Skip to content




Sitecore logo
Craft CMS logo

From Sitecore to Craft CMS

We are the Sitecore to Craft CMS migration experts

Last verified:


The process

How we migrate from Sitecore to Craft CMS

  1. 01

    Access and gating audit

    First we check the existing Sitecore and see whether the data is clean enough to move straight over to Craft CMS, and plan around any auth walls or bot protection in the way.

  2. 02

    Rendering assessment and extraction

    Then we work out how Sitecore renders its pages and pull the content out, even without CMS access.

  3. 03

    AI-assisted sanitization

    Everything extracted runs through our sanitization pipeline, which flags slop, normalizes structure, and leaves us clean content to work with.

  4. 04

    Content-model design with the client

    Before anything moves, we agree the Craft CMS content model with you, shaped around how your editors actually work.

  5. 05

    Transform and soft-migrate

    We transform the content to the agreed schema and run a full dry run, so mappings and edge cases prove out before production.

  6. 06

    Execute the real migration

    Once the dry run is clean, everything moves into Craft CMS in one controlled cutover.

  7. 07

    Redirect mapping and throttled sitemap submission

    Every old URL gets mapped to its new home with the right redirect, so rankings and link equity survive the move.

  8. 08

    Agentic-browser QA

    Finally, automated browsers sweep the new site for data issues, design regressions, and missing SEO signals.

  9. Ready when you are. We'll bring the moving boxes.Start my migration


Challenges with Sitecore

Key pain points

Sitecore is one of the most expensive CMS platforms on the market. Licensing starts around $40,000-$65,000/year for basic XM, and a full XP or XC deployment with implementation lands in the $500,000+ range over three years. On top of the licence, you need specialised .NET developers on retainer, and those contracts aren't cheap either.

The complexity catches most teams off guard. Upgrading between Sitecore versions is closer to a rebuild than an update. Content is stored in a tree structure that doesn't map cleanly to other systems, which makes migrations painful and locks you into the platform longer than you'd like. The editor UI still feels like a late-2000s enterprise portal, and anything beyond basic publishing needs developer involvement.

Most mid-sized companies using Sitecore pay for personalisation and marketing automation they never turn on. If that sounds familiar, a headless CMS paired with a modern frontend gives you 80% of the useful capability at a fraction of the cost. We've moved clients off Sitecore and cut annual platform spend by 60-80% without losing functionality that actually mattered.

Help me migrate


Benefits of Craft CMS

Key advantages

Craft CMS is one of those platforms we genuinely respect from a developer standpoint. The content modelling is best-in-class for a traditional CMS. You define sections, entry types, and fields with real precision, and the authoring experience maps cleanly to the underlying data structure. If your content team needs a CMS that actually reflects how the site is built, Craft delivers that better than most. The Twig templating layer is clean and predictable, and the admin UI is fast and intuitive once editors get past the initial learning curve.

Where Craft really shines is in the middle ground between simple marketing sites and full-blown enterprise builds. It's flexible enough to handle complex content architectures without the bloat of something like WordPress, and the built-in GraphQL API means you can use it headless if you want to pair it with a modern frontend. The plugin ecosystem is smaller but noticeably higher quality than what you'd find in WordPress, and the Composer-based workflow means your whole project can live in version control properly.

We've seen agencies build genuinely impressive work on Craft, especially for content-heavy sites where editorial workflows matter. If your team includes developers and you want a CMS that rewards careful architecture, Craft is a solid choice. It's not trying to be everything to everyone, and that focus shows.

That said, we'd typically recommend a headless CMS like Sanity for most of the projects we take on. Craft is at its best when you're comfortable with PHP and want a tightly integrated traditional or hybrid setup. If you're building on Next.js or a modern JavaScript stack, you'll find more natural fits elsewhere.

Start my migration


Content modelling in Craft CMS

Exceptional content modelling

Craft's field and section system gives you precise control over your content structure. You can model complex relationships between content types without fighting the CMS.

Clean authoring experience in Craft CMS

Clean authoring experience

The admin panel is fast, well-organized, and maps directly to how content is structured. Editors can work efficiently once they understand the layout.

Built-in GraphQL API in Craft CMS

Built-in GraphQL API

Craft ships with a native GraphQL API, so you can use it headless without plugins or workarounds. It's deeply integrated and well-documented.

Composer-based workflow in Craft CMS

Composer-based modern workflow

Everything is managed through Composer, so your project, plugins, and dependencies all live in version control. Deployments through CI/CD pipelines work smoothly.

Plugin ecosystem in Craft CMS

Higher quality plugin ecosystem

The plugin store is smaller than WordPress but the quality bar is noticeably higher. Plugins are better maintained and less likely to break your site on update.

Granular user permissions in Craft CMS

Granular user permissions

Built-in role and permission management is detailed and flexible. You can lock down exactly what each editor can see and do without needing third-party plugins.





Common questions

Sitecore to Craft CMS migration FAQs

Answers to the most common questions about Sitecore to Craft CMS migration

Sitecore doesn't publish pricing, but based on what we've seen across client projects, expect to pay six figures annually. Licensing alone typically starts around $40,000 to $65,000 per year for a basic XM setup, and jumps well past $100,000 once you add XP or XC modules. Factor in implementation (often $150,000 to $500,000+), hosting, and the specialised developers you'll need on retainer. For mid-sized companies, the total cost of ownership over three years can easily exceed $500,000. We've helped teams migrate off Sitecore and cut their annual platform spend by 60-80%.


Get in touch

Tell us what you're building. We reply within one working day. Jono or someone on the team picks up every message personally.

By sending this you agree to our privacy policy. We only use your details to reply.