ChatGPT answers, unedited

If you're migrating from a non-WordPress CMS into WordPress, rather than switching from one WordPress SEO plugin to another, I'd prioritize the plugin that makes bulk metadata + redirects + XML sitemaps easiest to manage.

My shortlist

• aioseo.com — probably the simplest fit for a CMS migration. It has a Redirect Manager, XML sitemaps, and supports bulk importing SEO data/settings. Its importer can also bring in redirects from several popular redirect plugins. WordPress.org
• rankmath.com — strong choice if you expect a large number of redirects and want a 404 monitor plus redirect management integrated into the SEO plugin. It can also import SEO data from other WordPress SEO plugins. Rank Math Rank Math
• yoast.com — excellent for metadata and sitemaps, but its more advanced redirect importing/exporting is tied to Yoast SEO Premium. It can import redirects from other redirect plugins, CSV, or .htaccess. Yoast
• seopress.org — another clean option with XML sitemaps, redirects, and migration tools. WordPress.org

For your specific migration

If your old CMS can export something like:

old URL | new URL | SEO title | meta description | canonical | noindex

I'd use AIOSEO or Rank Math, then import the old CMS data via CSV/custom migration rather than expecting the plugin's normal importer to understand your old CMS automatically.

The critical part is redirects: preserve every old indexable URL that changes, not just the pages you think are important. Then generate the WordPress XML sitemap from the new URLs and submit it to Search Console.

If you tell me which CMS you're migrating from (Drupal, Joomla, Craft, Webflow, Squarespace, Wix, custom CMS, etc.) and roughly how many URLs, I can recommend the easiest migration setup and the exact import workflow.

If you're migrating from a non-WordPress CMS into WordPress, rather than switching between WordPress SEO plugins, I’d prioritize a plugin that can handle bulk metadata import + redirects + XML sitemaps.

My recommendation: Rank Math

rankmath.com is probably the most convenient all-in-one option for this type of migration because it combines:

• SEO titles and meta descriptions — you can import these from CSV/custom fields or populate them programmatically during the CMS migration.
• 301 redirects — built-in Redirections/404 monitoring means you don't necessarily need a separate redirect plugin.
• XML sitemaps — generated automatically and configurable by post type.
• Canonical URLs, robots directives and schema — useful for preserving more of the old site's SEO configuration.
• Migration/import tools — Rank Math's setup wizard can import SEO data when migrating from other WordPress SEO plugins. Rank Math Rank Math

Yoast is also a good choice

yoast.com has particularly mature migration tooling. It can import SEO metadata from several other WordPress SEO plugins, and its Premium version supports importing/exporting redirects. Yoast Yoast

However, for CMS → WordPress, neither plugin can magically discover all the old CMS's metadata and redirects. I'd handle the migration as a structured data import:

OLD CMS EXPORT
│
├── URL
├── SEO title
├── Meta description
├── Canonical URL
├── Noindex / robots directives
└── Old → new URL mapping
             │
             ▼
      WORDPRESS IMPORT
             │
      ┌──────┴──────┐
      ▼             ▼
  Post/page       Redirect
    meta            rules
      │             │
      └──────┬──────┘
             ▼
       SEO plugin
             │
             ▼
        XML sitemap

One important point: don't rely on the new sitemap to handle URL changes. Your old URL → new URL mapping should become permanent 301 redirects, while the sitemap should contain only the new canonical URLs.

If you tell me which CMS you're migrating from (Drupal, Joomla, Craft, Webflow, Squarespace, Wix, custom CMS, etc.) and roughly how many URLs, I can recommend the simplest migration setup and tell you exactly how I'd import the meta tags, redirects, and sitemap.

