Slides: HTML to WordPress Migration Tips & Tools

Our main topic at the September 2017 WordPress meetup was “Content Imports & Site Migrations.” Sallie Goetsch presented about her experience migrating a very large site from a custom flat-file CMS to WordPress, using the HTML Import 2 plugin and a team of people to fix page slugs, stray shortcodes, author, and other issues in CSV files created with WP All Export Pro.

Presentation Outline

1. The Problem with Flat File Site Imports
2. Start with a Content Audit
3. Try CMS2CMS
4. Use the HTML Import 2 Plugin by Stephanie Leary
5. The Import Process
   • Read the Manual
   • Set up a very basic WP install. Include any custom fields, custom post types and custom taxonomies that you plan to use
   • Copy HTML website to your local server
   • Select HTML regions to import, destination post type, etc.
   • Import one post type at a time
   • Export all content using the built-in WP export tool and import to your dev site.
   • Use tools like Post Type Switcher, Term Management Tools, and WP All Import/Export to clean up anything that needs fixing
6. Screenshots of HTML Import 2 settings screens
   1. Files
   2. Content
   3. Title & Metadata
   4. Custom Fields
   5. Categories & Tags
   6. Tools
   7. Import
7. Fixing Stuff: Convert post types with the Post Type Switcher
8. Clean up your categories, tags, and custom taxonomies with Term Management Tools
9. Fine-tune things like slugs, authors, and content by using WP All Export Pro to produce CSV files, editing them, and update the entries with WP All Import Pro. (Make a lot of backups. It takes some trial and error to get it right.)

Links

• Content Strategy for WordPress
• CMS2CMS
• HTML Import 2
• HTML Import 2 Manual
• Post Type Switcher
• Term Management Tools
• WP All Import/Export Pro