How to Migrate from WordPress to Storyblok a Step-by-Step Guide

Introduction: Why Migrate from WordPress to Storyblok?

WordPress has dominated the CMS market for years, powering over 40% of all websites. However, as digital experiences evolve, headless CMS solutions like Storyblok are becoming increasingly popular among developers and businesses seeking better performance and flexibility.

This comprehensive guide walks you through the complete WordPress to Storyblok migration process, helping you transfer your content, images, and formatting seamlessly. Whether you're a developer looking to upgrade your tech stack or a business owner aiming for a more modern website architecture, this step-by-step tutorial will simplify your migration journey.

Key Benefits of Switching from WordPress to Storyblok

• Headless Architecture – Storyblok separates content from presentation, allowing developers to build frontends with React, Vue, Angular, or any modern framework while managing content through a user-friendly interface.

• Visual Editor with Live Preview – Storyblok's intuitive visual editor shows real-time changes, making content management accessible to non-technical team members.

• Significantly Faster Website Performance – Headless architecture delivers content via API, resulting in faster page loads and improved Core Web Vitals scores.

• Omnichannel Content Delivery – Publish content once and distribute it across websites, mobile apps, digital signage, and IoT devices without duplication.

• Enhanced Security – With fewer plugins and no PHP, Storyblok sites typically have smaller attack surfaces than WordPress installations.

Essential Prerequisites for WordPress to Storyblok Migration

Before starting your migration journey, ensure you have:

• Node.js (version 14 or higher) installed on your development machine

• A WordPress site with REST API access enabled

• A Storyblok account with management API permissions

• Your Storyblok Space ID and API Access Token (available in your account settings)

• Basic familiarity with JavaScript and API concepts

Download Migration Scripts from GitHub

To make your migration process easier, we've created a repository with all the necessary scripts and tools. You can download everything you need from our GitHub repository:

GitHub Repo

This repository includes complete migration scripts, configuration examples, and troubleshooting guides to help you through the entire process.

Step 1: Setting Up Your Migration Scripts

The migration process relies on two powerful scripts:

1. DownloadAndUploadMedia.js – Handles the transfer of all media assets from WordPress to Storyblok

2. UploadPosts.js – Migrates post content and maps it to the previously uploaded media

Before execution, configure these key parameters in both files:

• Storyblok Space ID (spaceId)

• Storyblok API Access Token (accessToken)

• WordPress API URL (wordpressApiUrl in DownloadAndUploadMedia.js)

• Storyblok Folder ID for your blog content (blog_parent_id in UploadPosts.js)

Step 2: Installing Required Dependencies

Execute the following command in your terminal to install all necessary packages:

npm install node-fetch fs path form-data jsdom

These dependencies enable your scripts to:

• Fetch data from WordPress via its REST API

• Process and transform content structures

• Handle file system operations

• Upload media assets to Storyblok

• Parse and modify HTML content

Step 3: Migrating Media Assets from WordPress to Storyblok

Media migration is critical for preserving your visual content. Run:

node DownloadAndUploadMedia.js

How the Media Migration Process Works:

1. The script queries the WordPress API for all posts and pages

2. It extracts featured images and in-content media URLs

3. Each image is downloaded to a temporary local folder

4. Images are uploaded to your Storyblok media library

5. A mapping file (mapping.json) is created to track the relationship between WordPress and Storyblok image URLs

This mapping ensures your content references the correct media assets after migration.

Step 4: Transferring WordPress Posts to Storyblok

With media assets in place, it's time to migrate your actual content:

node UploadPosts.js

Behind the Scenes of Content Migration:

1. The script retrieves all published posts from WordPress

2. WordPress HTML content is converted to Storyblok's structured RichText format

3. Image references are updated using the mapping file created in Step 3

4. Each post is created in Storyblok with proper metadata (title, slug, publication date)

5. Categories and tags are transformed into Storyblok taxonomies

The most technically challenging aspect is converting WordPress's HTML-based content to Storyblok's structured format, but our script handles this conversion automatically.