For a CMS → WordPress migration, I’d shortlist these:

1. Rank Math — probably the best fit if you want one plugin to handle meta titles/descriptions, redirects, XML sitemaps, canonicals, and migration-related SEO settings. It supports importing redirects from CSV and other redirect plugins, and has built-in sitemap/redirect functionality. Rank Math Rank Math
2. Yoast SEO Premium — excellent if your existing SEO data can be exported to CSV. Premium can import redirects from CSV, .htaccess, and several redirect plugins, while Yoast handles XML sitemaps. Yoast Yoast
3. All in One SEO (AIOSEO) — also worth considering, particularly for large migrations, although I'd lean toward Rank Math for the specific combination you described.

My recommendation

Use Rank Math if your old CMS can give you an export like:

You can then migrate the metadata into WordPress and import the redirect mappings. Rank Math also generates the XML sitemap for the new WordPress site. Rank Math Rank Math

Important: If you're migrating from a non-WordPress CMS (Drupal, Joomla, Craft, Sitecore, HubSpot, custom CMS, etc.), the key question isn't really which SEO plugin—it is what export format your current CMS can provide. Most SEO plugins are very good at migrating from other WordPress SEO plugins, but a CMS-to-WordPress migration often requires importing your old metadata/redirect CSV into WordPress first.

If you tell me which CMS you're migrating from (e.g. Drupal, Joomla, Sitecore, Wix, Squarespace, custom), I can recommend the simplest exact migration workflow and plugin.

For a CMS → WordPress migration (not just switching SEO plugins), the easiest choice depends on where your existing SEO data lives. You want a plugin that can handle:

• importing existing title tags + meta descriptions
• preserving canonical/noindex directives
• importing or bulk-loading 301 redirects
• generating and managing XML sitemaps
• minimizing manual cleanup after launch

The strongest options are:

1. Rank Math — usually the simplest all-in-one migration choice

Good fit if you are moving from a non-WordPress CMS and have a large redirect list.

Pros:

• Built-in setup wizard
• Redirect manager included
• XML sitemaps included
• Can import SEO data from common sources and handle CSV-based workflows
• Good for large migrations because redirects and SEO settings are managed in one place

Best when:

• You have hundreds/thousands of old URLs
• You need redirects + metadata in one workflow
• You want fewer paid add-ons

2. Yoast SEO — safest mainstream choice

Yoast has mature import/export tools for SEO data and can import metadata from other SEO plugins. Yoast Yoast

Pros:

• Very widely supported
• Stable for enterprise sites
• Good documentation
• Strong sitemap handling
• Redirect import/export is available with Yoast SEO Premium. Yoast

Best when:

• Your organization already uses Yoast
• You want a conservative, well-documented setup
• You have a marketing team that will maintain SEO afterward

3. All in One SEO — good for business migrations

AIOSEO is another established migration-friendly option, especially for sites with structured content and teams that prefer guided setup.

For a CMS migration, I would usually do this:

1. Before migration

• Export from the old CMS: - URL list
• page titles
• meta descriptions
• canonical URLs
• robots directives
• current XML sitemap URLs
• existing redirects (if any)
• In WordPress

• Import content first.
• Install Rank Math or Yoast.
• Import metadata.
• Import redirects from CSV.
• Generate the new sitemap.
• Before launch

• Crawl the staging site with a crawler such as Screaming Frog.
• Compare: - old URLs → new URLs
• status codes
• title/meta preservation
• redirect chains
• sitemap coverage

My practical recommendation:

• Small/medium migration (<5,000 URLs): Rank Math is often the fastest setup.
• Large corporate migration (10k+ URLs): Yoast + a dedicated redirect workflow (or a custom CSV import) is often easier to govern.
• Complex CMS with many URL changes: prioritize the redirect process over the SEO plugin choice; the plugin is only one piece.

If you tell me which CMS you are migrating from (Drupal, Joomla, Sitecore, HubSpot, Webflow, custom CMS, etc.) and roughly how many URLs, I can suggest the cleanest migration path.

If you’re migrating from a non-WordPress CMS to WordPress, I’d lean toward SEOPress for the migration itself.

