Drupal To AEM Migration

The Migration Brief

The organisation needed to consolidate three separate Drupal 7 websites into one Adobe Experience Manager site. The project needed to improve the website experience while supporting brand consistency, cyber security, cost efficiency, content governance and future optimisation.

This was not just a CMS move. The project also required clearer content structure, better user journeys, SEO protection, analytics readiness, webform migration and practical stakeholder coordination across a large education-style digital environment.

The website footprint was complex: multiple audiences, multiple departments, hundreds of content assets and a large group of stakeholders who needed to contribute, review or approve parts of the migration.

What I Owned As Migration Lead

My role was to lead the migration lifecycle from scoping and requirements through to content migration, templates, components, forms, analytics and launch readiness.

I also managed the day-to-day operation of the existing Drupal sites during the migration, which meant keeping current content, campaign activity, web performance and stakeholder support moving while the new AEM site was being prepared.

• Led the migration of three Drupal 7 websites into a unified AEM site.
• Scoped requirements across content, templates, components, forms, analytics and launch readiness.
• Balanced project requirements and communications across 150+ stakeholders.
• Coordinated with stakeholders across 16 departments to maintain accurate, on-brand content and consistent user journeys.
• Supported SEO audits, UX research, content improvements and web performance reporting.
• Maintained BAU website activity and regular campaign support during the migration period.

How I Led The Work

I approached the project as both a migration and an opportunity to improve the digital experience. The work needed to protect existing performance, support stakeholder needs and create a stronger foundation for future content and campaign activity.

I worked across content structure, SEO, UX research, analytics, webforms, migration planning and stakeholder delivery to make sure the new AEM site was launch-ready and easier to manage after go-live.

• Migration planning: scoped the move from three Drupal 7 sites into a unified AEM environment, including content, templates, components, forms, analytics and launch readiness.
• Content migration: helped consolidate 250+ pages, 300+ images, 27 video modules and 9 webforms into a cleaner website structure.
• UX research: used research with 200+ survey participants and 14 in-depth interviews to inform prospective-student journey improvements.
• SEO and content optimisation: ran regular SEO audits and supported content improvements to protect and improve organic performance.
• Stakeholder coordination: worked across 16 departments and 150+ stakeholders to manage requirements, communication, approvals and launch expectations.
• Web performance reporting: monitored traffic, organic growth, engagement and campaign outcomes to inform decisions on content, structure and digital activity.

What This Shows

This case study shows my ability to lead a complex CMS migration while balancing content, UX, SEO, analytics, stakeholder delivery and launch readiness.

The value was not only in moving content from Drupal to AEM. The broader value came from using the migration to improve website structure, user journeys, governance, content quality and future optimisation capability.

This experience is relevant to Senior Digital Producer, Website Manager, CMS Migration Lead, AEM Project Lead, Digital Experience Lead, Website Product Owner and SEO Content Strategy roles.