Move your community
Community platform migration checklist
Inventory what matters, decide what should move, and reduce the operational surprises around a platform change.
The short version
- Inventory people, access, content, payments, and domains before choosing a migration date.
- Move useful content intentionally instead of reproducing years of clutter.
- Test the member path and keep a rollback record for operational changes.
Inventory the current system
For each item, mark whether it can be exported, whether the destination can import it, and whether it is worth carrying forward.
- Members, roles, invitation status, segments, and the fields you still use.
- Paid access, subscriptions, coupons, course enrollments, and progress records.
- Posts, comments, files, lessons, events, messages, and evergreen resources.
- Domains, email senders, integrations, analytics, webhooks, and sign-in methods.
Decide what should move
Preserve records that affect access, money, ownership, or member trust. Curate old content more aggressively. A migration is a rare chance to remove stale categories, duplicate resources, and instructions nobody should follow anymore.
- Must preserve: active access, payment records, permissions, consent, and critical member identity.
- Usually useful: current courses, upcoming events, pinned guidance, and frequently used resources.
- Often archive elsewhere: old chatter, expired promotions, obsolete events, and abandoned categories.
Rehearse the member path
- Create a test member with the most common access level.
- Join, sign in again, find the first resource, complete the primary action, and adjust notifications.
- Test one unusual case: a paid member, moderator, course learner, or person changing email addresses.
- Write the support response for the two most likely problems before launch day.
Plan the cutover and the first week
Choose when the old system becomes read-only, when invitations are sent, when domains or integrations change, and who makes each decision. Keep the original exports and a written record of configuration changes.
During the first week, watch successful sign-ins, first actions, support requests, and returning members. Fix friction before adding new features.
Build the smallest useful version of your community.
Start with a feed, classroom, calendar, messages, and member list. No card required.
Start a community