsCustom taxonomies, metadata fieldsCustom metadata❌ Not supportedCustom fields for copyright, usage rights, etc.Enhanced search✅ BasicCustom search filters using metadata, faceted searchAutomated workflows❌ NoneAuto-resizing, format conversion, etc.User permissions✅ BasicGranular control over files and actionsVersion Control✅ BasicEnhanced versioning with historyBulk Actions✅ BasicAdvanced bulk editing and downloadsAnalytics & reporting❌ NoneCustom analytics and reporting toolsAccess control✅ Tied to user rolesPermission controls by asset or categoryAsset previews & thumbnails✅ BasicEnhanced preview options for various file types

Establish the SEO and performance baseline

Finally, audit your SEO. It spans five areas.

**Page title / AssetCurrent Sitecore URLNew WordPress URL (Planned)****Redirect needed?**Homepage//❌ NoAbout Us/about-us/about✅ YesContact Page/contact-us/contact✅ YesPrivacy Policy/privacy-policy/privacy-policy❌ NoBlog posts/content/blog/article-title/blog/article-title✅ YesService pages/content/service/abc/service/abc✅ Yes

Note: Maintain a spreadsheet to track all your pages and posts, including their backlink data.

rtCamp’s 20-hour free discovery covers everything we’ve discussed here. We’ll go through your current setup and show how to migrate from Sitecore to WordPress before you sign a contract.

Evaluate your WordPress architecture options

Migration is a good time to decide if you want to replicate the current Sitecore architecture or change it. Sitecore runs in three modes:

WordPress supports all three, and switching between them later does not require a replatform.

Traditional WordPress is the fastest path to lower costs and editorial independence. The frontend and backend are coupled, the plugin ecosystem is large, and content teams work without developer involvement for routine publishing.

Headless WordPress uses WordPress as the content backend and a separate framework, Next.js, for example, on the frontend. Content teams work in the familiar WordPress admin. Development teams have full control over the frontend. This approach suits organisations already running API infrastructure or serving content to multiple channels, but it adds frontend engineering overhead.

Hybrid WordPress runs the main site on traditional WordPress while using its APIs to power other applications, like a mobile app or a marketing microsite, for instance.

For most Sitecore teams, traditional WordPress is the right starting point. It delivers editorial independence immediately and costs less to run. Headless or hybrid architecture makes sense when the organisation has a clear multi-channel requirement and the engineering capacity to support it.

Confirm the target architecture before the build starts. Everything else, like hosting, frontend tooling, development scope, follows from this one decision.

You can read more about how Sitecore and WordPress compare in their approach to headless architecture in our Sitecore vs WordPress comparison

Choose the right hosting for your WordPress site

WordPress gives you two main hosting options: managed hosting or infrastructure your team manages itself.

For enterprise sites, managed WordPress hosting is the right default. WordPress VIP handles security, scalability, backups, performance, and updates. It also comes with direct support access when something needs attention quickly.

Self-hosted WordPress gives more control and lower direct cost. It works well when the internal team has expertise to manage server configuration, security patching, and scaling. Without that, the overhead lands on people who have other things to do.

Set up the migration environments

To run a Sitecore to WordPress migration, you need to configure three separate environments: development, staging, and live.

Development

It’s the local or cloud-based environment where the initial migration work happens. Frontend developers build the theme, backend devs work on the plugin skeleton, and migration engineers handle the migration plugin if one is needed. At rtCamp, this runs on a local development environment alongside GitHub. Learn more about how we set it up here.

Staging

This environment mirrors your actual production setup. Most WordPress hosting providers offer staging environments (either as part of hosting plans or at additional costs). If the project runs on WordPress VIP, code reviews also happen here, adding another layer of quality assurance. 

When you use GitHub to write your code, it’s easy to push it to a staging and later to a live environment too. GitHub also allows for continuous integration of code as your developers write it.

Live

The live environment is your final production setup. When everything is confirmed in staging, the code is pushed live via GitHub. The Sitecore to WordPress migration completes when the DNS switches and the live environment takes over.

