WordPress to Drupal Migration Services
Professional WordPress-to-Drupal migration for mid-to-large organizations that need enterprise-grade content management, stronger security, and scalable architecture without losing SEO rankings or site data.
Why Organizations Migrate from WordPress to Drupal
WordPress serves millions of sites, but mid-to-large organizations routinely hit hard limits. Common triggers that drive migration decisions:
- Scalability ceiling: WordPress performance degrades significantly under high content volumes, complex taxonomy, or concurrent traffic spikes that enterprise operations demand.
- Plugin dependency risk: WordPress functionality depends on third-party plugins with inconsistent quality, security patch cadences, and compatibility conflicts that accumulate into fragility.
- Security vulnerabilities: The WordPress plugin ecosystem is the primary attack surface; Drupal's hardened architecture and fine-grained permission model meet enterprise and government security standards.
- Limited multilingual capability: WordPress multilingual relies on plugins (WPML, Polylang); Drupal offers native multilingual with 100+ languages supported out of the box at no added cost.
- Content structure constraints: Drupal's Paragraphs, Layout Builder, Drupal Canvas, and typed field system handle complex editorial workflows and structured content that WordPress page builders cannot replicate reliably.
- Compliance gaps: GDPR, WCAG, NIS2, and ENS requirements are easier to fulfill on Drupal's access control and audit trail foundations.
Metadrop: The WordPress-to-Drupal Migration Specialist
Metadrop is a Drupal Silver Certified Partner with 15+ years of enterprise Drupal delivery. Our technical authority in WordPress-to-Drupal migration is grounded in direct contributions to the ecosystem.
- Official maintainer of wordpress_migrate_sql on Drupal.org: the module that powers direct SQL-based WordPress content import into Drupal. We build and maintain the tools we use.
- 50+ countries, 30+ languages supported across client migrations, proving multilingual and multi-regional migration capability at scale.
- Enterprise track record: migration projects for Saint-Gobain, Save the Children, Telefónica, UNICEF, and Solvay Group.
- Full lifecycle delivery: strategy, architecture, migration execution, QA, launch, and post-migration support through one partner with no handoffs.
- Drupal.org community contributor: sustained open-source contribution is the strongest credibility signal for any Drupal migration claim.
Our WordPress-to-Drupal Migration Process
A structured, low-risk migration follows eight phases. Every engagement begins with a discovery and assessment phase at no commitment.
- Discovery & Assessment: Audit the WordPress site covering content volume, taxonomy, custom post types, active plugins, URL structure, and current SEO baseline. Deliverable: migration scope document and risk register.
- WordPress Data Backup: Full backup of the WordPress database and file assets before any migration work begins. Establishes a safe rollback point.
- Drupal Environment Setup: Provision the Drupal environment (Drupal 11), configure core modules (Migrate, Migrate Plus, Migrate Tools), and install wordpress_migrate_sql for direct database import.
- Content & Data Migration: Extract posts, pages, custom post types, taxonomies, media, and user accounts from WordPress. Transform data to match Drupal's entity model. Load into Drupal with full relationship integrity preserved.
- User Roles & Permissions Migration: Map WordPress roles (Administrator, Editor, Author, Subscriber) to Drupal's granular permission model. Preserve access controls and editorial workflows.
- Plugin-to-Module Equivalence: Identify every active WordPress plugin and map it to the Drupal module equivalent (Pathauto, Metatag, Webform, Search API, Commerce, etc.) or a custom module where no direct equivalent exists.
- Theme & Design Migration: Rebuild the visual design in a Drupal theme (SDC-compatible components). Preserve brand identity; optionally redesign in the same engagement.
- SEO Preservation & Redirect Setup: Export all WordPress URLs; configure Pathauto patterns; set up 301 redirects via the Redirect module; migrate meta tags via the Metatag module; resubmit the sitemap to Google Search Console.
- QA & Testing: Functional testing, content integrity checks, performance benchmarking, WCAG accessibility validation, and cross-browser testing before go-live.
- Launch & Post-Migration Monitoring: Coordinated go-live with minimal downtime. Monitor crawl errors, ranking signals, and performance for 30 days post-launch.
How We Migrate WordPress Content: The Technical Approach
Metadrop uses direct SQL-based migration via the WordPress_migrate_sql Drupal module, the same module we maintain on Drupal.org. This approach bypasses the manual XML-export workflow and gives us full control over data fidelity throughout the transfer.
What gets migrated:
- Posts, pages, and custom post types → Drupal nodes (configurable content types)
- WordPress categories and tags → Drupal taxonomy vocabularies
- Media library (images, documents, video embeds) → Drupal media entities
- WordPress users and roles → Drupal users and permission roles
- Comments → Drupal comments (if retained in scope)
- WordPress metadata (Yoast/Rank Math SEO fields) → Drupal Metatag module fields
Key technical tools:
- wordpress_migrate_sql (Metadrop-maintained): direct WordPress database read, no XML intermediary
- Migrate, Migrate Plus, Migrate Tools: Drupal core migration framework
- Drush: batch migration execution and rollback control
- Pathauto, Redirect, Metatag: SEO continuity modules
SEO Preservation: Migrate Without Losing Rankings
Search ranking loss is the most cited migration risk. Our process eliminates the common failure points:
- URL audit and mapping: every WordPress URL is inventoried and matched to its Drupal equivalent before go-live. No URL is left unmapped.
