Migrate from Sitecore to Strapi when the front end is already moving to Next.js
If your Sitecore XP or XM estate is already being rebuilt as a Next.js front end and you want the content hosted on infrastructure you control, the core answer is this: content, templates and media move with tooling and scripting, while xDB data, personalization rules and email marketing content must be rebuilt in other systems. Sitecore's own migration guide states that the SitecoreAI pathway does not migrate xDB data, email marketing content or personalization. Your Strapi project is the destination for editorial content, not a replacement for Sitecore's marketing stack, so plan those two workstreams separately from day one. In most engagements the work is led jointly by the platform or front-end lead, who owns the Next.js rebuild and Strapi content model, and a data or integration engineer who writes the extraction and import scripts. Start by mapping each Sitecore template to a Strapi content type, deciding which fields become relations, components or dynamic zones, and confirming which media folders and languages must come across. Strapi 5 runs on PostgreSQL 14 or later, MySQL 8.0 or later, MariaDB 10.3 or later or SQLite 3, and it does not support MongoDB, so confirm your database and Node.js version against the Strapi installation requirements before you size the environment. The effort and risk sit mostly in the content model and the editorial cutover, not in the Strapi installation itself. Ask for a written inventory of templates, languages, workflow states and media volumes before agreeing scope, and ask who will validate imported content against the live Sitecore site. Treat forms, personalization and campaign logic as separate deliverables with their own owners, because a headless Strapi stack will not replicate Sitecore rules without that additional work.
Which Sitecore capabilities map cleanly to Strapi and which need rework
This table compares common Sitecore XP and XM capabilities with what a headless Strapi stack covers out of the box. Read each row as clean, needs rework or gap: clean means a direct structural match, rework means the logic has to be rebuilt in Next.js or a third-party service, and gap means no equivalent exists in Strapi and a separate tool is needed.
| Sitecore capability | Strapi 5 and Next.js position | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Templates and fields | Map each template to a Strapi content type. Scalar fields map directly, while multi-field and rich text fields need component or dynamic zone design. | Clean |
| Items and item hierarchy | Items become entries. Parent-child trees need explicit relations or a page component model, and you should confirm how deep nesting is handled in your content types. | Needs rework |
| Media library | Assets move to the Strapi media library. Plan the export of binaries and metadata separately, and confirm storage provider settings for your hosting. | Clean |
| Renderings and Headless SXA components | Rebuild each rendering as a Next.js component. Placeholders and data sources have no direct equivalent and must be redesigned as components and dynamic zones. | Needs rework |
| Sitecore Forms | Strapi can store submissions through a content type, but form builder UX, validation and conditional logic need a Next.js form flow or a third-party service. | Needs rework |
| Personalization and experience rules | Strapi 5 has no built-in personalization engine. Rules must be rebuilt in the front end or in a separate decisioning service. | Gap |
| Marketing Automation and email campaigns | Not part of Strapi. Plan a separate marketing tool, and note that xDB data does not migrate to SitecoreAI either. | Gap |
| Administrator SSO | Strapi SSO for admin login sits in Growth as an add-on or in Enterprise. Confirm plan and identity provider support before budgeting. | Needs rework |
What data can be exported and what has no export path
A Sitecore exit into Strapi moves content and structure out through a serialization path, while analytics, contact history and personalization logic need separate handling. The cards below set out what the documented export carries, what stays behind, and which Strapi integration points you rebuild on the Next.js side.
Serialized items, roles and users
Sitecore Content Serialization writes items to YAML files, and module files decide which parts of the tree are included. Roles and users are part of the documented serialization output, so confirm that your module configuration captures them for your Sitecore version. Use the YAML as the source for mapping templates to Strapi content types, and treat the serialized output as input for a field-by-field review, not a finished import.
xDB contacts and analytics
The SitecoreAI migration guide states that xDB data does not migrate. Contact profiles, interaction history and analytics stay in Sitecore, so plan a separate export or a fresh start for visitor analytics before decommissioning XP. Ask your analytics owner which reports must be retained for audit or business reasons, and export them while the source platform still runs.
Personalization rules and email content
Personalization rules and email marketing content are not carried into SitecoreAI, which the migration guide says must be rebuilt. Document each rule, its audience definition and its trigger before the export, because the YAML may hold rule references without the logic that explains them. Rebuild segmentation with a separate tool such as Mautic, and confirm which rules your sites actually use.
Strapi REST and GraphQL APIs
Strapi exposes content types through REST and GraphQL APIs, and the Next.js front end reads content through them. Plan the API permissions for each content type, since public and authenticated reads differ, and test response shape against the front-end components you port. Strapi 5 changed the API response format, so confirm which format your client code expects before building the integration.
