Steps for a Successful AEM Content Migration

Lokesh Shivalingaiah

Steps for a Successful AEM Content Migration

Content migration is a vital part of the digital transformation journey. As with all aspects of that journey, strategy and planning are key in making it successful.

In the content migration process in AEM, four key steps must be followed, each with its own defined process:

Here are a few best practices to follow when you’re migrating to AEM or redesigning your existing AEM implementation.

Content Evaluation

This step is the foundation for the entire AEM content migration process. Here’s where you:

Define the content
Identify the various types of content
Find the current source and state of the content

Once you define and identify the types of content, perform a content evaluation, both with respect to quantity and quality. After that, you can filter the outdated content from the evaluation metrics and finalize the content to be migrated.

Content Mapping

Once the list of content that needs to be migrated is finalized, you can start mapping between the old and the current Java Content Repository (JCR) properties in AEM. During this process, you’ll identify all the attributes from the old system that need to be migrated and all the corresponding attributes that need to be populated.

Content Migration

Now that you know the content that needs to be migrated and how it will be mapped, you can focus on designing the right solution to implement it. Based on various factors — volume, content cleaning, structure, technical feasibility, and time vs. cost — you’ll choose from one of these methods:Manual Migration

Few pages/content to be migrated
A lot of content cleaning is needed (fixing issues like broken links, tag mapping, and encoding problems)
Content in the old system is not structured or compatible with the new system

Automation Migration

Old system has structured content
A large number of pages/content to be migrated
Not much content cleaning is required

Hybrid Migration

A large number of pages/content to be migrated
Structured and unstructured content in the old system
Not much content cleaning is required

Content Verification

Once the content is migrated, the final step of the process is to verify the content in AEM and ensure it’s in the right location. You also need to verify that the migrated content and any newly authored content coexist without any issues.