Kentico to Joomla Migration

Q: What happens to my Kentico page tree and content hierarchy in Joomla?

Kentico's tree-node hierarchy does not have a native equivalent in Joomla, so pages migrate as flat Joomla articles. Parent-child relationships and nested URL structures are not preserved in the article model itself; you will need to reconstruct site navigation manually using Joomla menus after the data lands. URL aliases and redirects do migrate directly, which limits broken-link exposure during the transition.

Q: Can my Kentico BizForms and form submission data move to Joomla?

Joomla core has no native equivalent to Kentico BizForms, so both form definitions and submission data require a workaround. Form definitions must be manually or semi-manually recreated in a third-party Joomla extension such as Fabrik, RSForm! Pro, or ChronoForms; Fabrik is the closest structural match because it supports per-form dynamic table creation that mirrors Kentico's per-form SQL table pattern. Historical submission records can then be bulk-imported into those component tables via CSV or direct SQL once the form schema exists on the Joomla side. Because Kentico stores submission data in dynamically named tables (e.g., BizForm_[formname]) with no standard API export path, this extraction requires per-form scripts and direct database access.

Q: Which Kentico version do I need before starting the migration, and does it matter for the API?

The version matters significantly on the source side. Xperience by Kentico (the current SaaS-first release) exposes the most complete Management API and is the easiest to extract from programmatically; Kentico Xperience 13 and earlier rely heavily on the .NET CMS.DataEngine rather than REST, so bulk operations require custom extraction logic or direct database access. Kentico 13 also reaches end of support on 31 December 2026, with 2026 already limited to security hotfixes only, so teams on version 13 or earlier have an additional urgency reason to migrate. Custom module class and page type definitions must be migrated before their associated content records regardless of version.

Q: What Joomla version do I need on the target, and are there API requirements?

Joomla 4.0 or later is required because the REST API that ClonePartner uses for programmatic import was introduced in Joomla 4; Joomla 3.x has no native REST API, making automated record creation impossible. Authentication must be configured via API Token or OAuth2, as Basic Auth is disabled by default in Joomla 4. Additionally, Joomla has no bulk-import endpoints, so every article, user, category, and media file is created individually, which is a factor in scoping time estimates alongside API rate limits and server timeout settings.

Q: What data will silently disappear or break if nobody plans for it before migration day?

Several items carry silent-loss risk. User passwords cannot be exported from Kentico or imported into Joomla, so all users must reset passwords after cutover — communicate this before go-live or accounts appear broken. Page attachments migrate as media files but internal links pointing to those attachments will break until a link-update pass is run. Kentico custom field values attached to page types migrate only partially via workaround custom fields in Joomla, and relationships between content and categories must be re-established after both sides are migrated. Web part and widget configurations cannot move at all because they are tightly coupled to .NET assemblies; any front-end functionality they provide must be rebuilt in Joomla independently of the data migration.

Q: Do Kentico custom page types (Document Types) survive in Joomla, or do I lose that structured data?

Custom page types do not have a direct Joomla equivalent and migrate via workaround: the fields defined in a Kentico Document Type are approximated using Joomla's custom fields for articles, but field categories, inheritance between page types, and any macro-based default values are not portable. Each custom field value also requires a separate API call per article on the Joomla side, so large volumes of structured content with many custom fields will extend migration processing time. You should audit your Document Type definitions before scoping the migration to identify which fields are business-critical versus presentation-layer, since presentation logic tied to .NET code cannot move regardless.

CUSTOM MIGRATION

Fully customizable engineer-led migration

Tailor your migration from Kentico to Joomla exactly to your needs with our flexible customization options. Our experts will configure the perfect migration plan for your business.

Migration Filters

Data Types

MIGRATION TIMELINE

Your Kentico to Joomla migration, step by step

See how long your migration will take from start to finish. Drag the slider to estimate based on your data volume.

How many records are you migrating?

<10K 50K 100K 250K 500K 1M 2M 5M 10M+

Checklist ~3 days

Sample 1 day

Review ~2 days

Full 2 days

Delta 1 day

Your team ClonePartner

Estimated total

~9 business days

Migration Checklist

1 day · ClonePartner ~2 days · Your team

We prepare the optimal data mapping as a shareable spreadsheet. Your team reviews, approves, and adds any customizations.

Sample Migration

1 day · ClonePartner

We run a test migration with a representative sample of your data to verify mapping accuracy and identify any potential issues before the full run.

Review & Approve

~2 days · Your team

Your team reviews the sample migration results, confirms data accuracy and mapping, and gives the go-ahead for the full migration.

Full Migration

2 days · ClonePartner

We execute the complete migration of all your data to your new Joomla, with real-time progress tracking and comprehensive logging.

Delta Migration

1 day · ClonePartner

We capture and transfer any new data that was added or updated during the main migration to ensure no data is lost. This final sync keeps everything current.

