Imagine you’ve just bought your dream home. You’re excited about the move. You’ve been planning all the ways in which you’re going to decorate it. You’re picking out furniture and paint colours. But also think about all the packing you have to do. You have way more stuff than you thought and your move date is fast approaching. It’s exciting, but it’s also chaotic. Migrating to SharePoint can feel like this. That’s why appropriate planning is essential.

Switching from a different platform? Planning is essential. Upgrading from an older version? Planning is essential. No matter what the purpose for a migration, you need to have a plan in place. This blog will serve as a guide to help you navigate the process without the headaches.

Define Your Migration Goals

Before you touch any data, you need to ask yourself what you want to achieve with SharePoint; if you want to improve collaborations, document management, or compliance, and what features of SharePoint you’re going to actually use.

A tip for defining your goals is to align with business outcomes, not just IT needs (although understanding IT needs is very important)

Audit Your Existing Content

You also need to take stock of what you currently have. It’s important to identify any outdated, duplicate, or irrelevant files. Once you’ve analyzed your files, you want to map out folder structures and permissions for those folders/files. And then you’ll have to decide what should be archived and what should be migrated.

A tip when auditing your existing content is to clean up before you move (think back to the house example). Don’t bring clutter into your new SharePoint home.

Choose the Right Migration Approach

There are three main paths to migration:

1. Manual migration – Good for small teams or simple setups.
2. Third- Party tools – Ideal for complex migrations with metadata, workflows, or permissions.
3. Microsoft Migration Tool – Free and reliable for many use cases.

A tip for choosing the right migration approach is to evaluate based on volume, complexity, and budget.

Build Your SharePoint Architecture

When designing your new environment, you’ll need to choose between Team Sites and Communication Sites; set up document libraries, lists, and metadata; and plan for permissions and governance – this is especially important because when you roll it out, you want everyone to be able to access what they need and should have access to.  

A tip when building you SharePoint architecture it to think long-term. The structure of your site should support scalability and usability.

Test the Migration

You absolutely need to test your migration. You can’t skip this step. Before going live, run a pilot migration with a small group; check for broken links, missing metadata, and permission issues; and get feedback from users.

A tip for testing is to treat the test like a rehearsal. Catch issues early before lifting the curtain.

Go Live (But Stay Calm)

When you’re ready, and when you’ve tested, communicate clearly with users. You’re going to have to provide training and support and monitor performance and user adoption.

A tip for going live is to launch with a bang. Celebrate the move and encourage user engagement.

Post-Migration Optimization

Even though you have successfully completed the migration, your job doesn’t just stop. After migration you should review usage analytics, tweak navigation and search settings, and continue training and gathering feedback.

A tip for post-migration is to recognize that SharePoint is a living system. Keep improving it. Keep giving it attention.

Final Thoughts: Keep It Human

Migrating to SharePoint is much more than a technical project. It’s a change management journey. Involve stakeholders, communicate often, and focus on user experience.

Migrating to SharePoint isn’t easy. We have helped several clients with their migration journey. If you need help or guidance, fill out the form at the bottom of this page and someone will be in touch.

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