End users and administrator SSO
The Users and Permissions plugin handles end-user authentication for site visitors, and it is separate from administrator access. Strapi SSO applies only to admin panel login through an identity provider, with auto-registration, a default role and an optional local login lock-out. Map your Sitecore user roles to these two systems separately, and check which SSO option your plan includes before you design the admin workflow.
Webhooks to the Next.js build
Strapi webhooks can notify your Next.js host when entries are published or changed, so the front end rebuilds or revalidates the affected pages. Without this step, editors publish content that visitors do not see until a manual deploy. Test publish, unpublish and delete events against your caching setup, and confirm the webhook payload and retry behavior in your Strapi version before you rely on them for production.
How to sequence inventory, pilot, parallel run and cutover
This sequence moves a Sitecore estate to a self-hosted Strapi and Next.js stack in controlled stages, so each phase produces a checkable artifact before the next one starts. Sitecore stays live until the migrated content has been reconciled and the front end has been proven.
Inventory templates, items, media, sites and forms
Your Sitecore developers and content owners list every template, rendering, site definition, language version, media library folder and form, then mark what is content, what is presentation and what is marketing logic. Sitecore Content Serialization YAML is the most reliable starting input for the tree. The output is a content model map that pairs each Sitecore template with a planned Strapi content type, plus a list of xDB, personalization and forms behavior that will be rebuilt rather than moved. You know this phase is done when the content owners have signed off the map.
Build a pilot site on Strapi with Next.js
Choose one representative site or section, model its content types in Strapi 5 on a supported PostgreSQL or MySQL database, and connect a Next.js front end through the REST or GraphQL API. Your platform engineers handle hosting, Node.js version selection and the Strapi admin SSO decision, while editors test the authoring flow. Import a limited set of items and media, using scripted transforms that you keep in version control. The output is a migrated pilot that editors can use end to end, and you know it is done when a reviewer can reproduce the page output from the Strapi content alone.
Run a parallel period with Sitecore live
Keep Sitecore serving production while a scripted sync copies published content from Sitecore into Strapi on a schedule you agree with the business. Compare rendered pages from both systems, and log every field where the migrated output differs. Personalization, forms and analytics stay on their existing paths during this period, so the team should record any differences in those areas as known gaps. The output is a reconciliation report listing item counts, field mismatches, broken links, missing media and open decisions, and you know this phase is done when the report shows no unresolved content differences for the pilot scope.
Expand scope and rehearse the cutover
Extend the migration to the remaining sites and languages in waves, repeating the sync and reconciliation for each one. Prepare DNS changes, TLS certificates, a redirect map from every indexed Sitecore URL to its new path, and a rollback plan that returns traffic to Sitecore. Rehearse the cutover in a staging environment with the same redirect map and a final content freeze. The output is a signed cutover runbook and a redirect map, and you know the rehearsal is complete when the team can reverse the change within the rollback window agreed in advance.
Cut over DNS and monitor redirects
Run the cutover during the agreed window, switch DNS or the load balancer to the Next.js front end, and freeze Sitecore editing. Check status codes, redirect behavior, search console errors, forms and tracking tags against the reconciliation report. Keep Sitecore reachable in read-only mode until the monitoring shows stable traffic. The output is a cutover log with checks passed and any exceptions, and you know this step is done when the business owners accept the live site against the runbook.
Decommission Sitecore with archived exports
After the agreed retention period, export the Sitecore databases, serialized items, media files and configuration into an archive you control, and record checksums and the location of each copy. Confirm with your compliance and records team what must be retained and for how long, because Sitecore does not export xDB or analytics data in the same way. Then shut down the Sitecore environment and revoke its licenses and credentials. The output is a retained archive with an inventory and a sign-off record, and you know the decommission is complete when the archive can be restored or searched without Sitecore running.
Choosing Strapi edition, database and Node.js runtime
The first decision for a self-hosted Strapi stack is which edition and which database engine you will run, because both affect what you can switch on later. Strapi 5 supports PostgreSQL 14 or later, MySQL 8.0 or later, MariaDB 10.3 or later and SQLite 3, and it does not support MongoDB or other NoSQL databases. Teams coming from Sitecore's SQL Server background often choose PostgreSQL or MySQL, and the database you pick here is the one your backup routine, restore tests and hosting contracts must cover. Check the Node.js version too: Strapi 5 runs only on Active or Maintenance LTS Node.js versions, so pin the runtime in your build image and confirm the current support window before you set up the build pipeline. The installation requirements in the Strapi CLI installation docs are the place to confirm these against the release you deploy.