Feature / Criteria	ClonePartner	Automated Tools	CSV Import	In-house migration
Custom Scripting for complex data	✓ Engineers build & maintain	✗ No	⚠ Manual	✓ Yes – but costly
Sandbox & Pilot Migrations	✓ Full sandbox + pilot plans	⚠ Limited	✗ No	⚠ Often Informal
Manual validation & reconciliation	✓ Automated + manual QA	✗ No	✓ Yes (Manual)	✓ Heavy manual effort
Backup & rollback plan	✓ Robust procedures	✗ No	✗ No	⚠ Often incomplete
Handles automation and integrations	✓ Full support	⚠ Partial	✗ No	⚠ Possible but fragmented
Post-migration engineer support	✓ Dedicated engineers	✗ No	✗ No	⚠ Limited support
Adaptable to API changes	✓ Proactive adaptation	✗ No	⚠ Manual fixes	⚠ Slower response
Turnaround / timeline predictability	✓ Predictable timelines	⚠ Fast but brittle	⚠ Slow and manual	⚠ Often slower
Data Security & Compliance	✓ High – enterprise grade	⚠ Medium (depends)	⚠ Low (manual)	⚠ Hidden gaps common
Pricing predictability	✓ Transparent & fixed	⚠ Low (per-job)	⚠ Low (manual hours)	⚠ High/variable OPEX
End-to-end project management	✓ Full E2E delivery & PM	✗ No	✗ No	⚠ Often partial
Business impact & opportunity cost	✓ No diversion of staff	✗ No	✗ No	⚠ Diverts engineering

What does an Engineer-led migration mean anyway?

Speed & Accuracy: Our Blended Method

We blend automation (smart scripts, bulk APIs) with human expertise for speed without risk. Our engineers manually check every mapping, validation, and exception.

You get:

Speed of automation for bulk record migration
Precision of engineers verifying integrity and business logic
Pilot migrations and sandbox testing to catch issues early
Real-time validation reports and rollback readiness

Result: 50x faster migrations than manual imports — with near-zero error rates.

Handling the Tricky Tech and API Details

The Kentico and Joomla APIs each behave differently, which is where our engineers shine. We build custom logic to handle the data quirks where generic tools typically break.

We handcraft API logic for:

Field mapping and transformation
Pagination, rate-limit handling, and throttling
Preserving content relationships, media, and revision history
Syncing custom fields, taxonomies, and templates without breaking structure

Our scripts: Natively retry failed calls, re-queue large attachments, and ensure data parity.

No Guesswork

We don't just promise smooth migrations—we measure and prove them. Every client receives a Migration Validation Report with all metrics.

Typical results across projects:

100% record-count parity between your Kentico data and Joomla
Zero downtime during staged cutovers
99.9% attachment integrity (verified via checksum)
Full automation and preservation of all business rules

Our standard: Includes full SEO and redirect preservation and 30 days of engineer-assigned support post go-live.

We Adapt to Your Setup (Not the Other Way Around)

No two teams configure Kentico or Joomla exactly the same way—with unique content models and data. We customize every migration script to fit your exact workflow, taxonomies, and templates.

Our engineers adapt for:

Custom fields, content types, and workflows
Multi-site or multi-language setups
Historical imports and partial (date-based) migrations
Integration re-mapping for search, analytics, or forms tools

The promise: If your data doesn't fit a standard template, we build one just for you.

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Everything you need to know about migrating from Kentico to Joomla. Can't find what you're looking for? Talk to our team.

Kentico → Joomla 6 Before you start 2 Data & mapping 2 Timeline & downtime 3 Security & access 1 Pricing 1 After go-live 5

Still have questions?

Book a free 30-minute consultation with our team.

Contact our team

Kentico → Joomla

6 questions

What happens to my Kentico page tree and content hierarchy in Joomla?

Kentico's tree-node hierarchy does not have a native equivalent in Joomla, so pages migrate as flat Joomla articles. Parent-child relationships and nested URL structures are not preserved in the article model itself; you will need to reconstruct site navigation manually using Joomla menus after the data lands. URL aliases and redirects do migrate directly, which limits broken-link exposure during the transition.

Can my Kentico BizForms and form submission data move to Joomla?

Joomla core has no native equivalent to Kentico BizForms, so both form definitions and submission data require a workaround. Form definitions must be manually or semi-manually recreated in a third-party Joomla extension such as Fabrik, RSForm! Pro, or ChronoForms; Fabrik is the closest structural match because it supports per-form dynamic table creation that mirrors Kentico's per-form SQL table pattern. Historical submission records can then be bulk-imported into those component tables via CSV or direct SQL once the form schema exists on the Joomla side. Because Kentico stores submission data in dynamically named tables (e.g., BizForm_[formname]) with no standard API export path, this extraction requires per-form scripts and direct database access.

Which Kentico version do I need before starting the migration, and does it matter for the API?

The version matters significantly on the source side. Xperience by Kentico (the current SaaS-first release) exposes the most complete Management API and is the easiest to extract from programmatically; Kentico Xperience 13 and earlier rely heavily on the .NET CMS.DataEngine rather than REST, so bulk operations require custom extraction logic or direct database access. Kentico 13 also reaches end of support on 31 December 2026, with 2026 already limited to security hotfixes only, so teams on version 13 or earlier have an additional urgency reason to migrate. Custom module class and page type definitions must be migrated before their associated content records regardless of version.

