What to know before you migrate to Gutenberg?

Switching to WordPress editor Gutenberg is not a simple technical change. This is a real opportunity to modernize your way of managing content and speed up your projects. But be careful: a migration to Gutenberg does not simmer. It requires a clear plan and strategic choices. At Be API, we have accompanied companies of all sizes in this transition. And we see it clearly: Gutenberg can transform the daily lives of the teams, provided it is properly deployed.

Why migrate to Gutenberg?

Content management and contribution are key issues for business performance. When it comes to managing your content, the tool you choose makes all the difference. He can slow down your teams... or to support their productivity. In this, Gutenberg, the native WordPress block editor, completely changes the deal with a simple, flexible and scalable approach.

The key benefits of Gutenberg

Ultra-intuitive management thanks to blocks

Imagine that every item on your page — text, image, video — an independent block. With Gutenberg, moving, modifying or customizing these blocks becomes intuitive and fast, even for non-technicalists.

Reusable blocks that save you time

Reusable blocks standardize your frequent elements such as Action Calls (CTA) or Tables, to allow them to be deployed in a few clicks across the entire site.

Total control with the Full Site Editing (FSE)

The Full Site Editing (FSE) exceeds the simple modification of the pages to offer complete control over the entire site, from the header to the footer. Teams can adjust their site quickly, without requiring complex developments.

An interface designed for your teams

Modern and ergonomic, Gutenberg improves the daily lives of internal users. As a result, teams can manage their content more efficiently without being hampered by complicated tools.

Strategic issues for large companies

Reductioncosts

As an open source solution, Gutenberg removes licensing fees from proprietary tools, while limiting costs associated with custom-made developments. As a bonus, your teams become more autonomous, reducing your dependence on external providers.

Centralize and harmonize content

If you manage a network of websites, you know how difficult it can be to maintain consistency. With Gutenberg, it is easier to standardize content while providing the flexibility needed for local adaptations, thereby strengthening governance and editorial homogeneity.

Accelerate your online deadlines

Need to update a page or modify an item? With Gutenberg, your internal teams can act directly – thus shortening validation cycles and speeding up online posting.

When is it relevant to migrate?

Adopting a new technology is a strategic investment that must meet clear needs or be part of a more global digital transformation. How do I know the time has come? Here are some situations and signals that may indicate that migration is the right option.

The signs that it's time to change

Your current CMS is too rigid or expensive to maintain

The proprietary or custom-made CMS eventually weigh heavy in the long term. Licensing costs are increasing, each new feature requires specific developments, and this can slow down your projects while increasing your dependence on external providers.

Ask yourself these questions:

• How much time and money do you spend to add or modify a feature?
• Does your CMS prevent you from responding quickly to the needs of your organization?

Your teams struggle to work efficiently on back office

A complex or poorly thought interface slows down your teams. Result: frustrations, painful workflows, sometimes input errors and waste of time. When the contribution becomes a puzzle, it can impact your ability to respond quickly to customer needs or market developments.

Gutenberg reduces the dependence of editorial teams on developers by around 50%, and thus creates 40% more content.

source: wp vip

Your technical infrastructure lacks modernity

Beyond CMS, it's your global technical stack that can stop your projects. If your tools become obsolete and no longer integrate with modern solutions – such as advanced CRM, DAM or marketing tools – it is a sign that you need to change.

Questions to ask yourself:

• Does your CMS communicate easily with your other tools (CRM, DAM, marketing solutions)?
• Your current tools slow down your technical projects (integrations, updates)?
• Can you easily add modern solutions (IA, automations)?

Faced with these challenges, Gutenberg stands out for its flexibility, intuitive interface and ability to evolve with your needs, and thus meets many strategic, technical and organizational challenges.

Identify migration projects

Some contexts are more conducive to migration.

Global or technical redesign of your site

Redesign often involves a major restructuring of content and templates. Whether it's to modernise design, improve technical performance or review global architecture, including Gutenberg from the start when re-engineering allows you to optimize costs and get back on solid foundations for your project.

Multi-site deployment

Managing a network of multi-brand or multi-subsidiary sites poses specific challenges that are well known:

• Maintain a consistent brand identity on all sites
• Balance between centralization and flexibility.
• Optimize resources in content management

As mentioned above, with its features (reusable block, FSE,...), Gutenberg offers solutions for these different problems.

