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Migrate from Kentico to Gatsby

Complete guide to migrating your Kentico website to Gatsby. Leave Kentico's expensive licensing limits it to enterprise budgets behind and get rich plugin ecosystem for data sources (cms, apis, databases). Free migration tool included.

1-3 hours

Advanced

100% Free

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TL;DR

You can migrate from Kentico to Gatsby for free using LeaveWP. Enter your site URL, choose Gatsby as the destination, and download your content — posts, pages, and media — in minutes. No API keys, passwords, or CLI tools required. Difficulty: Advanced. Estimated time: 1-3 hours.

Official docs: Gatsby Documentation

Not sure yet? Read our Kentico vs Gatsby comparison first.

Why Teams Leave Kentico

.NET enterprise DXP with built-in marketing tools. .NET enterprises needing an all-in-one DXP with marketing automation, but these limitations push teams toward modern alternatives.

Expensive licensing limits it to enterprise budgets

This is the most common reason teams migrate away from Kentico. Gatsby eliminates this issue entirely.

Vendor lock-in with proprietary technology stack

With Gatsby, rich plugin ecosystem for data sources (cms, apis, databases).

Requires .NET developers who are less common in CMS space

Modern architectures like Gatsby are designed to avoid this from the ground up.

Heavy platform — overpowered for simple content sites

After migrating, you'll no longer need to worry about this — Gatsby takes a fundamentally different approach.

What Gatsby Brings to the Table

React-based SSG with GraphQL data layer. Built with JavaScript/TypeScript (React), it's content-rich sites pulling data from multiple sources via graphql.

Rich plugin ecosystem for data sources (CMS, APIs, databases)

Unified GraphQL data layer pulls from any source

Excellent image optimization with gatsby-plugin-image

Pre-renders pages for fast initial load and good SEO

Gatsby is open-source and free to use. You own your code and data with no vendor lock-in. Deploy to any host that supports JavaScript/TypeScript, or use managed platforms like Vercel and Netlify for zero-config deployments.

Kentico vs Gatsby at a Glance

Side-by-side comparison based on real platform characteristics

Metric	Kentico	Gatsby
Ease of Use	⭐⭐⭐ 3/5	⭐⭐⭐ 3/5
Performance	⭐⭐⭐ 3/5	⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4/5
Flexibility	⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4/5	⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4/5
Cost	⭐ 1/5	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5/5
Scalability	⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4/5	⭐⭐⭐ 3/5
Ecosystem	⭐⭐ 2/5	⭐⭐⭐ 3/5
Language	.NET / C#	JavaScript/TypeScript (React)
Pricing	Paid ($10K+/year)	Free (open-source)
Open Source	No	Yes

Ratings are based on publicly available data, documentation, and community consensus as of 2026. Individual experience may vary.

What Gets Migrated

A detailed breakdown of how your Kentico content maps to Gatsby

Content Types from Kentico

pages
custom page types
media
forms
emails

Technical Details

Export Method: REST API or direct database access
Source Language: .NET / C#
Destination Format: Markdown/MDX files with frontmatter, organized by content type
URL Handling: 301 redirect map generated automatically to preserve SEO equity

What may need manual attention

Custom server-side logic, third-party integrations, and platform-specific plugins will need equivalent solutions in Gatsby. The core content (text, images, metadata) transfers cleanly.

How It Works

Migrate your content in three simple steps

Connect

Enter your Kentico site URL — LeaveWP connects automatically.

Configure

Select Gatsby as destination and choose content options.

Export

Download your migrated content or preview it in your browser.

Is Kentico to Gatsby the Right Move for You?

Migrating from Kentico to Gatsby makes the most sense if you're experiencing expensive licensing limits it to enterprise budgets or outgrowing Kentico's architecture. Gatsby is best for content-rich sites pulling data from multiple sources via graphql.

You should migrate if: your Kentico site is slow, your hosting costs are climbing, you need developer flexibility, or you want to adopt a modern JAMstack architecture.

You might want to stay if: your Kentico site benefits from integrated marketing automation, email, and a/b testing and you don't have JavaScript/TypeScript developers on your team.

The migration itself is straightforward with LeaveWP — enter your Kentico URL, select Gatsby, and download your content. The more important question is whether Gatsby's architecture fits your team's skills and your project's long-term needs.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does it take to migrate from Kentico to Gatsby?

Kentico migrations are more complex due to its enterprise architecture. Expect 1-3 hours for a typical site. Simpler sites finish faster, while large sites with custom functionality may need additional configuration.

Will I lose my SEO rankings when migrating from Kentico?

No. We help you set up proper 301 redirects from your old Kentico URLs to preserve search rankings. Gatsby actually tends to improve Core Web Vitals scores, which can boost rankings over time.

What Kentico content can be migrated to Gatsby?

Kentico content types like pages, custom page types, media, forms are all migrated to Gatsby. Content is converted to Markdown/MDX files or structured for your chosen headless CMS.

Do I need JavaScript/TypeScript experience to migrate?

No coding experience is required for the migration itself — LeaveWP handles the export and conversion automatically. However, customizing your Gatsby site afterward will benefit from JavaScript/TypeScript (React) knowledge. For teams without that expertise, the generated code is well-structured and documented, making it approachable for developers of any level.

How much does it cost to host a Gatsby site after migrating from Kentico?

Gatsby sites can be deployed to Vercel, Netlify, Cloudflare Pages, or any Node.js host — often on generous free tiers. Compared to Kentico's Paid ($10K+/year) pricing, static Gatsby sites can be hosted for free on Vercel or Netlify (up to generous bandwidth limits), which is significantly cheaper than running a Kentico instance.

Can I migrate Kentico custom fields and metadata to Gatsby?

Yes. Custom fields, metadata, and taxonomies from Kentico are preserved during migration. In Gatsby, these become frontmatter fields in your Markdown/MDX files, which you can extend or restructure to fit your content model.