A CMS migration, a move to a different content management system, typically costs $2,000–$5,000 for a small business site under 50 pages. Tenet reports that band takes 1–2 weeks, while FocusReactive puts standard business moves with theme setup at $2,000–$10,000 Tenet migration cost guide FocusReactive migration services. The final number depends on page count, design reuse, forms, integrations, and redirect work. A bare transfer can cost far less, while a larger catalog, custom theme, or platform change can push the bill higher.
Official resource:
- Follow Google's site-move checklist to preserve search rankings — Use the official steps to plan redirects, update sitemaps, and monitor traffic after a CMS migration.
Table of Contents
- What drives the price up or down?
- What do agencies charge for small sites?
- When is the cheapest route enough?
- What ongoing costs should you budget?
What drives the price up or down?
Content volume is the first driver. More pages mean more cleanup, image moves, link checks, and quality review. A 50–500-page migration rises into a higher band than a small brochure site.
Integrations, workflows, and front-end work matter as much. Webugol and Groto note that scope hinges on integrations, workflows, front-end rebuild needs, plus post-launch maintenance, hosting, and redirect validation. Keep these separate in your budget:.
- page, post, media, user, and form inventory
- theme rebuild or replacement versus reuse
- integrations for payments, booking, email, ads, and analytics
- redirects, menu rebuilds, and traffic checks after launch
What do agencies charge for small sites?
Published menus cluster around the same small-site range. One agency lists $3,950 for up to 30 pages plus 50 posts, $6,950 for up to 100 pages plus 100 posts, and $9,950 for larger builds Orange Marketing migration pricing. That structure suits owners who want a fixed page and post allowance.
Entry-level managed help starts lower. Seahawk Media starts tailored WordPress transfers at $499 rather than a do-it-yourself plugin move. The tradeoff is scope: lower starting prices usually assume clean content and limited theme work.
When is the cheapest route enough?
A plugin or freelancer move can suit a simple sub-50-page site, with FocusReactive placing that route at $300–$2,500 FocusReactive migration services. It works best when the design stays close, content is current, and redirects are few.
Choose a standard business package when URLs, templates, or navigation must change. That work includes theme setup, content cleanup, form testing, and basic search handling. Pay for the fuller route if revenue pages, lead forms, or local landing pages carry traffic.
What ongoing costs should you budget?
Platform fees continue after launch. HubSpot lists Content Hub Starter at about $9/seat/month and Professional at about $450/month with three seats included HubSpot Content Hub pricing guide. Add hosting, backups, updates, support time, and redirect checks.
WordPress.com offers one exception for eligible plans. Its expert team moves self-hosted WordPress sites to WordPress.com with no added migration charge for Business or Commerce customers. Confirm plan eligibility before counting that saving in your budget.
