FAQ: migration from older systems
This page answers the migration questions public bodies ask when they bring an old website to Exponential. The answers come from the migration chapters of the installation book (chapters 14 to 17) and the migration hub.
Contents
- What is the history of the code base?
- We run an old 4.x or 5.x site. Can we move to Exponential?
- What stays the same, and what changes?
- We run eZ Platform or Ibexa. Can we move?
- We run WordPress, Drupal or another system. Can we move?
- How do we keep old addresses working?
- Is there training for a migration team?
What is the history of the code base?
Exponential continues the code base of eZ Publish, which its creator discontinued after almost eighteen years of service (Who is 7x?). 7x carried that code forward to PHP 8 as Exponential 6 (Who is the Exponential Foundation?). Sites built in that era can therefore move to Exponential without changing systems.
We run an old 4.x or 5.x site. Can we move to Exponential?
Yes, and those lines are no longer supported, so you should (SECURITY.md). Chapters
14. Migrating from the 4.x line and
15. Migrating from the 5.x legacy stack take such sites to 6.0; the
database is brought up with the update files rather than exported and re-imported
(11. Upgrading).
What stays the same, and what changes?
The database schema family, the content datatypes, rich text (ezxmltext), the template language and the extension
API stay the same. What changes is mainly PHP 5 to PHP 8 (your own PHP code is the largest piece of work), components
installed by Composer, and removed old JavaScript libraries
(14.1 What changes, and what does not).
We run eZ Platform or Ibexa. Can we move?
Yes; chapter 16. Migrating from eZ Platform and Ibexa covers it, and 17. Migration reference holds the mapping tables. The Exponential Platform distributions are another route (Exponential Platform).
We run WordPress, Drupal or another system. Can we move?
Yes, with a content migration: guides exist for WordPress, Drupal, Joomla, static HTML and others in the migration hub. Map content types to content classes first (Content model mapping).
How do we keep old addresses working?
With redirects: URL wildcards and custom URL aliases in Exponential, or rules on the web server (Redirects and moved content, URL wildcards). Build the list from the old site before switching.
Is there training for a migration team?
Yes: Migrating to Exponential, 25 lessons, from planning to leaving, with a capstone migration plan. Use the migration checklist for the project.
Related pages
- Government FAQ
- Migration hub
- Migrations for hosts
- Free documentation: this page is free to copy, translate and improve under the GNU FDL 1.3.
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