Umbraco to WordPress: Post-Migration

Your site is live, but the work isn’t over. The post-migration phase is where stability is reinforced, performance is fine-tuned, and real-world feedback helps shape a better experience. This stage ensures your new WordPress platform not only works as expected, but also evolves with your needs.

From content validation and SEO checks to user feedback loops and security protocols, this phase sets the foundation for long-term success.

Verify functionality, performance and integrity

Post-migration verification ensures that your new WordPress site operates reliably. This involves thorough functionality checks, performance metric monitoring, and validating content accuracy, preserving both user experience and SEO integrity.

Functional verification

After the site goes live, it’s essential to recheck all critical components in a real-world environment.

End-to-end testing: Retest forms, filters, and interactive elements (like sliders or galleries) to ensure everything works as intended
Third-party integrations: Confirm connections to systems like Google Analytics, Salesforce, and email marketing platforms are active and accurate
User role testing: Test each user role (Admin, Editor, Author, etc.) to ensure permissions, workflows, and access levels are functioning as defined

Performance validation

Site speed and uptime are key indicators of user experience and SEO performance. Monitor:

Page load times using tools like PageSpeed Insights or GTmetrix
Uptime and availability with services like UptimeRobot or Pingdom
Resource usage on your server (CPU, memory, bandwidth), especially during peak hours

Then compare current metrics to your pre-migration benchmarks to assess improvement or regression.

Content and SEO integrity

Content check: Confirm that all pages, posts, and media assets were migrated without formatting issues
Hierarchies: Validate that menu structures and parent-child relationships are preserved
Media: Make sure all images, videos, and documents display properly and retain alt text/metadata
SEO elements: Double-check that meta titles, descriptions, canonical URLs, schema markup, and 301 redirects are working as expected

Optimize performance and user experience

Once your WordPress site is stable, it’s time to fine-tune performance, enhance features, and implement real user feedback. This ensures your site feels fast, works intuitively, and meets accessibility standards, everything your users expect from a modern platform.

Performance tuning for long-term speed

Fast websites perform better, both in search and user satisfaction. Post-migration, it’s critical to:

Configure caching: Use tools like WP Rocket or W3 Total Cache to serve cached pages and reduce server load.
Compress assets: Enable Gzip or Brotli compression to reduce file sizes and speed up delivery.
Optimize images: Use plugins like Smush or Imagify to compress images without sacrificing quality. Enable lazy loading to defer offscreen image rendering.
Clean the database: Use tools like WP-Optimize to remove spam comments, post revisions, and transient data that slow down queries.
Add a CDN: Integrate a content delivery network (like Cloudflare or Amazon CloudFront) to serve assets from locations closer to users worldwide.

Feature enhancements based on feedback

Post-launch is a great time to evolve the platform based on real user behavior.

Review behavior analytics: Tools like Hotjar, Microsoft Clarity, or session replays help uncover usability gaps or points of friction.
Improve search: If your site relies heavily on content discovery, enhance search accuracy with plugins like SearchWP.
Add dynamic elements: Based on user needs, consider custom features like product comparison tools, interactive calculators, or personalizers built on WordPress’s extensible APIs.

Iterate on feedback: Collect input from internal teams and content managers to simplify workflows or remove editorial roadblocks.
Audit accessibility: Ensure compliance with WCAG 2.1 by running accessibility checks with tools like axe or Lighthouse. Tweak color contrast, form labels, and navigation structures to meet standards.
Design for everyone: Accessibility is an ongoing practice, not a one-time fix. Make inclusive design part of every future update or redesign.

Additional steps for post-migration success

Your Umbraco to WordPress post-migration success also depends on robust security monitoring, SEO adjustments, backup strategies and stakeholder training. These steps ensure a secure, optimized, and user-friendly WordPress environment.

Security monitoring and ongoing updates

Security is not a one-time setup, it’s a continuous effort. Post-migration, ensure your WordPress installation is hardened and regularly maintained.

Run scheduled vulnerability scans using plugins or managed hosting services
Apply updates to WordPress core, plugins, and themes as soon as stable versions are released
Limit access with least-privilege principles, strong passwords, and optional 2FA for admin users
Log activity and monitor for unusual behavior with plugins like Activity Log or Wordfence

SEO and analytics continuity

Maintaining visibility after migration is key. Here’s how to ensure uninterrupted tracking and search performance:

Submit updated XML sitemaps to Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools
Monitor rankings and traffic using tools like Ahrefs, SEMRush, or Google Analytics 4
Fix crawl errors and 404s that appear post-migration, redirect or resolve as needed
Ensure schema markup is consistent with structured data standards for enhanced search visibility

Backup and disaster recovery

Establish a strong backup strategy to avoid data loss in case of errors or attacks.

Set up daily automated backups for both files and the database
Store backups offsite, using cloud storage or your managed hosting provider’s solution
Perform test restores periodically to confirm your backups are reliable and restorable

Stakeholder onboarding and training

Empowering your teams ensures long-term success and reduces dependency on engineering teams for everyday tasks.

Train editors and publishers on using the block editor (Gutenberg) or any custom interfaces you’ve built
Guide administrators through plugin updates, user management, backups, and basic troubleshooting
Offer live sessions, screen recordings, or detailed walkthroughs tailored to your new WordPress setup
Provide documentation that covers both technical operations and editorial workflows

Maintain an internal knowledge base

Even after training, accessible documentation is essential for operational continuity.

Create site-specific manuals that cover:

CMS workflows for editing, publishing, and managing media
Admin operations like adding users or configuring plugins
Troubleshooting common issues like styling inconsistencies or plugin conflicts

Host these docs in your internal portal or as an accessible private site area.

Final thoughts

The post-migration phase sets the tone for how your WordPress site evolves. By proactively monitoring performance, empowering your teams, and refining workflows based on real usage, you ensure the platform doesn’t just replicate what you had in Umbraco, but performs better, scales faster, and supports your future roadmap.