Drupal

How to set up a MySQL database server on Ubuntu for Drupal to WordPress migrations

Content Management System (CMS) migration projects involve moving data between databases with different schemas. Table names, field types and constraints often don’t match up, leading to a number of frustrating errors. This is especially the case with highly complex Drupal to WordPress migrations that use custom scripts to extract, transform and load the data. Read on to find out how to set up a MySQL database server on Ubuntu for Drupal to WordPress migrations.

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Ubercart to WooCommerce migration notes

I’ve now had several Ubercart to WooCommerce migration projects so it’s time to start documenting the process. As with all my documentation, I’ll start off this post as rough notes and improve it over time. If this topic interests you, be sure to check back every so often to see the updates. Please keep in

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Why is Drupal the second most dreaded platform?

According to the Drupal Shell site, Drupal is the second most hated CMS platform. I think this sounds a little harsh. Digging into the source survey on stackoverflow, we find that it’s actually listed as the second most dreaded platform. While perhaps more even-handed, I’m still not at all surprised as a large chunk of

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How to fix Error Code 2013 Lost connection to MySQL server

If you spend time running lots of MySQL queries, you might come across the Error Code: 2013. Lost connection to MySQL server during query. This article offers some suggestions on how to avoid or fix the problem. Why this happens This error appears when the connection between your MySQL client and database server times out.

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Post-migration troubleshooting: Gateway timeout when enabling plugins

Here’s one that caught me out on a recent Drupal to WordPress migration. As is common with my projects, there were three parties involved: the client, an external development team and myself. The WordPress site was first built on the development team’s server, after which it was migrated to my local environment. When everything was

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How to change the WordPress table prefix prior to a migration

When working on a Drupal to WordPress migration project, I like to migrate into a set of intermediary WordPress tables that live in the Drupal database. These are working tables where I can run various scripts to process and clean up the content before exporting to a working WordPress installation. It’s not necessary to do

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Post-migration troubleshooting: WordPress redirects to old site after updating database

If you’ve ever migrated a WordPress site, either to another URL or for a Drupal to WordPress migration project, you’ll know that WordPress stores the domain name in its database. This means you’ll have to jump through some hoops when moving WordPress to another environment. A critical step is to update the database to reflect

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Handling the Drupal file directory when migrating to WordPress

Attaching media to the WordPress Media Library is one of those things that many clients don’t realise can add lots of time to a Drupal to WordPress migration project. The reason is a little detailed and involves some knowledge of WordPress’ inner-workings. When you upload a file to the WordPress Media Library, WordPress does some

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How to write a Drupal to WordPress migration mapping document

Performing a Drupal to WordPress migration can be very complex, especially if you have many content types. You’ll make the process easier if you create a migration mapping document beforehand. A common migration mapping is to convert Drupal pages to the WordPress page type and Drupal stories to the WordPress post type. However, many Drupal

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Importing a WordPress database: How to fix the Unknown collation: ‘utf8mb4_unicode_ci’ error

If you do a lot of exporting and importing to different database servers, you’ll be familiar with the frustration of encountering MySQL import errors. Every so often when importing a WordPress dump file into a client’s database, I will encounter an Unknown collation error like the following: Unknown collation: ‘utf8mb4_unicode_ci’ Sometimes it will come up

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How to prepare for your Drupal to WordPress migration project

Any successful project requires careful planning and a Drupal to WordPress migration is no exception. If you haven’t already read my Drupal to WordPress Migration Guide, I recommend you first head over there to get an idea of what’s involved. It can be tempting to get straight to setting up WordPress, trying out new themes

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Drupal to WordPress migration worksheet

If you are using my Drupal to WordPress Migration Tool or have hired me for Drupal to WordPress migration service, it’s important that you gather as much information as you can about your Drupal installation. The more detailed you are in your investigation, the fewer surprises there will be during the actual migration. You may

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Preserving SEO during a Drupal to WordPress migration

This article is about preserving SEO during a Drupal to WordPress migration. It’s not about which platform is better. A web search will bring up many articles about the relative SEO merits of Drupal versus WordPress. I’ve found the best summary on that topic in a forum post by Drupal.org user and developer, John Birchall:

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Post-migration steps: what to do after a Drupal to WordPress migration project

From time-to-time I get clients who ask me to only export the content to a WordPress database, after which they’ll complete the remaining setup themselves. If this applies to your project, you can use these migration notes to help get your new WordPress site running properly. Import the database dump file Please see these notes

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Importing your WordPress dump file after a Drupal to WordPress migration

If you hired me to run a content export only, you’ll be responsible for setting up WordPress on your own server. Here are some notes to help you with importing the migrated WordPress database. Import the database dump file I will deliver either a MySQL database dump file or login credentials to the phpMyAdmin control

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Handling Drupal terms during a Drupal to WordPress migration

When migrating Drupal terms into WordPress, it’s important to understand exactly what terms are and how the two systems handle categorising information. A primer on Drupal taxonomies One of Drupal’s most powerful features is its ability to organise content with taxonomies. Unfortunately, the taxonomy system is also notorious as one of the trickiest things about

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Getting started with a Drupal to WordPress migration project

A Drupal to WordPress migration can sound daunting, especially if you have a large or long-established site. From my experience, a migration project is actually not very difficult in terms of technical challenge. It can, however, be time-consuming, tedious and sometimes finicky with the data mappings. It’s my job to make the process easy for

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Drupal to WordPress migration activity diagram

This UML activity diagram accompanies my post, Drupal to WordPress migration explained. Diagram created with draw.io. Migration steps listing Prepare tables: This is where we reset the development database tables to a known state, ready for another migration pass. Delete unwanted vocabularies Delete unwanted terms Merge terms? Yes: go to step a; No: go to

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