Learn how to plan and execute a migration from Acquia Search to SearchStax Site Search. You'll understand the key decisions involved, what changes after migration, and how to prepare for success.
This migration shifts search relevancy management from Drupal configurations to SearchStax Site Search. This represents a significant change in how you manage search and unlocks more advanced analytics and configuration tools.
Planning Your Migration
Choose Your Migration Approach
Automatic Migration (Recommended for Most Users)
See Ingesting data with a CMS/DXP connector for more information. |
Manual Migration
See Migrate Drupal Manually for more information. |
Understanding the Impact
After migration, you'll manage search configuration through SearchStax instead of Drupal. This affects:
- Search relevancy: Field weighting, boosting, and ranking rules move to Site Search configurations
- Search navigation: Facets, filters, and sorting options are configured in the Dashboard
- Analytics: Comprehensive search analytics replace basic Drupal search reporting
- Performance tuning: Advanced optimization tools become available
Migration Process Overview
The migration follows these key phases:
- App creation: Set up your Site Search app configured for Drupal
- Server migration: Connect Drupal to SearchStax and transfer configurations
- Index migration: Copy your search data to Site Search
- Routing activation: Switch search requests to use SearchStax
- Validation: Confirm everything works as expected
For detailed step-by-step instructions, see Migrating to Acquia Search powered by SearchStax.
Post-Migration Considerations
Search Management Transition
Your search management workflow changes significantly after migration:
Before Migration (Drupal-Based)
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After Migration (SearchStax-Based)
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Deciding on UI Upgrades
Your current search interface continues working after migration, but you've got upgrade opportunities:
Keep your current Drupal Views setup if:
- Your current search interface meets your immediate needs and you don't have short-term plans to add advanced features.
- You need a fast initial migration path and have limited development resources.
- You prefer to manage search configuration within Drupal.
Understand Drupal Views limitations:
When using Drupal Views, certain Site Search configurations don't take effect because Drupal overrides them. For detailed information about which features are affected and how to configure SearchStax to control supported Drupal search behavior, see When to Ignore Drupal Settings for SearchStax Site Search.
Use Site Search to get the following:
- UI Kits: Component libraries for React, Angular, and JavaScript frameworks.
- Hosted Search Experience: Rapid deployment with minimal coding.
- Advanced features: Autocomplete, search suggestions, and enhanced user experience.
- Better analytics: Detailed user behavior insights and search performance metrics.
See Develop a search UI with UI Kits for more information.
Common Challenges and Solutions
Field Mapping Issues
Problem: Drupal field names don't match SearchStax field expectations.
Solution: Review the field mapping during server migration. Drupal machine names translate to SearchStax field names. Verify these mappings align with your content structure.
Search Relevancy Differences
Problem: Search results rank differently after migration.
Solution: This is expected. Plan to spend time tuning relevancy in SearchStax. Your previous Drupal-based relevancy settings don't transfer automatically.
Analytics Tracking
Problem: Analytics data doesn't appear immediately after migration.
Solution: SearchStax analytics update hourly. Verify that track/ API calls appear in your browser's network tab when performing searches. This confirms tracking is active. See Search Analytics Overview for more information.