Phase 6: Rebuild Site Functionality

A website isn’t made just with content – it has forms, search bars, personalized experiences that show up at the right time to the right people, and sometimes member-only areas when you have the login functionality.

This phase is where you recreate these in WordPress.

Recreate Custom Sitecore Modules and Business Logic

This is where you look up the list of functionalities you listed in Phase 1. This might include custom pricing calculators, quote request tools, dynamic content rules, or industry-specific interactive tools.

Once the website is in WordPress, decide how you want to proceed with it:

• Replace with a WordPress plugin, if one does the job.
• Rebuild as custom code, if the feature is specific enough that no plugin fits.
• Simplify or retire, if the feature is rarely used — migrations are a point to ask whether a feature is still earning its keep.

After you recreate these modules, make sure you test the edge cases so they work exactly like they did in Sitecore.

Rebuild Forms

Forms on a website are the easiest way for visitors to interact with you. They’re how leads reach your sales team, how support requests get filed, how event registrations happen, etc.

Rebuild each form using a WordPress plugin that suits you best. While doing so, remember that:

• Every field matches the original — including validation rules (required fields, formatting checks)
• Submissions route correctly to your CRM or email inbox, matching Phase 3’s integration work.
• Confirmation messages and redirect pages work as expected.
• Spam protection is in place (reCAPTCHA or an equivalent)

Test every form by actually submitting it and confirming the data arrives where it should.

Recreate Search Functionality

If your Sitecore website has an in-built search functionality, you’ll have to recreate that in WordPress.

WordPress’s default search does only basic keyword matching against titles and content. That’s why, if yours isn’t a small site and search is important, plan a dedicated search solution in WordPress.

You can use plugins like SearchWP, Elasticsearch, and more depending on the complexity you want to cater to.

Replace Personalization Features

Sitecore’s xDB-driven personalization doesn’t have a direct WordPress equivalent. Therefore, you can’t just move without having a concrete plan in hand.

Most organizations handle this one of two ways:

1. Shift personalization to the marketing stack: Let your CDP or marketing automation platform like Mutiny, VWO, HubSpot, and Salesforce Marketing Cloud handle audience segmentation and personalization logic, with WordPress displaying content via API based on that data
2. Use a WordPress-native personalization plugin: Tools like If-So allow rule-based content personalization directly within WordPress, suitable for simpler personalization needs.

This is a good moment to prioritize the personalization that meaningfully affects conversion, rather than recreating every rule by default.

Rebuild Membership Areas (If Any)

If you are running a client portal, a membership area, or have some gated content in Sitecore, this needs to be recreated using a suitable WordPress plugin like MemberPress or custom-coded from scratch.

Make sure you handle the following:

• User account migration: Migrate all existing user accounts with their usernames and passwords and the membership levels (if any) they’ve been set at.
• Content access rules: Make sure you check which content is gated behind which membership level or user role and carry it forward that way.
• Payment processing: If you offer paid membership, this needs to be thoroughly checked in a staging environment before going live.

Membership and account systems use real user data and sometimes payment information, so this deserves extra testing time.

What You Should Have When This Phase Is Done

By the end of Phase 5, you should have:

• Custom modules and business logic rebuilt, replaced, or retired that were not used
• Forms rebuilt and tested end-to-end, including CRM/email routing
• A search solution matched to your site’s size and complexity
• A personalization strategy in place, whether plugin-based or handled through your marketing stack
• Membership areas rebuilt and tested, including account access and payment flows if applicable

With content migrated and functionality rebuilt, your WordPress site is starting to look and work like a complete replacement for Sitecore.