- 301 redirect configuration: the Redirect module handles the full redirect map; Google transfers ranking equity to the new URLs within weeks.
- Metatag continuity: all
<title>,<meta description>,<og:*>, and structured data fields are carried over and validated. - Pathauto patterns: clean, SEO-friendly URL structures are enforced automatically for all migrated and future content.
- Sitemap resubmission: updated XML sitemap submitted to Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools immediately post-launch.
- Crawl monitoring: 30-day post-launch crawl monitoring via Screaming Frog to catch redirect chains, 404s, or canonical issues before they affect rankings.
WordPress vs. Drupal: Enterprise Platform Comparison
| Capability | WordPress | Drupal |
|---|---|---|
| Scalability | Limited at high content volumes | Enterprise-grade; handles millions of nodes |
| Security model | Plugin-dependent; frequent CVEs | Hardened core; government and enterprise standard |
| Multilingual | Plugin-required (WPML/Polylang) | Native; 100+ languages out of the box |
| Content structure | Page-builder dependent | Typed fields, Paragraphs, Layout Builder |
| Access control | Basic roles | Granular permissions per entity |
| Compliance (WCAG, GDPR, ENS) | Manual configuration required | Designed with compliance in mind |
| API / headless capability | REST; limited native support | JSON:API + GraphQL built into core |
| Long-term support | No enterprise LTS guarantee | Defined LTS release cycles |
Post-Migration Support & Platform Governance
Migration is the beginning, not the end. Metadrop offers continued Drupal platform management after go-live:
- Proactive maintenance: security updates, module upgrades, and performance tuning on a managed schedule.
- SLA-backed support: defined response times for critical issues, with no chasing a shared inbox.
- Independent technical governance: Metadrop acts as your strategic technical partner, covering decision-making as well as execution.
- Training for editorial teams: onboarding sessions so editors work confidently in Drupal from day one.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does a WordPress-to-Drupal migration take?
Timeline depends on site complexity. A mid-size WordPress site (500 to 5,000 posts, standard content types, no heavy customization) typically migrates in 6-12 weeks from discovery to launch. Large or complex migrations with high content volumes, multilingual requirements, custom plugins, or e-commerce can require 3-6 months. The discovery and assessment phase (week 1) produces the firm project timeline.
Will we lose our SEO rankings when migrating from WordPress to Drupal?
A professionally managed migration with proper 301 redirects, Metatag continuity, and sitemap resubmission preserves ranking equity. The critical factors are: complete URL mapping before go-live, no redirect chains longer than one hop, and 30-day post-launch crawl monitoring. Migrations that lose rankings almost always skipped one of these steps.What happens to our WordPress plugins?
Every active WordPress plugin is audited during discovery and mapped to a Drupal module equivalent. The most common plugin categories (SEO, forms, e-commerce, search, caching, multilingual) have mature Drupal counterparts. Where no equivalent exists, Metadrop can develop a custom module. The plugin audit is part of the free migration assessment.Can you migrate a WooCommerce store to Drupal Commerce?
Yes. WooCommerce-to-Drupal Commerce migration covers products, product variants, orders, customers, and payment method configuration. It is a more complex engagement than a content-only migration and is priced separately. Contact us to scope a WooCommerce migration.Why choose Metadrop over other Drupal agencies for this migration?
Metadrop is the official maintainer of wordpress_migrate_sql on Drupal.org, the primary migration module for direct WordPress-to-Drupal content transfer. This gives us deeper diagnostic capability and faster issue resolution than agencies relying on third-party tools they do not control. Combined with 15+ years of Drupal delivery and Drupal Silver Certified Partner status, we bring both technical authority and enterprise delivery track record to every migration project.
How much does a WordPress-to-Drupal migration cost?
Migration cost depends on content volume, structural complexity, number of custom post types, plugin dependencies, and whether a design overhaul is included. Fixed prices are not published because every migration scope is different. Request a free assessment and we will scope the project and provide a detailed estimate with no obligation.What is the risk of downtime during migration?
Drupal is built in parallel to the live WordPress site. Go-live is a DNS cutover, typically executed in a scheduled low-traffic window (often a weekend). Modern DNS TTL strategies keep the switchover window under one hour. WordPress remains live and unchanged until the cutover is confirmed successful.
Start Your WordPress-to-Drupal Migration
Move to a platform built for enterprise without the risk of losing data, rankings, or momentum.
Free Migration Assessment: our team audits your WordPress site and delivers a written migration scope and timeline. No commitment required.