Contao Migration · Sanity Partner

Contao Migration: Lower Maintenance Overhead. More Room to Develop.

When custom Contao extensions slow development or content needs to serve a website, customer portal and other applications, we assess a move to Sanity or Payload. The goal is structured content, reusable components and explicit integrations, provided the technical and commercial case supports the migration.

As a Sanity Partner, we engineer the target content and web architecture—including data migration, frontend development, search, media management and a controlled launch.

Discuss the current situation

When does a Contao migration make sense?

Contao is a capable open-source CMS. A migration makes sense when customizations, editorial limitations and maintenance costs outweigh the value of the existing setup.

Every change depends on extensions or custom code

Custom modules, extensions and other modifications need to be maintained and tested during upgrades. Delivering a new feature can take more engineering effort than it should.

Content is tied to pages and templates

Product information, campaigns and project references may live in page elements or specialized modules. Reusing that content in other applications requires additional work.

A website redesign becomes a CMS redevelopment

When presentation, content structure and backend are tightly coupled, changes to the user interface can affect templates and data models throughout the system.

Editors depend on developers for routine updates

Custom content elements, layout rules or complex approval steps slow content teams down, especially across departments and multiple languages.

The true cost of ownership is difficult to see

Hosting, maintenance, external agencies, extensions, upgrades and internal editorial effort often sit in separate budgets.

Moving away from Contao: change the architecture only when it helps

Your business requirements, not the CMS brand, determine the right solution.

A Contao upgrade or a cleanup of existing extensions can be more economical than migrating the entire website. We start by separating limitations of the CMS itself from problems introduced by years of custom development.

If your website, customer portal, product catalogue and sales applications need to share content, a decoupled CMS may be a better foundation. Through Consulting & Diagnostics we assess the business requirements, cost implications, technical dependencies and operational responsibilities.

The aim is to manage content consistently and make changes easier to deliver—not to replace one tightly coupled system with a collection of unmanaged services.

What a Contao migration can enable beyond the website

A migration should enable real capabilities, not merely replace the CMS.

Separating content, frontend code and application logic can make it easier to develop customer portals, product features and other digital services without maintaining the same information and UI components in multiple places. A headless CMS supplies structured data while each application controls its interface and functionality.

Schema as Code defines content types, relationships and validation rules in a version-controlled repository. Teams can review and test changes before release. Existing content still requires a planned migration whenever the model evolves.

A shared design system can provide design tokens and UI components for the website and additional applications. This can reduce duplicate implementation work when frameworks and product requirements support reuse. CRM, ERP and other integrations need explicit data contracts, permissions and failure handling.

Whether that improvement justifies a migration depends on the current extensions, team capabilities, operating costs and new product requirements. A targeted improvement of the existing CMS can still be the more economical choice.

Sanity or Payload: which Contao alternative fits?

The new CMS must fit your content operations, data models and hosting requirements. We generally prefer Sanity when structured content needs to serve multiple applications.

Sanity CMS — structured content across channels

Sanity separates content models from presentation. Editors work in configurable interfaces, while websites and other applications consume the content through APIs. As a Sanity Partner, Valanor handles content modeling, migration, integrations and frontend engineering.

Payload — bring the CMS closer to your application

Payload can be suitable for TypeScript-based products where content management, custom application logic, permissions and infrastructure need to remain under closer in-house control.

Choose based on how the system will be used

We compare data ownership, hosting, permissions, localization, editorial preview, team skills, recurring costs and integrations. Not every website needs a headless CMS.

What needs to be migrated from Contao?

A website consists of more than its page tree.

Contao commonly organizes content through pages, articles and content elements. Your installation may also include news archives, events, forms, files, languages, user permissions and custom modules. Those structures are not necessarily the right content model for a new CMS.

We separate content from layout and application behavior. Text, media and metadata can be transformed into structured data; layouts, templates and dynamic modules may need to be implemented differently. We examine custom DCA configurations, database tables, Symfony/PHP extensions and Twig or legacy templates separately.

News, events, downloads, forms and restricted areas require an explicit decision: should they become structured content, independent application features or integrations with existing systems? Automatically recreating every extension one to one is rarely the most sensible option.

Choose the frontend, search and DAM your website actually needs

Composable architecture is an approach, not a mandatory technology stack.

Astro can be an effective choice for content-heavy corporate sites. Remix or React Router is worth considering for more interactive applications and complex data flows. Next.js may suit React-based platforms combining editorial pages and application features. Rendering, editorial previews, integrations and hosting determine the final choice.

For search, Algolia or Typesense can support extensive product catalogues, filters and more demanding search needs. Smaller websites may have no reason to run a separate search service.

