Give a legacy WordPress website new life, without losing what matters
Preserve valuable content, URLs and working functions through a controlled WordPress replatforming and content migration, rebuilding on a structure your team can manage with confidence.
Designed for organisations whose website contains too much valuable content, structure or functionality for a routine rebuild.
Suitable projects begin with a paid Rescue Audit.
recent client project
940 individual pages and content records rebuilt
A recent project involved around 600 published collection records, another 220+ draft records, 90 editorial pages and 32 blog posts, all sitting on top of an ageing legacy theme and WPBakery structure.
Rather than manually rebuilding every page, repeatable analysis and migration were assisted by bespoke scripts and AI-supported tooling. People reviewed exceptions and checked the migrated content against the agreed source before acceptance.
The result is a far more maintainable website built on a modern, flexible foundation, making future updates easier and giving the site room to evolve as new content, features and requirements are added.
When an old website still holds too much value to abandon
An established website can remain important to the organisation even when the technology underneath it has become difficult to support.
A normal redesign quote may explain how the replacement will look. It may say very little about what happens to the content, URLs, media, records and working processes that already exist.
Nobody wants to update it
Routine edits feel risky because the theme, plugins or page builder are no longer dependable.
Valuable content is trapped
Articles, products, resources or archives depend on technology that is no longer suitable.
The original knowledge has gone
The previous developer has left or nobody can explain how the website fits together.
Staff work around the system
Simple changes take too long, need technical help or are avoided altogether.
Continuity is at risk
URLs, metadata, media relationships, forms and specialist layouts may not survive a straightforward rebuild.
Manual copying is unrealistic
There is too much material to rebuild page by page without excessive cost and human error.
A website is more than the pages people can see. Its value may also sit in content types, custom fields, relationships, media, integrations and established search routes.
The aim is a maintainable website your team can use with confidence, without discarding the knowledge and continuity the old system still holds.
Repair, rebuild or replatform?
Not every ageing website needs to be replaced. The right answer depends on the condition of the current system, the value of its content and what the organisation needs next.
Repair
When the underlying structure remains sound and a bounded set of faults can be corrected without extending dependence on obsolete technology.
Rebuild
When the content is worth keeping but the design, templates or editing experience need a stronger foundation.
Replatform
When valuable content or functionality is tied to an unsuitable theme, page builder or content-management system.
Whatever the route, Cornerstone preserves agreed material, restructures reusable information, rebuilds only what is justified and checks the result against an agreed source.
We would rather recommend a proportionate repair than sell a rebuild the website does not need.
Begin with clarity, then rebuild in controlled stages
Complex legacy websites cannot be priced responsibly from a page count or a short sales call. Suitable projects begin with a paid Rescue Audit: a defined piece of professional work that establishes what exists, what matters and where the real risk lies.
You receive a documented recommendation and a clearer basis for deciding what to do next. If another route would be more proportionate, we will say so.
What you receive from the Rescue Audit
Every audit is scoped to the website, but it normally provides:
- A documented inventory of important content, functions, access and dependencies
- A risk register covering content, URLs, search visibility, media and integrations
- A clear repair, rebuild or replatform recommendation
- A proposed migration, pilot and verification approach
- An indicative implementation scope, sequence and budget range
- Written findings to support the organisation’s decision
Any subsequent implementation is scoped and agreed separately.
1. Suitability review
You tell us what is prompting the change and what you are most concerned about losing. We confirm whether this is the right service.
2. Paid Rescue Audit
We inspect the website, content, access and dependencies, then recommend the safest proportionate route.
3. Pilot and controlled migration
Representative material tests the content rules, design and checking method before they are repeated at scale.
4. Acceptance, launch and handover
The rebuilt website is checked against agreed requirements before launch, redirects, monitoring and handover.
The initial review confirms likely fit. The technical audit is a paid engagement.
Technical enough to understand the risk. Personal enough to take responsibility.
Cornerstone Websites works with organisations across the UK, combining WordPress architecture, design, hosting and content production in one accountable service.
The people investigating the website are involved in deciding how it should be rebuilt and how the result will be checked.
Authority and inventory
We establish which source controls the content, design and URLs before migration rules are applied.
Staging and representative pilots
Work takes place away from the live website, with difficult material tested before bulk processing begins.
URLs, search and verification
Important routes, metadata and redirects are planned, then the rebuilt website is checked against agreed sources.
Human decisions and clear handover
Automation handles repeatable work. People review exceptions, approve the result and document remaining limitations.
No agency can guarantee unchanged search rankings. We can reduce avoidable risk through inventory, redirects, testing and launch monitoring rather than treating publication as the end of the project.
Is Legacy Website Rescue right for your organisation?
This service may be a good fit if:
- Your website contains substantial or valuable content.
- It depends on an obsolete theme, page builder or unsupported plugin.
- Custom records, users, media or integrations need preserving.
- Staff find the website difficult or risky to update.
- You need investigation before a reliable scope can be agreed.
This is probably not the right service if you need:
- A straightforward host-to-host transfer.
- Emergency malware removal.
- A one-off theme or plugin update.
- A small brochure website copied page by page.
- A cheap platform conversion priced only by page count.
If your requirement is simpler, we will tell you. If the website contains genuine complexity, the Rescue Audit gives both sides a safer basis for proceeding.
A website your team can actually look after
The goal is not merely to reproduce the old website on newer technology. It is to leave the organisation with a clearer and more maintainable way to manage its information.
Reusable content can be moved into structured WordPress and ACF fields, while shared layouts become controlled templates and components. Editors can work with the information they own without obsolete shortcodes or fragile page-builder structures.
Training, documentation, managed hosting and ongoing care can be included where they support the organisation’s needs. The website, content and agreed handover material remain yours.
FAQs
Before you replace the website, find out what needs to be saved
Tell us what is prompting the change and what you are most concerned about losing. We will review the information you provide and confirm whether Legacy Website Rescue appears to be the right service.
If it is, we will explain the proposed scope, fee and timescale for a paid Rescue Audit before any work begins.
Call: 01548 859900
Email: info@cornerstonewebsites.co.uk
Request a free suitability review
Give us enough context to understand the problem. Please do not send passwords or access credentials through this form.