Secure your Sitecore data

Every migration team thinks it won’t happen to them, but migrations do go wrong. That’s why it’s important to have a tested backup in place when it does.

A full Sitecore backup usually covers:

However, different Sitecore solutions approach backups differently. With a Sitecore XM Cloud, you can’t take a complete backup on your end. Why? 

Because Sitecore XM Cloud is a managed service with Sitecore handling the entire instance. For example, to back up customer profiles or user data through database or file system backups, you’ll need to contact the Sitecore support team for help. With media items, you’d use a Sitecore PowerShell script. And so on.

Here are some Sitecore backup methods at a glance:

Data typeTypical itemsBackup methodContent itemsPages, blog posts, articles, product descriptions, etc.Sitecore Serialization: A collection of export tools for your content. Team support may be needed depending on the method.Media assetsImages, videos, PDFs, and audio files.Media Library Export or a custom PowerShell script. Can often be done independently.SEO metadataPage titles, meta descriptions, keywords, and alt tags.Sitecore PowerShell script: The most common method to export this data.User dataUser profiles, roles, and permissions.API transfer: This requires assistance from the Sitecore support team or a developer.

After you take a backup, test it. Confirm it is complete and functional, then store it in encrypted cloud storage with at least one copy offsite.

When you are finished with what we’ve described above, you can move to the actual migration process. We’ll start with the frontend, then move to the backend and content.

Migrate the Sitecore frontend to WordPress

As it usually goes, first, you need to evaluate the current design and define how it can be recreated in WordPress. 

This audit focuses on three areas: the theme, the templates, and the components.

If you want to retain your existing design, the best way is to create a custom WordPress theme. In most cases, a custom WordPress theme can replicate the exact look of your existing Sitecore website’s frontend, down to the pixel.

In case you go with a redesign, again, you can create a WordPress theme from scratch.

Chances are you’ve added or customised Sitecore templates for your marketing collateral, like product pages, landing pages, case studies, and more.

With WordPress, you’ll need to recreate these templates using WordPress’s custom posts feature. WordPress’s support for custom posts combined with the Gutenberg editor gives you lots of design possibilities inside the CMS.

Sitecore components, like testimonials, pull quotes, FAQs, carousels, and pricing tables, become Gutenberg blocks in WordPress. Each component from the discovery audit gets a corresponding block. It’s flexible and reusable across the site.

How the frontend build runs

Now that you know what you need to recreate, it’s time to get to the migration itself. Here’s how we do it:

  1. Set up the theme skeleton

Start with a bare-bones theme that handles basic templating, typography, and spacing. Build on it from there.

  1. Create the main navigation, header, and footer

Build out your WordPress site’s primary navigation menu, header, and footer. These give the site its structure. Make the header and footer dynamic so they can be adjusted without code.

  1. Build Gutenberg blocks for every component

Use the discovery audit as the brief. Each documented Sitecore component gets a corresponding Gutenberg block.

  1. Assemble predefined layouts

Combine blocks into common page sections: multi-column layouts, CTAs, image grids. Editors use these to build pages without design skills.

  1. Build core pages and page templates

Construct the homepage, landing pages, and other key pages. Develop reusable templates for page types the team creates regularly.

  1. Integrate third-party frontend elements

Add CRM forms, video embeds, and social platforms. Style them to match the theme.

And one more thing: any design element added through custom code or third-party widgets, like sliders, timelines, pricing tables, or embedded videos, needs a WordPress equivalent. And this process is largely manual.

Since the frontend is being rebuilt from scratch regardless of whether the design is retained or redesigned, this is also a good time to consider a refresh.

Migrate the Sitecore backend to WordPress

While the frontend team builds the block library, a backend team works in parallel on the platform functionality underneath. During the audit, the team documented everything the current Sitecore setup does. The backend team takes that list and rebuilds each item on WordPress. In practice, that means: 

Content migration shouldn’t wait either. Once taxonomies are mapped and user roles configured, migration engineers can start transferring that data from Sitecore to WordPress.

