There may come, unavoidably, a time where your organization needs to migrate between a specific SharePoint version. This same migration will, usually, require the usage of a third-party migration tool, in order to port all necessary content to your new infrastructure. Usually, those same tools will provide you with the ability to copy your site structure, pages, document libraries, lists, etc.
However, you may be wondering how you're able to migrate all BindTuning features in a time-effective and non-repetitive way. The migration of BindTuning features will vary depending on the capabilities of the tool utilized. This article will focus on all inherent best practices and advice, in order to successfully plan your migration process.
BindTuning Design
BindTuning's Design feature is delivered as a SharePoint's version-specific package. This means that if you're migrating from SharePoint On-Premises 2013 to a SharePoint On-Premises 2016 environment, you'll need to request a new theme, as the resources will not be fully tailored to your new infrastructure.
By subscribing to BindTuning's Design feature, you'll be given the ability to customize, download and install as many different themes as needed, for whichever major SharePoint version (SP2013, SP2016, SP2019, and Office365) you're planning to migrate to. In-depth elaboration on Design Licensing & Pricing can be found here.
Due to the restrictions mentioned above, you'll necessarily need to customize and install a new BindTuning Design.
Modern SharePoint
Being that Modern SharePoint does not support either custom masterpages and/or page layouts, you're able to migrate your content without any needed adjustment. After proceeding with the migration, you'll be able to leverage your BindTuning Design subscription to customize and deploy a new theme, specifically generated for the SharePoint version you have migrated to.
Classic SharePoint
When migrating Classic SharePoint sites and/or pages, there are several dependencies you may need to tailor in order to ensure a smooth transition process.
BindTuning themes, for the Classic SharePoint experience, will provide you with the ability to change both masterpages and page layouts.
Leveraging these same functionalities will provide you with higher customization flexibility and page control but will, inadvertently, require special attention when faced with a migration process. As the usage of page layouts will require the BindTuning theme to be installed, failure in successfully complying with the steps below may prevent you from accessing pages you have migrated.
When migrating Classic sites you'll want to validate if (and on how many pages) a BindTuning page layout is being applied. As a rule of thumb, you're able to check those specific pages by accessing your Pages document library.
From here, and considering the existence of those same pages, you're given two different approaches to proceed with the migration:
- Generation and installation of a new BindTuning theme: As page layouts are theme-specific, when selecting this route, you'll want to customize and install the same base template you have applied to your pre-migration environment. After successfully migrating a given Classic site, you'll verify that those same Pages are inaccessible. To overcome this, simply install that same theme, and revert back to one of the provided theme masterpages.
Considering, for example, that you're leveraging the SPC theme template, you'll inherently need to generate a new SPC theme, based on the SharePoint version you're migrating to.
- Reverting all page layouts to SharePoint generic layouts: Alternatively, and if unable to deploy an equivalent BindTuning theme, you'll want to revert all Pages (utilizing a BindTuning page layout), to one of the provided out-of-the-box layouts. To do this, proceed to follow the steps below:
- Access the Classic site collection migrated;
- Append
/_layouts/sitemanager.aspxto your URL; - On the left pane, scroll down and open the Pages document library;
- Mouse-over a page utilizing a BindTuning layout, click on the available arrow, and select Edit Page Settings;
- Under Page Layout, select the default SharePoint page layout you wish to apply to your page.
Note: Keep in mind that all BindTuning page layouts will reference the base theme name. For example, if you have deployed an SPC theme, all underlying page layouts will start with the prefix SPC.
Moreover, the page preview for BindTuning page layouts will be orange, rather than the default white associated with the default SharePoint experience. - After saving the configurations, all previously inaccessible pages will revert to a working state.
BindTuning Build
BindTuning's Build feature delivers all necessary packages, regardless of the current SharePoint version in use. This being the case and, unlike the Design feature, web part packages are not SharePoint version dependent, hence not needing additional generation. However, there are some pre-requisites that need to be followed, in order to ensure a smooth migration process.
Pre-migration configuration
Before proceeding with the migration we highly recommend proceeding with all web part updates and subsequent deployment to your pre-migration environment. This same update is relevant, as of the newest releases, BindTuning only stores the relative URL (for the list connections) rather than the full URL.
For example, let's considered you have a Documents web part connected to a general document library within your infrastructure.
In some instances, the list mapping may have been stored as http://[MYDOMAIN].com/sites/siteA. Upon migration, and depending on the tool used, that same URL may not be updated, hence blocking the web part to load the underlying content.
With our newest web part versions, the URL's are stored as their relative counterpart - /sites/siteA- hence overcoming any type of difficulty relating to the tool used for the migration process.
Moreover, and as soon as the new web part update has been installed, please be sure to follow the steps below:
- Access your pre-existing web parts in edit mode;
- Click on your Web Part properties and edit your List Options;
- Click on the pencil icon;
- Click on the floppy-disk icon and proceed to Save the web part.
As soon as the steps above have been completed, you should be able to successfully migrate your BindTuning Build feature, without risking web part re-configuration.
Modern SharePoint
When considering a migration of a Modern site and/or page, you'll need to re-deploy the product.
Web Part packages for the Modern experience (SP2019 and Office 365) differ and, as such, a re-installation will, always, be necessary. Keep in mind that the Pre-migration configuration steps will need to be validated and, performed if appliable.
Further information relating to Web Part deployment can be found below:
Classic SharePoint
When considering a migration of a Classic site and/or page, the underlying BindTuning Build migration will vary depending on the migration tool used.
For example, if the solution utilized also makes available the migration of SandBox solutions, which BindTuning web parts are a part of in the Classic environment, all those same packages should be added to your Solutions Gallery accordingly, without the need for a re-installation.
Keep in mind, however, that if the selected tool does not provide you with the ability of migrating solutions, the prior installation of the products will be necessary.
Moreover, please be sure to validate the Pre-migration configuration steps before proceeding.
Further information relating to Web Part deployment can be found below:
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