The Community Edition is licensed under MIT, and it is the base for a self-hosted Strapi estate at no license fee. Be aware of the open-core split: code under ee directories falls under the Strapi Enterprise Edition license, which applies unless you hold a signed agreement or a Strapi Cloud subscription. Before you build on the Community Edition, have your legal team review the Strapi LICENSE file and check whether any enterprise directories are present in the version you intend to run.
Several governance features sit in paid self-hosted plans. According to Strapi's self-hosted pricing page, the Growth plan is listed at 45 US dollars per month including 3 users, with 15 dollars per additional user, and the Enterprise plan is priced on request. SSO is an add-on for Growth and included in Enterprise, audit logs and review workflows are Enterprise features, and content history and releases start at Growth. Note that Strapi SSO covers administrator login to the admin panel only, while end-user authentication stays with the Users and Permissions plugin. Map each control your compliance team requires to a plan before you commit, and confirm current prices and terms directly with Strapi, since list prices change.
How the migration differs by estate size and starting point
A single site with a compact content model is the simplest starting point. The main question is whether the existing templates map cleanly to a handful of Strapi content types, such as pages, articles, navigation and site settings. When the front end is already Next.js or is being rebuilt anyway, most of the effort goes into the component layer and the content mapping rather than into the CMS itself.
- Content types: Count the Sitecore templates in use and map each to one Strapi collection type or single type. Small models usually need fewer relations and fewer dynamic zones.
- Media: Plan one pass to move the media library, check file naming and confirm which assets are still referenced.
- Forms and personalization: Rebuild any forms and any rules that show content to visitors. These are often the largest remaining items even on a small site.
- Editorial roles: Keep the admin role set small, so the Community Edition and its built-in roles may be enough.
- Hosting: One PostgreSQL database, one Strapi instance and one Next.js deployment are usually all the infrastructure needed.
Confirm with your team which Sitecore items carry business logic and which are only presentation, because only the first group needs a design decision during the move.
A multi-site estate with shared components and several languages changes the work from content transfer to information architecture. Strapi can serve several sites from one project, but the team must decide early how shared content, locale variants and site-specific overrides are modeled, because changing that decision after content has moved is expensive.
- Locales: Decide whether each language is a locale on the same document or a separate entry, and test how translations are linked before importing content at volume.
- Shared components: Move headers, footers, legal blocks and reusable promos into shared Strapi components, and record which sites override them.
- Site scoping: Model site identity explicitly so that editors, API queries and Next.js routing agree on which content belongs to which site.
- Permissions: Multi-site editing usually needs finer roles than a single site. Check which role model your plan supports before you commit to it, and confirm whether SSO for the admin panel is part of the plan you choose.
- Caching and publishing: Test publishing across sites and locales in staging, because stale shared content is the most common defect in this kind of estate.
Confirm the locale list, the number of sites and the set of shared components before estimating the content model, since these three decisions drive most of the rework.
A team still running MVC renderings must port those renderings to Next.js before any content can be served headless. This adds a front-end rebuild in front of the CMS migration, and it changes the order of work. The content migration can start in parallel, but it cannot be verified end to end until the new front end renders real pages.
- Rendering inventory: List every MVC rendering and classify it as presentational, data-driven or behavioral. Presentational renderings port most easily; behavioral ones need reimplementation.
- Component design: Turn renderings into React components that read from Strapi's REST or GraphQL API, and agree on the component contract with the content team early.
- Parallel running: Keep the MVC site live during the port, and decide how traffic moves between the old and new front ends at each stage.
- Test data: Use a sanitized copy of content in a non-production Strapi instance so that front-end work does not depend on the final import.
- Skills: Confirm that the team has React and Next.js experience before the port starts, because the CMS is the easier part of this path.
Check which renderings depend on Sitecore-specific features before scoping the port, since those features do not carry over to a headless build.