Here’s a snapshot of how your Sitecore to WordPress development roadmap can look:

WeekBackend and feature developmentFrontend theme development****MigrationEngineer 1Engineer 2Engineer 1Engineer 21• Plugin skeleton• Plugin listDAM implementation• Theme skeleton• Common templates/sectionsGutenberg blocksMigration plugin base2• Post types• Taxonomies• Global tagmanagement• User roles and capabilities• Global optionsFull-width navigation (Header mega menu)Gutenberg blocks• Taxonomies• User migration3• URL mapping and rewrite rules• Sitemapsredirection• Robots.txt• SEO & Social sharingHeader and footerGutenberg blocksMedia migration4• Editorial workflow• UAT (Self-testing)• Enhancements and fixesGutenberg blocksGutenberg blocks• Content migration• Media migration5Redirection scripts• UAT (Self-testing)• Enhancements and fixesGutenberg blocksGutenberg blocksContent migration6Block page templatesThird-party integrationContent migration7QA: Gutenberg blocksQA: Third-party integration• Content migration• Delta migration script

Next, we move on to content migration, followed by QA and other final checks.

Migrate Sitecore content to WordPress

Content migration moves pages, posts, media assets, user profiles, taxonomies, and metadata from Sitecore to WordPress. No single tool handles all of it, so the work runs as a mix of automated and manual methods.

Automated****ManualStandard content, like blog articles, media assets, and user data, moves through scripts and export tools.Bespoke elements, like the homepage, unique landing pages, and custom layouts, get moved and rebuilt by hand.

Which export path fits depends on the Sitecore product in use (XM, XM Cloud, XP, or Content Hub One) and whether the instance is on-premises or managed, as each has different export options and different compatibility with Sitecore’s bulk-data tools. Our guide for Sitecore to WordPress content migration covers the export routes (Content Serialization, PowerShell Extensions, REST APIs), the Sitecore-to-WordPress data mapping, and the three import methods in full.

Sitecore Content Serialization

One way to extract content from Sitecore is through serialization. It saves Sitecore items and their fields as files that migration scripts can read and convert into WordPress content.

Your Sitecore project may already use:

The Sitecore version and existing project setup will determine which option is available. The files still need to be mapped and transformed before they can be imported into WordPress. Content not covered by the serialization setup may need to be extracted through an API or custom script.

Sitecore PowerShell Extensions (SPE)

SPE automates admin tasks and bulk content exports. It can export content in JSON, XML, or CSV, with control over which fields and relationships are included. SPE does not support Sitecore 7.x or below, and your team will need to know PowerShell scripting.

RESTful Services

Sitecore’s REST APIs export data in JSON format. They are designed for individual item access, so bulk retrieval requires custom scripting. Also, you’ll need advanced knowledge about RESTful APIs and integration concepts to get this to work.

There is no single right answer on which option to use. It depends on what version of Sitecore you are running and what the content looks like. Most migrations use a mix. 

Data mapping

When you’ve exported your Sitecore content, or sometimes even before exporting (depending on the kinds of scripts you’re using), it’s time to map it to WordPress’s ecosystem. 

Here’s a table mapping the common elements from Sitecore to WordPress:

Sitecore****WordPressPagePageArticlePostMedia ItemMedia fileCategoryCategoryTagTagSEO metadataTranslates to the different SEO metadata fields in the SEO plugin you choose.User profileUser profileTemplateThemePage layoutPage templateComponentBlock, widget, or pattern

Import methods

Finally, you can import data to WordPress. Take a look at some ways to do that:

Preserve SEO equity

By the time you decide to migrate, your sites have likely built up years of search rankings and organic traffic. That does not move on its own. So you need to take certain steps to preserve your SEO rankings:

Set up redirects

Take the URL mapping from the discovery audit to decide what happens to each link. Here are the three scenarios possible:

Use this table for your URL mapping exercise:

Content assetSitecore URLWP URLRedirect typeActionGeneral site page/about-us/about-usNoneDirect match; maintain URLBlog posts/content/blog/article-title/blog/article-title301 RedirectPattern match for all blog posts. This can be “bulk-mapped” using standard rules.Service pages/content/service/service-abc/service-abc301 RedirectCustom mapping for service pages. This needs to be done on a page-by-page basis.General site page/contact-us/contact301 RedirectAlso custom mapping. Update URL to match new naming.

