WMS Migration: Your Complete Pre and Post-Migration Action Plan

If you're managing a website on McGill's Web Management System, you've probably heard about the upcoming platform upgrade. The new WMS brings modern features and better performance, but getting there requires some prep work on your end.

This isn't one of those "set it and forget it" situations. The migration process involves two phases of action items—things you need to handle before your site moves, and adjustments to make once it's live on the new platform. Let's walk through what actually needs to happen.

Cleaning Up Before the Move

The pre-migration phase is all about making sure your content translates cleanly to the new system. Think of it like packing for a move—you don't want to bring things that won't fit in the new place.

Get your permissions sorted. If the migration team reaches out about missing Site Sponsors or Site Administrators, respond quickly and help identify who should fill those roles. These are the people who'll have admin access once the site migrates.

Check your translated content. If your site runs in both English and French, verify that translated pages are properly linked through the translation tab or EN/FR toggle. Both versions should be enabled in the menu at the same hierarchical level. While not required for migration, it's strongly recommended to separate French content onto its own pages rather than mixing languages on a single page.

Deal with media files now. The new WMS is pickier about file types. Zip files and other formats that aren't currently supported need to go—download them and store them elsewhere before migration day. Video content uploaded directly to the WMS server should move to YouTube or Vimeo. Audio files work better on platforms like SoundCloud or Spotify, so grab local backups and re-upload them there.

Every image on your site needs alternative text for accessibility. This is non-negotiable. 👉 Learn how reliable hosting infrastructure supports faster content delivery and better accessibility compliance

Review your blocks carefully. Unused blocks sitting around from deleted pages should be removed. Check if your blocks have weights assigned—if not, use drag-and-drop or add integers in the weight column to control their display order. Pages with multiple enhanced Call-to-action blocks need to be trimmed down to one per page.

Here's where it gets specific: certain remote embed blocks won't migrate automatically. Make a list of any EAB Virtual Tour, Flintbox Widget, MS Forms, Pardot Form, Power BI Report, Slate Form, Tableau Visualization, or Twitter blocks you're using. You'll need to rebuild these after migration using the WYSIWYG editor.

Menu management matters. In the old WMS, overlong main menus hide some items. The new system displays everything, wrapping to multiple lines if needed. Move any accidentally hidden pages out of the main menu if they don't belong there, and consider trimming extremely long menus for better user experience.

Footer links need attention too. If any footer heading is clickable, add it as a separate link. Double-check that translated footer links appear in the correct language and point to translated pages when available.

Webforms are changing. The recommendation is to move webforms to Microsoft Forms. Create a list of any forms too complex for MS Forms—you'll handle those separately after migration.

Source code matters more than you think. Pages using templates need their source code tags to follow standard patterns. Changing div tags to heading tags might break layouts in the new WMS. Ensure headings follow proper hierarchical order without skipping levels, aren't used purely for styling, and aren't bolded or modified with HTML tags. Images of text should be replaced with actual HTML text. Remove line breaks added for visual styling, clean out non-breaking spaces that snuck in from Word documents, and ensure consistent capitalization throughout.

Tables require headers and should contain only tabular data—not images or formatted paragraphs. Big Numbers features work only for statistical content and won't support headings or images anymore.

What Happens After Your Site Migrates

Once your site is live on the new platform, there's a second round of tasks to tackle.

Tokens replace blocks for table of contents. Any "On this Page" blocks need manual updating. Instead of placing a block, you'll add a token directly to the page.

Hero images need focal points. Check each hero image and set a focal point so important parts don't get cropped. Images displayed side by side may need manual repositioning using columns or the "align left" option in the editor. If you translated alt text before migration, you'll need to translate it again.

Unweighted blocks might shift. If you skipped assigning block weights before migration, rearrange them now if they're not displaying correctly.

Table alignment resets. Centered text in tables migrates as left-aligned. Site managers can re-center content manually if needed.

Complex webforms need rebuilding. Forms that couldn't move to MS Forms need to be recreated in webforms after the site migrates.

Scheduled content doesn't transfer automatically. Check your site dashboard for any content scheduled to publish or unpublish after migration. 👉 Discover how dedicated server solutions provide the stability your content management system needs during major platform transitions

You'll need to manually reschedule these items in the new WMS.

Staying Ahead of the Curve

The migration process continues to evolve, and additional guidance on features like channels and profiles will be released as work progresses. Keep an eye on the demo site and migration information pages for updates.

The key to a smooth migration is tackling these action items systematically rather than waiting until the last minute. Start with the media cleanup and permission reviews, then work through styling and content issues. After migration, plan time to verify everything displays correctly and make necessary adjustments.

This is a significant platform upgrade that improves performance and capabilities across the board. The prep work might feel tedious, but it ensures your site comes through the migration intact and ready to take advantage of new features.