Migrate your DNN site without starting from scratch

The person who built it has left. A module will not upgrade. Or you are stuck on DNN 7, 8 or early 9. We will tell you what is worth keeping, and the safest way forward.

Book a free 30-minute discovery callTalk through your DNN site

Australian .NET team. We look at the site before anyone talks about a rebuild.

Still running DNN?

The site still works. That is why it has been left alone.

Most of the Australian DNN installs we hear about were built years ago. Then the person who understood them left.

You might recognise one of these:

  • Nobody on the team wants to touch it
  • A custom module or bought skin blocks the next upgrade
  • You are on DNN 7, 8, or early 9, and someone said “just upgrade it”
  • Evoq no longer feels worth the licence, and you are wondering about DNN Platform
  • You are not sure whether to stay on DNN or leave it

You do not need a new brand, or a CMS pitch. You need a clear read on the install you already have.

Why these sites stall

DNN is still a real product. DNN Platform 10 and current Evoq releases exist. The problem is rarely “DNN died”. It is the gap between the site you have and the version that still gets security fixes.

Custom module

Old skin

Telerik

Vanished vendor

The upgrade is a path, not a button.

A DNN 7 site does not jump to 10. The official path goes through 8, then 9.1, 9.3, 9.13, then 10. Each hop can break something that used to work.

You cannot jump this in one go. That is why sites stall.

Old modules and skins are usually why it fails.

DNN 9.2 removed APIs that had been deprecated since DNN 7. If a custom module or a bought skin still calls those APIs, the upgrade stops. The original developer is often gone. The vendor may have stopped selling that module.

Telerik has to come out.

From DNN 9.8, removing Telerik is strongly recommended. DNN 10 force-removes the DNN-provided Telerik libraries. If those controls are still in custom code or old modules, that hop will not go cleanly.

The server may not run the current product.

DNN 9.4 needs ASP.NET 4.7.2. DNN 10 needs ASP.NET 4.8 and SQL Server 2017 or later. Some older Windows hosts will not run it.

Security fixes are not back-ported forever.

If you cannot get to DNN 10 yet, 9.13.10 exists as a special security hotfix. There is no promise of further 9.13 releases. Staying on 7 or 8 means staying on a product that is no longer in that support model.

None of that makes the content, users, or business rules worthless. It does mean “copy the site into a new CMS on Monday” is usually the wrong first move.

How we work

We start with the install, not with a destination.

1

Look at what you have

Version, custom modules, skins, Telerik, membership, languages, and how the site is hosted. We will tell you what will survive an in-place upgrade, and what will not.

2

Decide the job

There are three honest outcomes. We recommend one, not all three.

3

Do the work in stages

Content, users, and URLs matter more than a clean-room rebuild. Redirects, roles, and the pages people actually use come across. Unused modules do not.

4

Hand it back so the next person can run it

Source, a short record of what changed, and a site someone else can understand.

Three honest outcomes

  • Upgrade in place to a supported DNN 9.13 or DNN 10 build, including Telerik removal where it is required
  • Move off DNN to a current .NET stack when the install is too far gone
  • Stabilise first when the site is fragile: patch what we can, document it, and plan the real move without taking production down to guess

We will not tell you DNN is perfect. We will not tell you WordPress is the answer to every DNN site. If you already know you want to stay on DNN forever, a dedicated DNN shop may be a better fit. If you want an honest fork in the road, talk to us.

What we need for the first call

A URL and a rough version is enough to start.

  • Which DNN version, and whether it is Platform or Evoq
  • Which modules and skins are custom or commercial
  • Whether Telerik is still in the install
  • Who can log in, and whether membership can be exported
  • Whether the site is public, an intranet, or both
  • Hosting today (old Windows server, Azure, someone else’s box)
  • What “done” looks like: stay on DNN, leave it, or get a clear picture first

The first call is 30 minutes. You leave with a recommendation you can take to a manager, not a rebuild estimate pulled from thin air.

Related work

We have taken over and modernised ageing systems for Australian organisations, including work with Data#3, Hastie, NESS, and NSW Health. A DNN 7, 8 or 9 install still starts with its own assessment. We will not pretend it is a project we have already published.

FAQ

Can you upgrade DNN 7 or 8 at all?
Yes, but not in one jump. We will tell you whether the modules you have will survive each hop, or whether migration is cheaper than forcing the upgrades.
Do we have to leave DNN?
No. Current DNN Platform 10 and current Evoq builds are real products. Leaving only makes sense when the custom layer will not come with you.
What about Evoq licensing?
If you no longer use Evoq features, moving to DNN Platform can be the right cost decision. That is a separate question from whether the site can be upgraded. We will not push a licence change until we know what you actually use.
Will the site go down?
The first step is an assessment, not a production upgrade. When we change the live site, we stage it. Friday-night big-bang upgrades are how these projects go badly.
We only have a backup and an old server.
That is common. Bring that.

Talk through the DNN site you already have

Thirty minutes. Bring a URL and a version number if you know it. We will tell you whether to upgrade, migrate, or leave it alone for now.

Book a free 30-minute discovery call