Migrate SEO metadata

You also need to move your SEO data from your Sitecore instance to the new WordPress stack. 

To do so, use one of the export tools we discussed in the content migration section. These might be Sitecore PowerShell scripts, for example.

For importing them to WordPress, consider using a plugin like Yoast

You can read on how we migrated SEO equity for one of our clients to better understand the process.

Take care of the technical SEO

After the metadata is in place, handle the remaining technical items:

Run post-migration QA

The migration is complete. But does it work? Check it before your users do.

Validate content

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Confirm all pages, posts, and media assets transferred from Sitecore to WordPress.

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Verify migrated content displays correctly on the frontend.

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Check that categories, tags, and taxonomies are intact and content is organised as expected.

Check the design

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Compare the design against the original Sitecore site.

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Test responsive behaviour across different viewport sizes.

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Validate dynamic elements, like forms, interactive components, and UX flows.

Review the media library

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Confirm all images, videos, and multimedia assets are present.

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Verify media files load correctly and are optimised for performance.

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Check that file attachments, like PDFs and documents, are accessible.

Run functional testing

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Confirm all features and functionalities work as intended.

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Test editorial workflows end to end.

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Verifying integrations.

Test performance

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Run key pages through Google PageSpeed Insights and compare against the pre-migration baseline.

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Verify caching is configured the way it should be.

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Check general site performance and loading speeds.

Check security

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Confirm security best practices are in place, like strong passwords, login restrictions, and two-factor authentication.

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Verify security certificates are installed and active.

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Make sure WordPress user roles and permissions are correctly mapped from Sitecore.

Validate SEO

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Verify all SEO metadata, like title tags, meta descriptions, alt tags, are transferred intact.

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Validate URL structures and redirects.

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Ensure schema markup is correctly implemented in WordPress.

Test analytics and tracking

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Confirm Google Analytics or other tracking tools are set up and capturing data accurately.

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Check that goals and conversions carried over from Sitecore.

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Validate event tracking, form submissions, clicks, scroll depth.

Sitecore to WordPress post-migration considerations

You began the migration with a set of measurable goals. WordPress is live now, time to test them.

Evaluate alignment with migration goals

Return to the goals set at the start of the migration and check how many are already being met. Some will take longer to show up. For instance, if the primary goal was to reduce costs, it’s unlikely you’ll see the complete financial impact immediately. A more realistic evaluation period is around a year. This timeline will show whether the migration was a smart investment. Rest assured, it will.

Benchmark performance metrics

Rerun the performance tests conducted on the Sitecore site before migration. Use tools like  PageSpeed Insights or Web Auditor and compare results against the pre-migration baseline. If there is room to improve, build an optimisation plan.

Gather feedback from stakeholders

Ask each team how the transition has landed in practice.

Survey end users too. Use the findings to identify what needs further optimisation.

Assess SEO impact

Give the site time before concluding SEO. Search engines need to re-crawl, re-index, and re-evaluate the site after a migration. Rankings and traffic may fluctuate in the first weeks, that is expected. A clearer picture emerges within two to three months.

How moving to WordPress looks at scale

We will be honest with you: we can’t share a published Sitecore WordPress migration case study yet. But we are working on it. For now, we’ll share migrations from platforms with similar enterprise complexity and show what changed after those teams moved to WordPress.

Cox Automotive was running 8 brand sites, each on its own codebase and its own maintenance schedule. Work done for one brand could not be reused anywhere else. Every site was its own project. rtCamp migrated all 8 from AEM and Kentico onto a single WordPress foundation using the OnePress multisite framework. It’s a shared governed core where 70–80% of the codebase is reused across brands, with each brand retaining its own identity. As a result, 103% more engagement, 100% more leads, 2× Core Web Vitals improvement, and a marketing team that publishes on all brands without waiting on engineering.