In addition, Gutenberg's intuitive interface reduces the learning curve and allows fast work. It is therefore the preferred tool to be preferred in case of recasting or creation of a website factory.

Traps to avoid during migration to Gutenberg

Ignore existing when designing UX/IU

One of the classic traps is to completely redesign the site without taking into account the constraints or opportunities offered by Gutenberg.

Why is that a problem? Rethinking the user interface without integrating Gutenberg's specific features (such as the block editor or the Full Site Editing) can make the project more complex and costly. Moreover, neglecting the existing (content, current structure) may increase incompatibilities and unforeseen adjustments.

How can I avoid it?

• Join your UX/UI teams from the start to design an interface adapted to Gutenberg's capabilities.
• Conduct a full audit of the existing system to identify items to be retained, adapted or deleted.
• Create models designed for block editors, which will limit the need for specific developments.

Underestimating the importance of import script

Content import is often treated at the end of the project as a simple technical detail. Yet, it is a critical step that can affect the entire process of migration.

Why is that a problem?

Existing content can be poorly formatted or not compatible with Gutenberg blocks, making it difficult to transfer them. Poorly anticipated imports can result in errors, data loss or costly manual adjustments.

How can I avoid it?

• Plan the import script from the technical design phase.
• Identify priority and excluded content.
• Prepare import tests on a representative sample to anticipate any corrections.

Think everything will be automated

Importing content is never completely automatic: even with a powerful script, manual adjustments (webmastering) will be required.

Why is that a problem?

• Migrated content may require adaptations to fit perfectly into Gutenberg blocks (e.g. restructure a complex item or adjust a table).
• This can lead to delays if the webmastering effort has not been anticipated.

How can I avoid it?

• Prepare a dedicated team to manage post-import adjustments.
• Integrate these tasks into the overall planning of the project, with a realistic estimate of timelines.

Neglect SEO considerations during migration

Reviewing its contents and cleaning out obsolete pages is often tempting when migration takes place. But these changes can have a negative impact on SEO if they are not properly planned.

Why is that a problem?

• Removing or moving pages without redirection may result in loss of organic traffic.
• Changing the content structure regardless of keywords or indexing may affect your visibility.

How can I avoid it?

• Conduct a pre-SEO audit to identify the strategic pages to keep.
• Plan redirects for all deleted or modified pages.
• Work with a SEO expert to ensure that migration does not negatively impact your organic performance.

How Be API supports you in your migration to Gutenberg

A migration to Gutenberg may seem complex, but with a rigorous and well planned methodology, everything becomes simpler. Here is how Be API works with you to ensure a smooth and successful transition:

Complete inventory of existing

We start with an accurate inventory of your current site. Each content, structure and functionality was scrutinized to assess the feasibility and complexity of importing to Gutenberg.

Clear plan to optimize your content

We decide together what will be preserved, enriched or simplified. We adapt the import strategy to keep only essential content, organize your pages more efficiently, and meet your business goals.

Design phase – with technical check

We don't work in silo. At each design stage, technical checks are carried out to ensure that the models are fully compatible with Gutenberg.

Accurate mapping document

A clear and accurate mapping document is produced, which serves as a master plan to align existing content with the Gutenberg block structure. Nothing is left to chance.

Early development

Developments begin from the early stages to ensure smooth progression, without bottlenecks.

Severe tests throughout the project

Complex and random data sets are used to validate each step, ensure successful migration, and ensure that nothing is forgotten.

Recipe and ongoing adjustments

Each element is checked and adjusted in real time to avoid surprises during the final import.

Optimized final import

Importation is planned at the strategic time, determined together, to ensure a smooth and uninterrupted transition."

Feedback

Once the migration is complete, an REX is organized with the client to analyze together the strengths and possible improvements. And, of course, we celebrate the success of the project (with a glass of fieldomy)!

Conclusion

Migrating to Gutenberg is not just adopting a new tool, it's rethinking how you manage and produce your content. With a modular, intuitive and scalable approach, Gutenberg offers unique opportunities to simplify your processes, gain autonomy and meet the challenges of a constantly changing digital environment.

But a successful migration does not improvise. It requires a clear vision, an adapted strategy and rigorous support. At Be API, we put our expertise at the service of your ambitions to make this transition a lever of modernization and performance.

Ready to change your content management? Book a free call: we are available to discuss it !