What drives cost and duration in a Sitecore to Strapi move
This table lists the cost components of moving a Sitecore estate to a self-hosted Strapi stack, who is paid for each, and whether it is one-time or recurring. Use it to check that a quote itemizes every component and to see which inputs, such as template count, media volume and plan choice, move the total most.
| Cost component | Who is paid | One-time or recurring | What drives it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Template and rendering mapping | Implementation partner or in-house architects | One-time | Number of Sitecore templates, branch templates and renderings that become Strapi content types and Next.js components |
| Content and media migration | Implementation partner or in-house developers | One-time | Item count, language versions, media volume and how many assets return errors on export. Serialized YAML covers items but not xDB or personalization rules |
| Next.js front-end build | Front-end contractor or internal team | One-time | Number of page types, sites and components, plus any MVC renderings that must be ported. SitecoreAI requires Headless SXA, so the same porting work applies to a Strapi build |
| Forms and personalization rebuild | Implementation partner plus marketing tooling vendors | One-time | Number of forms, submission handling and personalization rules, which the Sitecore migration guide says must be rebuilt rather than migrated |
| Testing, cutover and parallel running | Partner QA, internal teams and security testers | One-time | Number of sites and languages, redirect rules, and how long Sitecore and the new stack run side by side |
| Strapi plan fees | Strapi Solutions SAS, paid by the customer | Recurring | Self-hosted plan chosen. Growth and Enterprise carry features such as SSO add-ons, audit logs and review workflows, so confirm current pricing on Strapi's pricing page |
| Hosting, database and backups | Cloud or data center provider, plus whoever runs backups | Recurring | Hosting footprint, PostgreSQL or MySQL sizing, media storage, backup frequency and restore tests. Strapi Cloud is listed separately and carries its own plan fees |
| Upgrades and support | Internal team or support retainer | Recurring | Strapi minor releases ship often, and v4 reached end of life on April 30, 2026, so budget for regular upgrade work and quote it as a retainer |
What usually goes wrong and how to prevent it
Most failed Sitecore to Strapi projects break in the same few places: features assumed to carry over, content models that drift from the new API, and cutover steps that lose URLs and media. Each card below names one of these risks and the check that prevents it.
Underestimating personalization and form rebuilds
Sitecore's migration guide states that the SitecoreAI pathway does not migrate xDB data, email marketing content or personalization, so those must be rebuilt. Teams often budget for pages and templates but not for audience rules, form logic, submission handling or the consent records behind them. Before scoping, list every personalization rule and form in the estate, name the replacement system for each, and agree who owns that work in the written scope.
Content models drifting after the v5 upgrade
Strapi 5 replaces the Entity Service API with the Document Service API and changes the API response format, so front ends written against v4 responses can break silently. If you use the Strapi-Response-Format: v4 header during migration, treat it as a temporary bridge, not the target. Pin your content types to a schema snapshot, run contract tests against the Next.js queries, and compare sample responses before and after each change.
Media URLs breaking at cutover
Sitecore media library items carry paths and derived renditions that front-end code may reference directly. If assets are re-uploaded to Strapi without a mapping table, existing links in content, feeds and email templates return 404 once the old media host is retired. Build a map from each Sitecore media ID to its new Strapi asset URL, rewrite references in content during import, and keep the old media host live until the map is verified.
SEO loss without a redirect map
Sitecore item paths, query-string pages and language-prefixed URLs rarely match the route structure of a Next.js front end. Without a redirect map, search engines index new paths as new pages and previous rankings and inbound links lose value. Export the full URL list from the live site, pair each old URL with a new route or an explicit retirement, and test the redirects in staging against the crawl of the old site before DNS changes.
Skipping database backups before changes
Strapi's migration documentation tells teams to back up the database first, because downgrading is not supported. Schema changes, data migration scripts that run on first start of Strapi 5, and version upgrades can each leave content in an unrecoverable state. Take and test a full database and media backup before each upgrade or import, restore it into a separate environment to confirm it works, and record the restore steps in the runbook.
Running an unsupported Strapi version
Strapi v4 reached end of life on April 30, 2026, and its final release will receive no further updates. Teams that begin a migration on v4 may finish on a version that no longer receives fixes. Confirm the target major version before estimating work, check the supported Node.js versions and database engines in the installation requirements, and schedule the upgrade cadence as recurring work, since Strapi 5 minor releases ship frequently.
Questions buyers ask before moving from Sitecore to Strapi
What does a Sitecore to Strapi migration cost, and what drives the total?
The total is driven by the size of the Sitecore estate, the number of templates and renderings to rebuild, the volume of media, and how much personalization and form logic must be recreated. Costs fall into four groups: the Next.js front end build, the Strapi content model and migration scripts, hosting and database operations you run yourself, and the Strapi license tier if you need SSO, audit logs or review workflows. Strapi's self-hosted Community Edition is free, while the Growth plan is listed at 45 US dollars per month including 3 users (per Strapi's self-hosted pricing page). Ask any implementation partner for a fixed-scope quote that separates one-time build work from recurring hosting, licensing and support.
How long does a migration from Sitecore to Strapi take?
