CMS Migration Project Plan Template
IntermediateQuick Answer
TL;DR
A CMS migration project plan should include six phases: Discovery (2–4 weeks for content audit, requirements, and platform selection), Design (2–4 weeks for content modeling and frontend architecture), Build (4–8 weeks for migration scripts, frontend development, and integration setup), Migrate (1–2 weeks for content import, media migration, and redirect setup), Test (2–3 weeks for QA, UAT, and performance testing), and Launch (1 week for cutover, monitoring, and training). Assign owners to each phase and build in buffer time for unexpected issues.
Key Takeaways
- Structure your migration into six clear phases with defined deliverables and owners
- Discovery and Design phases prevent costly rework during Build and Migrate
- Build automated, repeatable migration scripts that can run multiple times during testing
- Plan for a 1–3 day content freeze window and have a rollback strategy ready