Cloudinary and ImageKit can handle media variants, transformations and delivery across channels. For simpler websites, the capabilities of the CMS and frontend may be sufficient.

We engineer the complete system, from content models and APIs to deployment and quality assurance. Explore our Platform Engineering services.

How we migrate a website from Contao

We break the migration into clear architecture decisions and verifiable delivery steps.

01 · Audit the existing Contao setup and costs

Document the version, extensions, custom data models, templates, page tree, articles, assets, forms, languages and integrations. Compare operating costs with business requirements.

02 · Define the target architecture and content models

Separate content, presentation and business functions. Define the CMS, frontend, search, media workflows, permissions and integrations using real editorial scenarios.

03 · Develop and test the content migration

Export Contao content, metadata, media, relationships and translations. Transform and import them into the target CMS, with specific handling for custom modules.

04 · Implement the frontend and editorial workflows

Develop page templates, reusable components, navigation, previews, approvals, forms and APIs. Validate the result with content editors and IT using realistic tasks.

05 · Protect SEO and control the go-live

Map old URLs to new ones, configure redirects, check canonicals, hreflang, sitemaps and structured data. Verify forms, analytics, assets and search before and after launch.

Contao migrations in machinery manufacturing: two project examples

How Contao was replaced in two industrial website projects with different technical requirements.

Schubert Group: From Contao to Sanity and Remix

Valanor handled the technical migration of the Schubert Group website from Contao to a decoupled architecture using Remix and Sanity. Ruess Group is the client named in the project reference. The resulting platform separates the frontend, content management, search, media and tracking.

Sanity provides structured editorial content not only to the website but also to sales applications such as Waypoint and Iskra. The documented stack includes Algolia for search, Cloudinary for media, Netlify for deployment and Storybook for UI components.

The important difference is that content can be managed centrally and reused across multiple applications without coupling each interface to the same CMS implementation. The Schubert Group migration case study documents the architecture and Valanor's role.

TAMPOPRINT: Contao to Prismic Migration

Valanor developed TAMPOPRINT's new website and migrated the existing Contao setup to Prismic. Delivered with RUESS Group, the project connected an industrial B2B website with a renewed technical foundation.

How much does a Contao migration cost?

Custom functionality and data quality matter more than page count alone.

A corporate website with standard content types requires a very different level of effort from a Contao installation with many custom extensions, news and event modules, form logic, multiple languages, portals and third-party integrations.

One-off costs include the technical audit, content modeling, data extraction and transformation, frontend development, testing, SEO migration and rollout. Ongoing costs include hosting, CMS, search, media delivery and maintenance.

Contao is open source and does not carry a general CMS license fee. A migration therefore does not automatically reduce costs. Potential savings come from lowering custom maintenance overhead, clarifying system responsibilities and improving editorial workflows. The business case needs to be calculated for your actual setup.

Frequently asked questions about Contao migration

Practical answers for business owners, marketing teams and technical decision-makers.

When should we migrate away from Contao?

Consider migrating when custom extensions, complex changes or limited reuse of content consistently slow down your teams. First, assess whether a Contao upgrade or targeted cleanup would solve the problem at lower cost.

Which Contao content can be migrated to Sanity?

Text, page content, news, images, metadata and other structured information can be migrated after an audit and content mapping. Custom content elements, DCA fields, forms and special modules may need custom transformations or redevelopment.

Is Sanity or Payload the better Contao replacement?

Sanity often makes sense when structured content must serve multiple websites and applications. Payload may be a better fit when the CMS is tightly integrated with a TypeScript application and self-managed hosting. Your architecture and operating model should decide.

Will a Contao migration affect our search rankings?

There is no guarantee that rankings will remain unchanged. We plan URL mappings and 301 redirects, preserve relevant metadata, check canonicals, hreflang and internal links, and monitor indexation after launch.

Can we keep news, event listings and forms?

The required functionality can be migrated or reimplemented. Whether it belongs in the CMS, an independent service or an existing integration depends on workflows, permissions and business logic.

Do we need to redesign the website as part of the migration?

No. An existing design can be implemented in the new frontend and extended when useful. We review which components are worth retaining from an engineering and editorial perspective.

How long does a migration from Contao take?

It depends on the content types, data quality, custom extensions, integrations, languages and test requirements. We estimate the work after reviewing the existing system and agreeing on a migration scope.

Contao Migration · Initial Consultation

Is moving away from Contao the right investment?

We assess your current Contao environment, maintenance costs and the requirements of your website and editorial teams. Together, we establish whether a migration to Sanity or Payload makes sense—or whether improving the existing system is the better decision.