What Joomla version do I need on the target, and are there API requirements?

Joomla 4.0 or later is required because the REST API that ClonePartner uses for programmatic import was introduced in Joomla 4; Joomla 3.x has no native REST API, making automated record creation impossible. Authentication must be configured via API Token or OAuth2, as Basic Auth is disabled by default in Joomla 4. Additionally, Joomla has no bulk-import endpoints, so every article, user, category, and media file is created individually, which is a factor in scoping time estimates alongside API rate limits and server timeout settings.

What data will silently disappear or break if nobody plans for it before migration day?

Several items carry silent-loss risk. User passwords cannot be exported from Kentico or imported into Joomla, so all users must reset passwords after cutover — communicate this before go-live or accounts appear broken. Page attachments migrate as media files but internal links pointing to those attachments will break until a link-update pass is run. Kentico custom field values attached to page types migrate only partially via workaround custom fields in Joomla, and relationships between content and categories must be re-established after both sides are migrated. Web part and widget configurations cannot move at all because they are tightly coupled to .NET assemblies; any front-end functionality they provide must be rebuilt in Joomla independently of the data migration.

Do Kentico custom page types (Document Types) survive in Joomla, or do I lose that structured data?

Custom page types do not have a direct Joomla equivalent and migrate via workaround: the fields defined in a Kentico Document Type are approximated using Joomla's custom fields for articles, but field categories, inheritance between page types, and any macro-based default values are not portable. Each custom field value also requires a separate API call per article on the Joomla side, so large volumes of structured content with many custom fields will extend migration processing time. You should audit your Document Type definitions before scoping the migration to identify which fields are business-critical versus presentation-layer, since presentation logic tied to .NET code cannot move regardless.

Before you start

2 questions

Do I need professional help for this migration?

While simple migrations can sometimes be handled in-house, professional help ensures zero data loss, proper field mapping, and preservation of relationships between records. Our engineer-led approach catches edge cases that automated tools miss.

Does ClonePartner provide guidance before committing?

Yes. We provide a free consultation and assessment. We'll review your data structure, discuss your requirements, and provide a detailed migration plan and fixed-price quote before you commit to anything.

Data & mapping

2 questions

Will original ownership and authorship on tickets and articles be preserved?

Yes — ownership, author, and created-time metadata are preserved. Where the target doesn't have a native owner field (e.g. tickets becoming list items), this is carried as embedded metadata on the migrated record.

If the new system can't natively support an old record type, what are my options?

We handle it case by case: map it to the closest native object, create a custom field or object, fold it into the parent record as text or an internal note, attach it as a file, or keep it in a read-only archive. You see how your chosen approach looks in a sample migration before we run the full set.

Timeline & downtime

3 questions

How long does the Kentico to Joomla migration take?

Most migrations complete within 1–5 business days, depending on data volume and complexity. We provide a detailed timeline after the initial assessment and can often complete small migrations in under 24 hours.

Will my team lose access to Kentico during the migration?

No. Your source system remains fully operational throughout the entire migration. We run the migration in the background with zero downtime to your current operations.

Will there be downtime when migrating from Kentico to Joomla?

No. Our migration process is designed for zero downtime. We use a staged approach with background sync and a fast cutover, ensuring no disruption to your live business operations.

Security & access

1 question

Can we whitelist a single IP instead of opening our network to your migration tool?

Yes — all migration traffic runs through a centralized system using one fixed IP, which your IT team can whitelist instead of opening broader network access.

Pricing

1 question

Is migration pricing a flat fee, or does it scale with data volume?

It's a flat fee based on the scope estimate you give us — small variances in actual volume (a bit more or less) don't change the price.

After go-live

5 questions

How do I validate that everything migrated correctly?

Every client receives a Migration Validation Report with comprehensive metrics including record-count parity, attachment integrity verification via checksum, and full audit logs. We also offer unlimited sample migrations so you can verify before committing.

What support do you provide after the migration goes live?

At ClonePartner, we consider ourselves your partners in this journey. We take full accountability for your migration's success. Once your migration goes live, we provide 30 days of comprehensive post-migration support. During this period, we will assist with everything needed to ensure your transition is a complete success.

Will we get a migration report and a ticket-mapping sheet linking old ticket IDs to new ones?

Yes. We provide a comprehensive migration report along with a ticket-mapping sheet that links each old ticket ID to its corresponding new ticket ID. This ensures full traceability, simplifies post-migration verification, and helps your team validate that tickets have been migrated accurately.

After migration, do I contact ClonePartner or the platform's own support if something looks wrong?

ClonePartner is the contact for anything about the migrated data itself. Platform-level behavior — call routing, compose-window UI, and similar configuration — is handled by the destination platform's own support.

Will we get a report showing exactly what migrated versus what didn't?

Yes. You get a final reconciliation report comparing source and target counts for every object.

Migrate from Kentico to Joomla with precision & ease

Intelligent Human-Verified Data Mapping

Real migration stories

Fully customizable engineer-led migration

Your timeline. Our engineers.

Your Kentico to Joomla migration, step by step

How to Export Data from Kentico: Extraction Methods, API Limits & Portability

Pros and cons of different migration options