Case Study

How a Custom Import Script Saved 100+ Hours of Manual Work During CraftCMS to WordPress Migration

Platform: Wordpress

By TechnoCrackers – Your White Label WordPress & Elementor Partner for Agencies

Overview

A client approached us with a website originally built on CraftCMS, containing a large number of posts, categories, and relational content. The client wanted to migrate the entire site to WordPress for better flexibility, easier management, and long-term scalability.

However, manually copying and reorganizing the content inside WordPress—especially maintaining relational structures—would have taken significant time and effort.

To solve this efficiently, we developed a custom PHP data migration script that automated the import process and preserved all relationships dynamically. This resulted in a smooth migration and saved over 100+ hours of manual data entry work.

Migration Overview
Migration Challenges

The Challenge

Migrating content from CraftCMS to WordPress is not straightforward because:

  • CraftCMS stores content differently than WordPress.
  • Relational content (linked posts, categories, custom fields) must be retained accurately.
  • Manual entry would not only take time but also increase the risk of human error.
  • The client needed the data structure to be compatible with custom fields and relationships in WordPress (ACF and CPT setup).

Without automation, the estimated migration time was 100–120 hours, including verification and corrections.

Migration

Implementation Details

We analyzed the CraftCMS database and mapped its structure to WordPress using CPTs and ACF. A custom PHP migration script imported all content, taxonomies, and relational data while preserving connections.

To overcome these challenges, we:

Analyzed the CraftCMS database structure

  • Identified how posts, taxonomies, and relationships were stored.
  • Mapped equivalent fields to WordPress using Custom Post Types and ACF.

Built a custom automated PHP migration script

  • Imported all content into WordPress.
  • Automatically created posts, taxonomies, and custom field entries.
  • Preserved relational data—ensuring linked content remained connected correctly.

Enabled relationship mapping in WordPress

  • Used ACF relationship fields and custom meta mapping.
  • Ensured every imported record connected to the correct related post.

Quality testing & validation

  • Verified links, images, meta fields, categories, and relationships.
  • Ran debugging and re-mapping logic for accuracy.
cms migration Implementation

Results

  • Automated migration completed in a few hours
  • Saved 100+ hours of manual work
  • 100% relationship accuracy maintained
  • No data loss during migration
  • Client can now manage content easily with WordPress + ACF

Key Takeaways for Other Agencies

  • Automation beats manual work—especially when migrating structured content.
  • Understanding database architecture is essential for accurate mapping.
  • Investing time in building migration scripts saves long-term development and operational cost.
  • Always maintain data relationships—this is where most migrations fail.
  • Smart automation can turn a complex migration into a seamless process while improving overall efficiency.

Final Thoughts

This project demonstrates how leveraging development automation can significantly reduce time, cost, and human error during migrations. What could have taken weeks was completed in hours—without compromising data integrity.

Ready to Automate & Scale Like This?

If manual work, complex migrations, or data imports are slowing your team down, our custom WordPress development experts can build automation that saves time, reduces errors, and scales with your business.

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