This article is intended for existing CMS4School customers working on a new design for their website.
As an existing CMS4Schools customer, you have a few options for how to transition to your new site design. Please thoroughly read through the migration path options below and select a migration path in your worksheet. If you want to change this migration path, contact your project manager as it should be done before or at the time of final design approval.
Option 1: Start Fresh with a New Site
Summary
- Creates a brand new site directory
- Development site created with new design
- No existing content is copied over
- Access available to the existing live site while adding content to the new
Consider this option if you are looking to:
- Revamp a majority of site content
- Create many new navigation categories
- Reorganize and remove pages throughout the site
- Clean up a lot of content with different colors, styles, and fonts for consistent branding
- Remove a lot of unused content and pages
Pros
- Easy to revamp the entire site organization and remove unused content
- Creates consistent branding when styles from the existing site are not copied
- Allows you to set up Calendar Admin from scratch
- Easy to copy and paste the content you want from your existing site
Cons
- Users Database and Calendar Database connections will need to be recreated in the new site.
- Your project manager can help you identify the changes that would need to be made and if you can import some information from your existing Users Database.
- Time-Intensive option as it requires creating pages and copying or creating content
Option 2: Clone Existing Site
Summary
- Creates a snapshot of the existing site at a specific date and time
- Snapshot of data is copied over to a development site using the new design
Consider this option if you are looking to:
- Use existing information, but make some additions and changes
- Create a few new navigations categories
- Reorganize throughout the site
- Clean up a lot of content with different colors, styles, and fonts for consistent branding
Pros
- Snapshot is a clone of all your existing data
- Users Database and Calendar Admin part of cloned information
- Calendar Admin can be re-cloned just prior to site launch
- Calendar categories must remain the same in existing and new
- Events should not be added to the new site, just existing
- Good for schools with rSchool integration
- Take the time you need to add, edit, or clean up content before launching
Cons
- Majority of the work done to the new site will be moving pages or adding new pages
- All content cloned from the existing site should be reformatted and reviewed for accessibility and consistent branding
- The existing and cloned accounts DO NOT SYNC, so both sites must be maintained from the time of clone to site launch
Option 3: Re-Skin Existing Site
Summary
- Access to a development site will be given to populate home and landing page content
- Updating and adding content would be done on your existing site
- At a scheduled date and time, our developers would apply the new design to the existing site
Consider this option if you are looking to:
- Make minimal content changes
- Keep existing page categories
- Not use landing pages
Pros
- Seamless site launch
Cons
- Content may need to be reformatted throughout existing site AFTER re-skin for accessibility, branding consistency, and responsive nature
- Not a good choice for making changes to navigation structure or adding landing pages
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