Dealertrack, part of Cox Automotive, had a familiar problem: a powerful CMS that required a developer for almost everything. Landing pages, content updates, campaign launches, all went through an engineering queue. After the migration to WordPress VIP, that changed. The team got a Gutenberg and Elementor setup built to their design system, and landing page time-to-market was cut by 50%.

See more enterprise migrations we have run and the results they delivered →

Use the migration to build an AI-ready platform

By now it is clear that either way you will need a rebuild. But with WordPress, you get a platform you own outright, and one that is ready for AI. At rtCamp, we build that in through the 5 AI Dimensions, AI capabilities scoped into every migration engagement. Here are the dimensions themselves:

Together, they turn the migration from a platform switch into a foundation for the next few years.

This isn’t a new direction for us. rtCamp developed 3 AI Connectors to WordPress 7.0: OpenRouter, LM Studio, and Universal OpenAI. We know this space because we help build it.

Get the 20-hour free discovery

We’ll map your Sitecore architecture, tell you what needs rebuilding, and help you put together the internal case.

Book your free discovery session

Frequently asked questions

How long does a Sitecore to WordPress migration take?

Scope is the main driver here. A single site with moderate rendering complexity is ready in 3–5 months. Add multiple brands, languages, or a large content volume, and that stretches to 5–9 months. Our 20-hour free discovery scopes it for your implementation before you sign a contract.

Will we lose SEO rankings?

Rankings are not lost in migrations. They are lost in migrations that were not planned properly. We map every indexed URL to its WordPress destination before anything moves, validate redirect chains, and run a crawl simulation in staging prior the DNS switch. VinSolutions went through this process and came out with every SEO rank intact and Core Web Vitals up 48%.

Can WordPress match Sitecore’s personalisation capabilities?

For most organisations, yes, and without the licensing bill. Sitecore Personalize is a separately priced product that runs seven figures annually at production scale. On WordPress, personalisation runs on infrastructure you already own. No per-contact fees or separate contract.

What happens to our Sitecore content model?

Your Sitecore content model gets rebuilt. Sitecore Templates become Custom Post Types with ACF Pro field groups. Renderings and SXA components become Gutenberg blocks built to your design system. The decisions made in the content mapping stage determine how your editorial team works on day one and for the years that follow.

Is WordPress secure enough to replace Sitecore?

Yes, when it is built and managed for enterprise use. Organisations such as Penske Media and News UK use WordPress VIP for high-traffic publishing. The platform holds FedRAMP Moderate authorisation and SOC 2 Type I attestation. rtCamp is also SOC 2 Type II compliant and ISO 27001 certified. Plus, every plugin goes through a security review before it touches the codebase.

How much does a Sitecore to WordPress migration cost?

It depends on what you are migrating. The range runs from $50K to $300K+. The 20-hour free discovery gives you a phased budget specific to your setup so you know the number before committing to anything. The biggest cost drivers are integrations and editorial workflow complexity, though.

Can our team maintain WordPress after migration?

Editors can handle everyday publishing and content updates in WordPress without relying on developers. Sitecore teams will still have a few things to relearn, especially if they are used to Experience Editor and Sitecore’s publishing process. 

We train editors on the WordPress tools and workflows, and provide role-specific documentation before launch.

Is Sitecore XM Cloud really a replatform or just an upgrade?

Moving to XM Cloud from Sitecore XP is a replatform in everything but name. The Helix MVC architecture gets rewritten in Next.js and JSS, existing components do not transfer, and .NET developers need to retrain on React. Every implementation team that has done it puts the effort and Sitecore XM Cloud migration cost in the same range as a new build. 

At that point, the Sitecore alternatives enterprise companies consider start to look more attractive. Moving to WordPress, for example, also requires a rebuild, but you gain ownership of the codebase and more choice over hosting, integrations, and future development.

Content migration

NEXT


Credits

Aviral

Aviral Mittal

Author

Aviral Mittal

Author

Aviral Mittal is the Chief Marketing Officer at rtCamp, where he established and leads the marketing function, building and growing a team of 20+ specialists across content, SEO, design, and growth…

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Contributions and Updates: Usama Usama Usama Quraishi Marketing Executive

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