Project management and content migration – Gamma

The client

Gamma, one of Belgium’s most well-known DIY retailers, is part of the Dutch group Intergamma and is a true omnichannel retailer.

In Belgium, GAMMA ranks among the top 3 in the DIY sector. Weekly, 160,000 customers visit the 86 GAMMA stores in Belgium, with an equivalent number visiting the webshop. Around 1,000 employees are available on the shop floor to assist customers.

The assignment

Content migration with associated assets to a new CMS

During our successful collaboration on performance marketing, the Gamma team asked if we could assist them with the content migration from their “old” Hybris CMS platform to the new headless CMS Contentful.

Two internal staff members had already started the migration, but additional capacity with the necessary expertise was required to transfer the remaining 1,400 pages within the two months they had left before the new website’s go-live. It was also crucial that the pages be built in an SEO-friendly manner and that no information was lost. They wanted to double-check this with our expertise.

The challenges

• Inventorying the necessary or missing texts, translations, meta descriptions, photos, and other assets
• Defining a “way of work” with an accompanying quality check for the team to follow to align with the new structure of the headless CMS
• Building pages according to SEO best practices and optimizing them where necessary
• A tight deadline of 2 months to complete the migration

How?

Starting with a core team for a test migration

To estimate the required workload, we decided to conduct a “test run.”

With a core team, we performed a test migration for one complete file. The pages were categorized according to type, complexity, and for each page, we mapped out potential issues (missing meta information, underlying links, odd layouts, etc.).

From this test, we derived a time estimate and developed a formula for the entire project. This allowed us to determine how many team members to deploy to meet the deadline and what expertise they would need to successfully complete the migration with quality.

Deploying an additional technical team alongside Gamma’s team

Now that the workload and required capacity for the migration project were clear, we could determine how the team should be structured.

At Gamma, two employees were appointed to support our team with any questions regarding the new CMS, Contentful. They were also responsible for the final validation and publishing of the provided pages. Additionally, a content marketer was assigned to provide missing texts, translations, and meta information, and Gamma also appointed an internal project manager to oversee the project.

We decided to complement Gamma’s team mainly with technical and marketing profiles:

• CMS Developer to thoroughly examine the ins and outs of the headless CMS and provide technical expertise regarding frontend and backend development.
• Performance Marketer to monitor and implement SEO optimizations as needed.
• Digital Project Manager with broad knowledge of both marketing and web development to oversee the project, act as the bridge between different parties, and perform quality controls.

Development of inventory and guide

To maintain a good overview of the project’s progress, we decided to create an Excel sheet with all the files to be migrated and their corresponding pages.

For each page, the following was mapped out:

• Which information needed to be completed
  • Page titles, meta titles, meta descriptions, alt descriptions
  • Old vs. new URLs
  • Any linked pages and topics
  • Corresponding translations and assets
• Who was responsible for the final approval
• The status of the page (to do, in progress, QA, completed, published)
• Any errors/issues encountered

Additionally, a “how-to” guide was created and approved by the Gamma team. This guide served as a template for every employee working on the migration so that each page was created according to expectations and could be quickly published.

Timeline

Kick-off with workshop

We started with an intake meeting where we got acquainted with the team at Gamma responsible for the content migration from the current CMS “Hybrid” to the new platform “Contentful.”

The focus of this meeting was an introduction to the use of the new CMS and the current workflow. They also pointed out pain points, and the scope and desired deadline were discussed.

The initial goal of this meeting was to gather enough information to return with a plan of action and a proposal to complete the migration. However, the conclusion was that this would not be possible due to the scope and unknown issues that could arise.

Realistic estimation of workload via test-run

Given the complexity and scope of the project, we decided to carry out a test migration with the core team. This allowed us to establish a formula to make a realistic estimate of the required duration and associated budget.

Performing the migration

The task involved migrating 1400+ pages and associated assets, where it was crucial that no information was lost and missing information was added.

Our digital project manager developed a plan of action that included a guide, an inventory of all pages in Excel with their statuses, and a Word document per file to track all feedback for the Gamma team. We also held a status call with the Gamma team every 2 weeks to stay on top of things.

Final validation by Gamma

After quality control by our digital project manager, the pages were conceptually released to the Gamma team, who did the final validation before publishing the pages.

Completion of migration and additional files

Thanks to good collaboration and closely monitoring the workload through lists, meetings, and the guide by the team, we succeeded in meeting the deadline, and the pages were completed and published on time.

Additionally, after this migration, we were asked to migrate the remaining categories and pages, which we happily did!

Result of organic search terms

Below, you can see that the content migration had no negative impact on the organic search ranking

Result of organic traffic

Additionally, the organic traffic to the website remained stable.

Frequently Asked Questions