AEM migrations most often fail not because of the platform itself, but because of an underestimated audit of what’s actually being migrated — content, components, and integrations. This checklist is the order in which it’s worth checking things before a launch date gets set.
Before migration
- Full content audit — how many pages, what types, how many are actually active (not just existing in the database)
- Component mapping — what repeats across pages, what can become a reusable AEM component vs. what’s one-off
- Asset audit (DAM) — volume of photos/video, current folder structure, metadata to carry over
- Integration list — CRM, marketing automation, e-commerce — what connects to the current CMS and how
- Content owners on the client side — who will manage AEM after launch, what skills they have today
During architecture planning
- Information architecture designed for multiple brands/markets, even if there’s only one today — changing this later is expensive
- Component library defined once, not built ad-hoc for every new page
- URL and redirect strategy — old addresses need 301s to new ones, or you lose SEO ranking overnight
During data migration
- Structured migration, not manual copying — a migration script/tool, not copy-paste by the team
- Post-migration validation — a sample of pages checked manually, not just an automated „success” report
- SEO metadata preserved — meta title, description, alt text, structured data (schema.org) carried over, not reset to defaults
Before going live
- Phased rollout — region by region or brand by brand, not one big cutover
- Rollback plan — the ability to quickly revert to the old system if something goes wrong
- Traffic and SEO ranking monitoring post-launch — the first days/weeks after migration are when redirect or indexing problems surface
For more on AEM itself and when it’s worth migrating in the first place, see our AEM guide for business.
FAQ
How long does a typical AEM migration take? Depends on scale, but for a mid-size company with multiple brands, realistically several months, including audit, architecture, and phased rollout.
Does migrating to AEM always mean losing SEO rankings? Not necessarily, if redirects and metadata are carried over correctly — ranking loss usually comes from skipped steps (missing 301s, reset metadata), not the platform switch itself.
Can you migrate gradually, section by section? Yes, phased rollout (region by region, brand by brand) is the recommended practice, not a one-time cutover of the entire site.
Who should be involved in the pre-migration audit? The technical team (architecture, integrations) together with content owners on the client side — the dev team alone doesn’t have a full picture of which content actually matters.
Planning an AEM migration and need someone to run the audit? Get in touch — we’ll start with exactly this checklist, applied to your data.
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