Northern Arizona University partnered with WordHerd to migrate more than 250 department websites from Ektron, a enterprise content management system into a single WordPress multisite installation.
The project included the migration of more than 40,000 pages, page media, custom content structures, forms, tables, widgets, SEO metadata, schema, and redirects. WordHerd worked closely with NAU to map legacy content into the appropriate WordPress structures, creating a scalable multisite foundation for managing a large university web ecosystem.
The result was a modern WordPress multisite implementation designed to support distributed department websites, consistent content management workflows, improved maintainability, and long-term scalability.
The Challenge
Northern Arizona University needed to move a large network of department websites out of an enterprise content management system and into WordPress. With more than 250 microsites and over 40,000 pages, the migration required a highly structured approach to content mapping, custom fields, shortcodes, media, forms, tables, redirects, and SEO preservation.
The project required more than a standard CMS migration. WordHerd needed to preserve the structure and functionality of a complex university website ecosystem while rebuilding it inside WordPress multisite.
Key migration requirements included:
- Migrating more than 40,000 pages
- Migrating more than 250 department websites into WordPress multisite
- Mapping legacy content to WordPress custom fields
- Creating WordPress shortcodes as 1:1 equivalents of existing content blocks
- Migrating page media into the new WordPress environment
- Generating Gravity Forms web forms
- Converting tables into TablePress
- Converting 25 custom widgets
- Migrating SEO metadata and schema
- Implementing 301 redirects for changed URLs
- Preserving SEO equity during the transition
Because the migration involved hundreds of department sites, thousands of pages, and many unique content patterns, the project required careful planning, automation, validation, and quality assurance.
The Solution
WordHerd migrated Northern Arizona University’s department websites into a single WordPress multisite installation using a structured migration process designed for scale, consistency, and long-term maintainability.
The new WordPress multisite environment allowed each department website to exist as a subsite within a shared platform, making the overall system easier to manage while still supporting the needs of individual departments.
Enterprise CMS to WordPress Multisite Migration
WordHerd migrated more than 250 department websites from NAU’s enterprise content management system into subsites within a single WordPress multisite installation.
This approach gave the university a centralized WordPress foundation while preserving the separation and organization of individual department websites.
40,000+ Page Migration
The migration included more than 40,000 pages across the university’s department web ecosystem.
WordHerd mapped legacy page content into WordPress, preserving important content structures and ensuring pages were organized within the appropriate multisite subsites.
Custom Field Mapping
WordHerd worked with NAU to map legacy content into the appropriate WordPress custom fields.
This helped preserve structured content from the previous enterprise CMS while making it easier to manage inside WordPress. Custom field mapping was especially important for maintaining consistency across a large number of department websites.
Custom Shortcode Mapping
A major part of the migration involved recreating existing content blocks as WordPress shortcodes.
WordHerd designed custom shortcodes to serve as 1:1 equivalents of the legacy content blocks, allowing migrated pages to maintain familiar content patterns while functioning inside WordPress.
Media Migration
WordHerd migrated page media into the new WordPress environment, ensuring images and other media assets remained connected to the appropriate content.
This helped preserve the completeness of the migrated pages while reducing manual cleanup after launch.
Gravity Forms Web Form Generation
The migration included the generation of web forms using Gravity Forms.
This gave NAU a more maintainable WordPress-based form solution while preserving important form functionality from the previous system.
TablePress Table Conversion
WordHerd converted existing website tables into TablePress.
This provided a cleaner and more manageable way to maintain table-based content inside WordPress, improving editing workflows for content managers across department websites.
Custom Widget Conversions
The project included the conversion of 25 custom widgets from the legacy system into WordPress-compatible functionality.
These widget conversions helped preserve important content components and site features while aligning them with the new WordPress multisite platform.
SEO Meta, Schema, and Redirects
SEO preservation was a critical part of the migration.
WordHerd migrated SEO metadata and schema into WordPress and implemented 301 redirects to account for changed URLs. These redirects helped preserve SEO equity, protect external links, and ensure visitors and search engines were guided to the correct content in the new WordPress environment.
Why WordPress Multisite
WordPress multisite provided Northern Arizona University with a scalable foundation for managing hundreds of department websites from a shared platform.
By moving to WordPress multisite, NAU gained:
- A centralized platform for managing 250+ department websites
- More consistent content management workflows
- Flexible custom fields for structured content
- Custom shortcode support for legacy content block patterns
- A maintainable approach to forms through Gravity Forms
- Easier table management through TablePress
- A scalable framework for department-level site management
- SEO preservation through metadata, schema, and redirect planning
- A larger ecosystem of WordPress tools, plugins, and development support
Rather than continuing to manage hundreds of sites within a legacy enterprise CMS, NAU gained a WordPress multisite platform designed for scale, maintainability, and future growth.
The Result
The completed migration transformed Northern Arizona University’s large department website ecosystem into a WordPress multisite platform with more than 250 subsites and over 40,000 migrated pages.
WordHerd successfully migrated page content, media, custom content structures, forms, tables, widgets, SEO metadata, schema, and redirects. The new platform gives NAU a more flexible and maintainable foundation for managing department websites at scale.
With custom field mapping, shortcode mapping, Gravity Forms generation, TablePress conversion, custom widget conversion, and SEO-conscious redirect planning, Northern Arizona University gained a modern WordPress multisite implementation built to support long-term university web management.
Project Highlights
- Migrated Northern Arizona University from an enterprise content management system to WordPress
- Migrated more than 250 department websites into WordPress multisite
- Migrated more than 40,000 pages
- Mapped legacy content to WordPress custom fields
- Created custom shortcodes as 1:1 equivalents of legacy content blocks
- Migrated page media into WordPress
- Generated Gravity Forms web forms
- Converted tables into TablePress
- Converted 25 custom widgets
- Migrated SEO metadata and schema
- Implemented 301 redirects for changed URLs
- Preserved SEO equity during the transition
- Delivered a scalable WordPress multisite foundation for university-wide content management