Step 5: Verifying Your Migrated Content in Storyblok

After running both scripts, follow this verification process:

1. Log in to your Storyblok dashboard

2. Navigate to your content folder

3. Ensure all posts appear with correct titles and publication dates

4. Open several posts to verify formatting integrity

5. Check that images display correctly throughout content

6. Confirm that links, embeds, and special content blocks function properly

If you notice issues, examine the console output from your migration scripts and check the mapping.json file for specific errors.

Common WordPress to Storyblok Migration Challenges and Solutions

Missing or Broken Images

• Problem: Images appear broken or missing in Storyblok content

• Solution: Verify mapping.json contains correct URL pairs and check Storyblok's media library for successful uploads

Featured Image Association Issues

• Problem: Featured images don't appear in Storyblok post previews

• Solution: Ensure the UploadPosts.js script correctly maps featured_image fields to Storyblok's asset references

API Authentication Failures

• Problem: Scripts fail with authentication errors

• Solution: Confirm your Storyblok API token has sufficient permissions and hasn't expired

Content Formatting Discrepancies

• Problem: Text formatting, lists, or tables appear incorrect after migration

• Solution: Enhance the HTML-to-RichText conversion logic or manually adjust formatting in Storyblok's editor

Post-Migration SEO Optimization for Storyblok

Maintain and improve your search rankings with these Storyblok SEO strategies:

• Implement Proper Meta Tags: Configure title, description, and OG tags for each content piece

• Preserve URL Structures: Set up redirects from old WordPress URLs to new Storyblok paths

• Enable Canonical URLs: Prevent duplicate content issues with proper canonical tag implementation

• Structured Data Implementation: Add schema markup to enhance search engine understanding

• Image Optimization: Ensure all images have descriptive filenames and alt text

• XML Sitemap Generation: Create and submit a comprehensive sitemap to search engines

Best Practices for Successful WordPress to Storyblok Migration

• Staged Approach: Start by migrating a small subset of content to test your process

• Comprehensive Backup: Create a complete backup of your WordPress site before beginning

• Development Environment Testing: Perform the migration in a staging environment first

• Content Audit: Use this opportunity to identify and remove outdated or underperforming content

• Performance Benchmarking: Measure site speed before and after migration to quantify improvements

• User Training: Prepare your content team for the new Storyblok interface

Professional WordPress to Storyblok Migration Services by RW Infotech

Looking for expert assistance with your WordPress to Storyblok migration? RW Infotech specializes in seamless CMS transitions for businesses of all sizes. Our development team has successfully migrated hundreds of WordPress sites to Storyblok with zero content loss and minimal downtime.

Why Choose RW Infotech for Your WordPress to Storyblok Migration:

• End-to-End Migration Management: We handle the entire process from initial assessment to post-launch support

• Custom Content Modeling: We design optimized Storyblok content structures based on your specific needs

• SEO-Preserving Transition: Our migration approach maintains search rankings and implements SEO best practices

• Frontend Integration: We can rebuild your frontend using modern frameworks that maximize Storyblok's capabilities

• Comprehensive Testing: Every page, feature, and integration is thoroughly tested before launch

• Staff Training: We provide training sessions to help your team master the Storyblok platform

Contact RW Infotech today for a free migration assessment and customized quote!

• 📧 hello@rwit.io

• 🌐 https://www.rwit.io

Conclusion

Migrating from WordPress to Storyblok represents more than just a platform change—it's an investment in the future of your digital presence. The headless approach provides greater flexibility, improved performance, and better scalability for growing businesses.

While the migration process requires careful planning and execution, the long-term benefits make it worthwhile. Whether you tackle the migration yourself using this guide or enlist professional help from experts like RW Infotech, moving to Storyblok positions your website for success in today's content-driven digital landscape.