How to avoid 3 common Confluence Cloud migration mistakes
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How to avoid 3 common Confluence Cloud migration mistakes
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Enterprise-scale migrations
- Mistake #1
- Mistake #2
- Mistake #3
SME migrations
- Mistake #1
- Mistake #2
- Mistake #3
Keep your Confluence migration on track. While these mistakes are easy to make, the right approach will help you steer clear.
Confluence Cloud migration is no small feat - it takes careful planning, clean-up, and coordination. In fact, Atlassian itself highlights that "migration can be a complex and challenging process". Whether you're at a large enterprise or a growing SME, knowing the common pitfalls ahead of time can make the difference between a smooth migration and frustrating delays.
In this guide, we'll review key mistakes made during Data Center (DC)/Server to Cloud migrations and how to avoid them.
Common mistakes in enterprise-scale Confluence migrations
Mistake #1: Inadequate planning and communication
Large migrations involve many moving parts: dozens (or hundreds) of spaces, thousands of pages, custom apps, and hundreds or thousands of users. Treating your migration like a simple "lift-and-shift" will likely lead to missed deadlines and user frustration. For example, teams sometimes underestimate the downtime needed or fail to align key stakeholders on timelines.
How to avoid it:
- Be realistic: Start with a detailed roadmap that outlines the entire migration process. Estimate realistic timelines and include contingencies.
- Build a communication plan: Before you act, hold workshops with stakeholders (such as admins, power users, and executive sponsors) to outline requirements and risks. Communicate early and often with your users about what's changing and when.
- Test your migration first: Run at least one full test migration to gauge how long the final cutover will take.
In short, plan thoroughly. Back up your data, set clear timelines, and keep everyone informed to avoid last-minute firefighting.
Mistake #2: Skipping thorough content cleanup
It's tempting to just migrate everything, but moving unused or obsolete content wastes time and bloats your Cloud instance. Enterprises often have outdated documentation, orphaned spaces, or massive attachment libraries that aren't needed. Some teams realise too late that hundreds of inactive spaces were included, causing unexpected storage use.
How to avoid it:
- Audit your content: Before migrating, perform a rigorous audit of your content to understand what should be migrated and what you no longer need on your instance. Make a list of which spaces actually need migration and which can be skipped or cleaned up. Knowing what content should stay and what needs to go makes the cleanup process much more straightforward.
- Proactively clean up your instance: A pre-emptive tidy can make your migration smoother, and your Cloud site will be much more efficient. Atlassian’s documentation can guide you, but here are some key elements to clean up:
- Duplicate email addresses (mandatory before migration)
- Conflicting group names (e.g. names that are identical)
- Unused Marketplace apps
- Any pages, spaces, or other content that hasn't been used recently
💡 Pro tip: If you accidentally skip this step, all is not lost! You can still clean up your post-migration Confluence instance with Panorama for Confluence. Panorama's control centre gives you an overview of your spaces and their content, as well as performing actions (such as deleting, archiving, changing permissions, and editing labels) in bulk. This can help you quickly identify redundant spaces and tidy up your Confluence site even once the migration is complete.
Mistake #3: Neglecting user training
Even when the tech side is handled, migrations can fail if end users aren't prepared. A typical pitfall is assuming everyone will instinctively know the Cloud interface, when realistically, the changes can take a little getting used to. If admins don't train or provide guidance, you could see lower productivity and increased frustration.
How to avoid it:
- Build a training and support plan: Before you launch, create clear how-to guides, videos, and FAQs to explain the differences. Book introductory sessions for all users and offer training for anyone who needs it. Adoption matters!
- Encourage fun: Certain add-ons can make Confluence Cloud content creation easier and more enjoyable. For example, Mosaic: Content Formatting Macros & Templates comes with a built-in design wizard (called Smart Designer) which makes page creation quick, easy, and fun. All you have to do is highlight your text, preview it in a range of visual macros, and you're done!
Learn more: Train your team to use Confluence Cloud: our 5 best practices
Common mistakes in small-to-medium enterprise (SME) Confluence migrations
Mistake #1: Underestimating the migration scope
Small teams sometimes assume, "It's just a few users, so migration will be quick". This mindset can lead them to skip important steps. For instance, you might overlook that small personal spaces still require some clean-up. Without a plan, even a small move can hit unexpected snags.
How to avoid it:
- Create a mini-checklist: Don’t let size fool you - even smaller migrations need some planning! You might not need the full plan of an enterprise-scale migration, but it’s a good idea to create an inventory of spaces, attachments, and apps currently in use (and not in use) on your Confluence instance.
- Make use of available tools and support: For example, follow the Atlassian Cloud Migration Assistant’s pre-checks. They will warn you about missing attachments, invalid users, and help you get a clearer scope of the migration process.
- Do a practice run on a temporary Cloud site: This will confirm that everything from your audit (spaces, apps, attachments) is ready. If you find unneeded content, archive or delete it before migrating. This way, even a small team can move smoothly and avoid last-minute headaches.
Mistake #2: Not updating content for the Cloud editor
Confluence Cloud uses the modern editor, which behaves differently from Data Center’s legacy editor. Sometimes, content that looked fine in DC can look strange in Cloud (for example, tables might overflow or third-party formatting breaks). Small teams without design support might skip refreshing page layouts, leaving pages that are hard to read or inconsistent.
How to avoid it:
- Audit your pages: After migration, plan a quick "design audit" of key pages. Are there any pages that benefit most from styling? If you have many pages with heavy style elements, check which content users frequent most (Confluence Analytics can help) to understand which pages to prioritise.
- Use an app to update your page content: Mosaic: Content Formatting Macros & Templates can help you refresh page layouts. With Mosaic, you can automatically convert old headings, add buttons or cards, and ensure your pages are visually engaging. This keeps your content looking modern and helps users quickly adapt to the look and feel of Cloud.
💡 Pro tip: We’ve created a range of guides to help you get the most out of styling your content using Mosaic in Confluence Cloud:
- Used Mosaic in DC/Server? → Replicate the look of your macros in Cloud
- New to Mosaic? → How to use templates to get started quickly in Cloud
Mistake #3: Skipping backups and contingency planning
SMEs often lack dedicated IT teams, so they might neglect backing up data or having a rollback plan. If something goes wrong (say, a bad space import or a data glitch), not having an up-to-date backup can lead to data loss or a lengthy recovery. Also, if a Cloud site already has data (perhaps from a test), overwriting it without a backup can be dangerous.
How to avoid it:
- Back up your content: Before importing new content, create a full site backup of any existing Cloud data. Likewise, back up your DC instance or use a backup app. Plan for "what if" scenarios - keep a copy of your Confluence XML export and verify that it can be restored.
- Save your content outside of Confluence: Consider using a third-party backup tool (like Rewind for Confluence) to take snapshots during testing. With these safety nets in place, a quick migration won't become a quick disaster.
The bottom line
In summary, whether you're managing a massive enterprise migration or a small team moving to Confluence Cloud, avoiding these common mistakes will set you up for success.
Remember to plan thoroughly, clean up content in advance, check compatibility and permissions, and prepare your users. By using the right tools and having a clear process, you can make your migration as painless as possible. Happy migrating!
Need help with your Confluence migration?
The migration experts at Adaptavist, our sister brand, can answer all your questions and support your migration journey.
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