Content migration is a critical part of any website redevelopment project. This process involves transferring content from your existing website into the new Govstack CMS.
As part of the migration, existing content is generally moved as-is; however, the resulting structure and presentation may vary based on the Govstack components available and implemented. Govstack is designed around a single-column layout, so content currently organized in two- or three-column formats cannot be replicated directly. In these cases, content will be consolidated and displayed in a stacked, single-page format.
We do not restyle, rewrite, or significantly restructure content during the migration process. As a result, some post-migration content cleanup and reorganization may be required to optimize readability, presentation, and user experience within the Govstack framework.
To achieve the best results, we strongly recommend reviewing and cleaning up your content before migration begins. This is an ideal opportunity to improve formatting, accuracy, consistency, and overall content quality.
It is important to understand that migration itself will not correct or enhance existing content issues. Any outdated, inconsistent, or poorly formatted content currently on your site will carry over into the new system unless addressed beforehand.
GHD will complete the content migration activities included within the project scope; however, your team will also play an important role both before and after migration. Planning for appropriate staff resourcing during this period is recommended.
Unless otherwise specified in scope, the migration assumes there will be no changes to the sitemap or content structure during the migration process. Any updates made to the current website after content has been migrated will need to be manually managed by your team. This may require maintaining and posting updates to both the existing and new websites until the new site officially launches.
What we'll do as part of the content migration
Content will be migrated from the current website into Govstack in its existing form. While the content itself will not be altered, the resulting structure and presentation may vary depending on the Govstack components implemented. Unless otherwise defined in scope, no changes to sitemap structure or content organization are included during migration. Any updates made to the current website after migration and before launch must be managed by the client. This may require double posting content on both the old and new websites until go-live.
Content migration includes:
- Migration of the set number of pages as outlined in your contract
- All published pages included in the current website navigation and sitemap
- Unpublished or hidden pages are not included
- All images embedded within page content
- Please note that existing image dimensions may not align with the new website design and could appear stretched or distorted. Sourcing replacement images is the client’s responsibility
- All documents/files embedded within page content
- Embedded videos
- Relinking between pages, documents, and images
If you are migrating from an i:Create website, the following will also be included:
- For i:Create migrations, pages must appear in both the website navigation/menu and the sitemap page to be included. Ensure the “Sitemap” and “Visible” checkboxes are selected in Menu Manager when adding pages
- Unpublished or hidden pages are not included
- All documents stored in File Manager
- Form Builder forms and all historical response data
- Events and Council Calendars, including all associated events, files, and users
- Up to 500 contacts within the Contacts Directory
What you'll do following content migration
Exclusions & Client Responsibilities
The following items are not included in the content migration process and remain the responsibility of the client. Clients should also budget approximately 20–30 minutes per page after migration to review and clean up content, including formatting, links, and image quality.
Contacts
If your site uses individual contacts on specific pages, you will need to revisit those pages and add the appropriate contacts once you have access to the CMS. During migration, only the default placeholder contact is applied at the global level across all pages.
Content & Structure
- Landing pages, microsites, or pages with custom/special layouts
(Can be included at an additional cost; however, layouts may differ in Govstack due to CMS limitations.) - Changes to sitemap structure, page names, or navigation
- Content edits, including:
- Rewriting
- Formatting
- Restructuring
- Downloading and archiving unpublished or orphaned content from the current CMS back-end
Homepage Setup
- GHD will add placeholder homepage content based on the selected Govstack theme
- Clients are responsible for replacing placeholder content once CMS access is provided
Page Mapping & Migration Scope (if included in project scope)
- Only pages included in the approved sitemap/page mapping will be migrated
- Missing parent or child links in the mapping may result in excluded pages
- Orphan pages and external links cannot be formatted into Govstack Subpage Listings
- Links to orphan pages may continue pointing to the previous site and will break after go-live unless recreated in Govstack
Unsupported or Excluded Content
- Calendars and forms
- News posts (unless explicitly included in project scope)
- Unpublished/back-end content
- Custom code, including:
- CSS
- HTML
- JavaScript
- Unsupported third-party integrations
(These will be removed during migration and documented for review.)
Media & Files - note that the migrated media structure for images and documents may be organized differently from your existing backend structure, depending on the Govstack components used in the implementation.
- Image optimization or resizing
(Including banner images that must be resized to fit Govstack templates.) - Files larger than 150 MB
(Must be resized and uploaded manually by the client.)
Quality & Compliance
Clients are responsible for identifying and correcting:
- Broken links
- Spelling or grammar issues
- Accessibility compliance issues
URLs & Redirects
- Recreation of “friendly” URLs is not included
- Clients may recreate these using Govstack Alternative URLs
If you're migrating content from i:Create, please note that the following items are not included in the migration process:
- Documents stored in the i:Create Bylaw and Document Manager modules
- Configuration of any document feeds
- Content located on secure pages
- Conversion of shared content into reusable components
- Links to individual contacts within page content that point to the Contacts Directory; these links will need to be updated to either the main Contacts Directory page or converted to “mailto:” links
- Per-page contact assignments in Govstack. As a workaround, you can create a reusable Pod using the Text/Image component and add it to individual pages alongside the general Contact Us information. This setup is not included as part of the content migration
- Page subscription functionality, as it is not available in Govstack
- The “I Want To” menu setup. This can be configured after the website handoff is complete
Post-Migration Review
Clients are responsible for reviewing all migrated content after migration is complete.
Recommended review time:
- 20–30 minutes per page
This review should include:
- Content accuracy
- Formatting and layout validation
- Link testing
- Image quality checks
- Verification of recreated orphan pages and alternative URLs before go-live
Formatting differences
There is no one-to-on comparison between your current site and the Govstack CMS. As a result, we won't be able to migrate over some content in the exact same format. This is how we will handle some common formatting differences:
- Buttons inside accordions are not possible in Govstack. We will replace all buttons inside accordions with standard hyperlinks
- Govstack doesn't support nested accordions (accordions within accordions) as this isn't a writing or accessibility best practice. We will work with you to determine a solution.
- Image galleries or slideshows aren't possible inside accordions in Govstack. We will work with you to determine a solution.
For iCreate to Govstack migrations, this is how we will handle formatting differences for specific page elements:
- "How to" items will be converted into bulleted lists
- FAQs will be converted into accordions
Optional add-ons
You can add more to your content migration package. If you'd like to include the following add-ons with your content migration, please talk with your Account Executive or Implementation Specialist:
- News posts (not included in the set number of pages stated in the contract)
- Landing pages, microsites and pages with special layouts
- Secure page content