Migrate From Django to WordPress in 6 Steps

You want to make your appearance online. For this reason, a website plays a great role. You can make your website according to your taste, your audience’s demand, and of course, twining with the online trend.

Now, you can go for hand-coding with HTML to build your website or simply use the CMS platforms to build your website. Both of them are okay. But what is easy for mass? of course the CMS.

Over 73 million websites to date are using the CMS platforms to make a well-functioning website. CMS platforms are software applications that offer many handy tools to build a website without any coding knowledge.

The power tool is just to drag and drop. Okay, there are many useful CMS platforms. You have heard about WordPress and Django, right?

Both of the platforms have remarkable stands when it comes to web development. Can you migrate from Django to WordPress? Well, to get this answer, follow this read till the end. Let’s go.

What are Django and WordPress?

Well, Django is an open-source backend framework that enables users to build their websites. Until this year, 2023, almost 2.5k companies are using this web developing platform.

Why do people use Django? To make fast, secure, and scalable web development, Django is the best choice. Most of the Django users are from the USA. Famous companies that use Django are Youtube, Spotify, Nasa, Kernel, Dropbox, and so on.

But this platform requires a clear and basic understanding of the coding language. You need knowledge of the Python programming language to operate this framework. Without the knowledge, it is quite hard to get over the Django framework. That’s why expert web developers like to use the Django framewo rk to build any website where the masses might find it difficult.

Because Python needs an advanced learning curve, maintenance and operation time are slower. So, Django is an advanced CMS framework but hard to conduct.

On the other hand, we have the WordPress. WordPress popularity is a mere description. From small to big businesses all use this. Why?

Because it takes little/no knowledge to make a website. The owner can easily buy the hosting from a provider and then start editing the content, changing themes, and one more thing the WP allows access to multiple editors at a time.

The WP is also an open source software and due to this multiple builders have provoked towards the WordPress. Again the PHP language has high compatibility with HTML. Thus the WP ends with high performance.

A business website, podcast website, online courses, payment site, personal blogs, etc uses the WP platform.

So, now it’s clear about both CMS frameworks. Both of them have some specialties for which they are used. To make the move between these two, you need to count on your purpose, knowledge, and of course time.

Why Choose WordPress Over Django?

There are multiple reasons to mark and go for the WordPress. So, let’s take a look at how the differences are made…

• WP has an easy and flexible interface and language. It has the PHP language setup. One can easily learn it. Moreover, the database connectivity with this language is MySQL, Oracle, and Microsoft SQL.
• Documentation and debugging are easier in WordPress. Also, the PHP language can integrate libraries and modules. On the other hand, the Python language has libraries that are difficult to integrate. 
• WordPress makes the performance level of any website one step ahead. Because the website can cross-cut other features smoothly. So, you can add on as many features as possible.
• WordPress has a large community. So if you face any problem while building a website, you can get support. Also, the WP allows the help and support system 24/7.
• The WordPress ORM is influenced by the Eloquent ORM and Laravel. Thus it allows the use, update, and delete in the database. But the Django framework has the ORM in the system but it’s not a complete one for the developers. And makes the website functionality slower.
• Maintaining Django is a complex thing. You don’t want to invest that much time in the framework. On the other hand, the WordPress is a fun and easy-handling framework.

Related Article: Migrate From Joomla to WordPress Migrate From Shopify To WordPress Migrate From Blogger To WordPress

Step By Step Guide to Migrate From Django to WordPress

Now that you have decided to move your website from Django to WordPress, drill down to the below steps to do it fast and in the correct way.

• Check out your website. You need to check the posts, blogs, and products on your website very carefully. In this way, you will be able to have a clear idea of what to import into the new WP website. Because the Django components are critical. So, go easy with those.
• Then install the WordPress into a new domain. As we know the WordPress is a self-hosted CMS. You need to buy the hosting from the providers. You can go for plans like shared, single websites, and others.
• Again go to your Django website. Backup the database. Otherwise, in the migration process, some data can be lost. So, to avoid this, back up the Django database on your server.
• Then import the content into your WP website. Go to the Setting, then import. You need to carefully import each item. Because there is a possibility of the duplicity of the content due to WordPress automatic activities. Have a sound connection and check each item is posted once.
• Choose the WP theme, and the right plugins to match your previous website. The internal links, images, and posts should be as it is. Otherwise, your user level will drop down. To make your website SEO friendly, add on the SEO plugin and also integrate the omnichannel services.
• Then go for the A/B testing of the WP website. With the testing, you will be able to know if your migration is okay and have all the data inside it correctly.

Alternative way to Migrate Django to WordPress

If you want to run both Django and WordPress together, you can do that even. You can use the Django WordPress API library. Let’s see the steps for this alternative…

1. You can install the WordPress Rest API plugin inside your WP website. Then install the Django WordPress API library. 
2. Add the WordPress API in the installed app.
3. Then add the WP application URLs in the installed command. You can have two ways to use the Django and WordPress API (DWA). One way to use it is in the view mode and the other is the client mode. The client mode of DWA allows you to have full control over the website design and data. But the view mode only allows the simple documentation of the blog post like reading it throughout.
4. Afterward, add the WP URL settings and blog per page in the DWA WordPress URL. 
5. Now you will be able to handle your website from Django and WordPress, both platforms.

The pros of using the Django WordPress API are that you can use both ways. WordPress, CMS platform to make your blogging, and posts easier, and Django for a professional cut.

Best Plugins to Use After Django to WordPress Migration

Rank Math SEO

SEO is the most consistent source of traffic for any website. Rank Math, a WordPress SEO plugin, to help every website owner get access to the SEO tools they need to improve their SEO and attract more traffic to their website.

WP Super Cache

WP Super Cache a cache plug in generates static html files from your dynamic WordPress blog. After a html file is generated your webserver will serve that file instead of processing the comparatively heavier and more expensive WordPress PHP scripts.

Wordfence Security

WordPress security requires a team of dedicated analysts researching the latest malware variants and WordPress exploits. Turning them into malware signatures, and releasing those to customers in real-time. Wordfence is widely acknowledged as the number one WordPress security research team in the World.

Cookie Notice

Cookie Notice provides a simple, customizable website banner that can be used to help your website comply with certain cookie consent requirements under the EU GDPR cookie law and CCPA regulations. It includes seamless integration with Coo kie Compliance to help your site comply with the latest updates to existing consent laws.

Ninja Forms

Ninja Forms is a beautiful, user friendly WordPress forms that will make you feel like a professional web developer! You can design beautiful, complex forms like a pro with a dedicated support team at your back.

Wrap Up

Migrating the Django website to WordPress is a daunting task. But to make it an easy one, you need to follow the discussed steps. Make sure you know well about your website and database from scratch and you won’t face any trouble moving it.

We have discussed both ways, one is full migration into the handy, simple WordPress and another is twinning both Django and WordPress. The migration process is easier if you have a less complex and low-volume data type in your Django website. Are you ready to migrate? I am sure you are. You can also read how to migrate sitecore to wordpress.

Frequently Asked Questions