Duration depends on how many sites, languages and templates sit in scope, how much of the Sitecore front end is already headless, and how many integrations must be rebuilt. Sitecore's migration guide notes that SitecoreAI requires Headless SXA, so MVC renderings must be ported to Next.js before content moves. Plan for separate workstreams: front end rebuild, content model mapping, item and media migration, parallel running and cutover. No fixed duration is set here; ask your delivery partner for a timeline tied to a written scope and confirm the dependencies on your own environment.
What does our internal team need to provide?
Your team needs to supply content owners who can validate mapped content types, a product owner who can decide what is in scope, and engineers who can review the Next.js front end and the Strapi data model. Someone must also own the database, backups and upgrades after go-live. Expect to provide access to the Sitecore content tree, serialized items, media libraries, analytics exports and the list of integrations, plus the hosting accounts where Strapi and PostgreSQL will run. Confirm these roles in writing before work starts.
Can our own developers do this migration in-house?
Yes, if you have developers experienced with React or Next.js, Node.js and relational databases, and if the estate is modest in size. Strapi 5 requires PostgreSQL 14 or later, MySQL 8.0 or later, MariaDB 10.3 or later, or SQLite 3, and runs only on Active or Maintenance LTS Node.js versions, so your platform team must keep those components supported. Larger multi-site estates with many languages usually benefit from an outside partner for scoping, migration tooling and hardening. DeployOpen plans, implements, hardens, backs up and documents self-hosted platforms in your own infrastructure under fixed-scope engagements, and scope is agreed in writing before work starts.
Can Strapi replace Sitecore personalization?
No. Strapi is a headless content platform and does not provide visitor profiling, rules-based personalization or journey orchestration. Sitecore's migration guide states that the SitecoreAI pathway does not migrate xDB data, email marketing content or personalization, so these must be rebuilt. Typical approaches pair Strapi with a separate analytics or segmentation service, with the front end selecting content variants based on that service's output. Mautic can cover campaigns and segmentation, and Matomo can cover visitor analytics. Confirm which personalization features your site uses before choosing a replacement, because some Sitecore XP features have no direct equivalent.
How are SSO and audit logs licensed in Strapi?
In Strapi's self-hosted plans, SSO is an add-on for the Growth plan and included in Enterprise, while audit logs and review workflows are Enterprise features. Content history and releases begin at the Growth plan. Note that Strapi SSO covers administrator login to the admin panel only, through an identity provider such as Microsoft Azure Active Directory. End-user authentication is handled separately by the Users and Permissions plugin. Confirm current plan terms on Strapi's self-hosted pricing page before you budget, since pricing and feature placement can change.
What happens to Sitecore data that cannot be exported?
Data held in xDB, personalization rules and analytics generally has no export path into Strapi and must be rebuilt or replaced. Sitecore Content Serialization can export items such as YAML content, roles and users, but it does not carry visitor history or rule logic. Before cutover, inventory every data source, decide whether historical analytics must be kept in an archive, and record which content, forms and rules are rebuilt by hand. Retain the Sitecore environment in read-only form until the archive and rebuild are verified. Ask your partner to document this inventory as part of the written scope.
How DeployOpen works on this
DeployOpen plans, implements, customizes, integrates, hardens, backs up, upgrades, documents and supports self-hosted open-source platforms inside your own infrastructure. For a Sitecore exit to a headless Strapi stack, we start with a written scope that fixes what moves, what gets rebuilt and what stays out of the migration.
How we scope
- Inventory every Sitecore template, rendering, site and language that the Next.js front end will replace.
- Decide which content types, components and media folders map to Strapi, and record each exception in writing.
- Document what is out of scope, including xDB data, personalization rules and email marketing content that must be rebuilt separately.
How we build
- Install Strapi 5 on PostgreSQL or MySQL in your own cloud account, data center or air-gapped network, on a supported Node.js LTS version.
- Build content types, roles and the Users and Permissions setup, then test REST and GraphQL responses against the Next.js front end.
- Run security testing on the Strapi admin panel, APIs and the front end before any production cutover.
How we hand over
- Deliver migration scripts, a mapping workbook and reconciliation reports that show item counts and media checks for each site.
- Write runbooks covering backups taken before any upgrade, since Strapi downgrades are not supported, plus editor guides for the new workflow.
- Provide architecture, configuration and control evidence in a form your internal teams or external auditors can review.
How we support
- Ongoing support, Strapi minor upgrades and continuous testing are available as retainers after handover.
- Agree in writing who patches the database, Node.js runtime, Next.js front end and hosting layer, and how often.
- Ask any implementation partner to confirm the licensing position for Strapi features such as SSO and audit logs before you sign.
