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Drupal to WordPress migration, planned step by step

Short answer: DoodleWeb moves Drupal sites to WordPress in 10–16 weeks with a six-phase plan, a full 301 redirect map and no downtime. Typical cost: USD 18,000–150,000+.

Free migration scoping

Moving off Drupal?

Tell us about your Drupal site. We'll reply with a timeline, risks and a fixed quote within two business days.

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Why teams move

Why migrate from Drupal to WordPress?

What WordPress gives you

Cut engineering cost: WordPress talent is far easier to hire
Give marketers the Gutenberg editor
Escape Drupal major-version upgrade cycles

Considerations before you commit

Paragraphs and complex fields need a custom block plan
Granular roles need a plugin such as PublishPress
Multilingual content needs WPML mapping per language

Stay on Drupal if you rely on complex editorial permissions, 30+ languages or a compliance setup certified on Drupal.

How the data moves

How content moves from Drupal to WordPress

Drupal
Source site
1
Export
Drupal Migrate API, direct database queries, or JSON:API
2
Transform
Clean, map fields, rewrite links, move media
3
Import
WP-CLI importers, custom PHP scripts or the REST API
WordPress
New site on staging

SEO lane (runs in parallel): crawl old URLs → build 1:1 301 redirect map → carry titles, meta and schema → compare old vs new crawl → submit new sitemap to Google Search Console.

Figure 1. How content and SEO signals move from Drupal to WordPress.

Content model

What each Drupal item becomes in WordPress

We agree this map with your editors in week two. Anything without a clean match is flagged, with a recommendation to rebuild, merge or retire it, before build starts.

In Drupal		Becomes in WordPress
Content types		Post types
Paragraphs		Gutenberg blocks
Taxonomy terms		Categories / tags
Views		Query loops / custom blocks
Pathauto aliases		Permalinks + 301s

The whole plan

The six-phase Drupal to WordPress migration plan

1
Discovery and audit
Crawl every URL, export analytics and Search Console data, inventory content types, plugins/modules/apps, integrations and users.
2
Content model and mapping
Map every field, taxonomy and template from the old platform to the new one and agree what is cut, merged or rebuilt.
3
Design and build
Build the theme or templates, components and integrations on the new platform in a staging environment.
4
Scripted content migration
Run repeatable export-transform-import scripts, move media, rewrite internal links and re-run until counts match.
5
SEO, accessibility and QA
Build the 301 redirect map, compare old vs new crawls, validate schema, WCAG 2.2 AA and Core Web Vitals.
6
Launch and hypercare
Content freeze, final delta migration, DNS cutover, sitemap submission to Google Search Console, 30 days of monitoring.

Week 1Week 16

1. Discovery and audit~2 wk
2. Content model and mapping~2 wk
3. Design and build~5 wk
4. Scripted content migration~2 wk
5. SEO, accessibility and QA~2 wk
6. Launch and hypercare~2 wk

Figure 2. Typical phase split for a 10–16 weeks project.

Protect rankings

SEO checklist for launch day

What we check before DNS cutover

Every URL with traffic or backlinks in the last 12 months has a 301 to its new equivalent
Titles, meta descriptions, canonical tags and schema carried over or improved
Internal links rewritten to new URLs (no redirect chains)
Old vs new crawl compared: status codes, word counts, headings
New XML sitemap submitted to Google Search Console on launch day
Search Console and analytics monitored daily for 30 days

Side by side

Drupal vs WordPress at a glance

Factor	Drupal	WordPress
Best for	Government, higher education and enterprises with complex permissions, workflows and multilingual needs.	Content-heavy marketing sites, publishers and teams that want a huge plugin ecosystem.
Editing experience	Layout Builder and Paragraphs; powerful but needs training.	Gutenberg block editor; easy for marketers after a short onboarding.
Hosting	Self-hosted or managed (Acquia, Pantheon, Platform.sh).	Self-hosted or managed (WP Engine, Kinsta, WordPress VIP).
Typical cost	Free core; higher build and maintenance cost because Drupal engineers are scarcer.	Free core; USD 30–600+/mo managed hosting plus premium plugins.
Extensibility	Contrib modules, custom entities, Views, JSON:API.	60,000+ plugins, custom blocks, REST and GraphQL APIs.
SEO control	Strong with Metatag, Pathauto and Redirect modules.	Excellent with Yoast or Rank Math; full control of URLs, schema and redirects.
Security	Dedicated security team; common choice for public sector.	Secure when patched; plugin sprawl is the main risk.
Multilingual	Built into core, strong at 30+ languages.	Via WPML or Polylang plugins.
Headless	Yes, JSON:API and GraphQL in core or contrib.	Yes, through the REST API or WPGraphQL.

Read the full Drupal vs WordPress comparison →

FAQ

Drupal to WordPress migration questions

How long does a Drupal to WordPress migration take?

Most Drupal to WordPress migrations take 10–16 weeks. Page count, number of content types, integrations and review cycles drive the range more than the platforms themselves.

How much does a Drupal to WordPress migration cost?

DoodleWeb's Drupal to WordPress migrations typically cost USD 18,000–150,000+, depending on content volume, design scope and integrations. You get a fixed quote within two business days of a scoping call.

Will we lose Google rankings moving from Drupal to WordPress?

Not when it is planned. DoodleWeb crawls every old URL, builds a 1:1 301 redirect map, carries over titles, meta descriptions and schema, compares old and new crawls before launch, and submits the new sitemap to Google Search Console on launch day. A short dip of a few weeks is normal while Google processes redirects.

What does not migrate automatically from Drupal to WordPress?

Paragraphs and complex fields need a custom block plan. Granular roles need a plugin such as PublishPress. Multilingual content needs WPML mapping per language. Everything else, including content, media, taxonomy and URLs, moves with repeatable scripts.

When should we stay on Drupal?

Stay on Drupal if you rely on complex editorial permissions, 30+ languages or a compliance setup certified on Drupal.

Who can migrate Drupal to WordPress for us?

DoodleWeb, a Seattle agency (Columbia Tower) with Drupal Certified, WP Engine Advanced, Webflow Certified, HubSpot Solutions and Shopify partner status, runs Drupal to WordPress migrations for US and Canadian teams. Book a call at doodleweb.io/book.