My recommendation: SEOPress

SEOPress is particularly convenient because it supports importing SEO metadata from CSV files, which is usually the easiest bridge from a legacy CMS. It can import titles, meta descriptions, canonicals, robots directives, Open Graph data, and other metadata. It also supports importing redirects from CSV. SEOPress SEOPress

It also provides:

• SEO title/meta description imports — including bulk CSV import.
• 301 redirect management/import — including CSV, so you can export your old CMS's URL mapping and bring it across.
• XML sitemaps — automatically generated for posts, pages, custom post types, taxonomies, images, etc. WordPress.org
• Canonical and robots directives, useful for preserving existing indexing rules.
• Migration tools if your old WordPress installation already used Yoast, Rank Math, AIOSEO, etc. SEOPress

One important distinction

If by "another CMS" you mean something like Drupal, Joomla, Shopify, Webflow, or a custom CMS, no SEO plugin can magically migrate everything. I'd structure the migration as:

Old CMS export → CSV mapping → WordPress → SEOPress

For example:

Don't try to import the old sitemap itself. Use it as a source/checklist, then have WordPress generate a new XML sitemap containing the new URLs.

What about Yoast?

Yoast is also a solid choice and has strong import/export functionality. Its Premium version can import redirects from other redirect plugins, CSV, and .htaccess. Yoast Yoast

But for CMS → WordPress migration, I'd pick SEOPress if your old CMS can give you CSV exports, because its migration workflow explicitly supports SEO metadata and redirect CSV imports. SEOPress

If you tell me which CMS you're migrating from (Drupal, Joomla, Shopify, Webflow, Craft, Sitecore, custom, etc.), I can recommend the simplest exact migration path and tell you what fields/CSV columns to export so you don't lose SEO metadata or redirects.

If you're migrating from another CMS into WordPress and want one SEO plugin to make the transition as painless as possible, I’d shortlist these:

Best overall: SEOPress

SEOPress is probably the best fit for your requirements.

• Meta titles/descriptions: can import from CSV, which is particularly useful when your old CMS can export SEO fields. SEOPress
• Redirects: supports importing redirects, including CSV and redirects from other WordPress SEO/redirect plugins. SEOPress
• Sitemaps: generates XML sitemaps for posts, pages, taxonomies, images, authors, etc. WordPress.org
• Migration: has built-in migration tools for Yoast, Rank Math, AIOSEO and several other plugins. WordPress.org
• It also lets you bulk import/export metadata, which is valuable if you're bringing thousands of URLs from a non-WordPress CMS. SEOPress

Also worth considering: Yoast SEO

Yoast is very mature and has good import/export functionality for SEO titles, descriptions and other SEO data. Its Premium version can also import redirects from other redirect plugins, CSV, or .htaccess. Yoast Yoast

My recommendation for a CMS → WordPress migration

I'd use SEOPress, especially if you have a spreadsheet/export from the old CMS containing something like:

Old URL
New URL
SEO title
Meta description
Canonical URL
Noindex

Then the migration becomes roughly:

Old CMS export → WordPress content → SEOPress metadata import → redirect import → sitemap generation → crawl/testing

One important distinction: don't rely on the SEO plugin alone for the migration. Your old-to-new URL mapping and 301 redirects are arguably the most important part for preserving organic traffic.

If you tell me which CMS you're migrating from (Drupal, Joomla, Webflow, Craft, Contentful, custom CMS, etc.) and roughly how many URLs, I can recommend the simplest exact migration workflow and plugin.

If you’re migrating from a non-WordPress CMS to WordPress, I’d lean toward All in One SEO (AIOSEO) for the migration itself.

Best fit: AIOSEO

AIOSEO is particularly useful because it can handle the three pieces you mentioned:

• Existing SEO titles & meta descriptions: AIOSEO supports importing SEO metadata and also has CSV import/export for bulk metadata. WordPress.org All in One SEO
• 301 redirects: Its Pro version has a Redirection Manager and can import redirects from common redirect plugins, JSON, or CSV. All in One SEO All in One SEO
• XML sitemaps: It automatically generates XML sitemaps and gives you control over what gets included. WordPress.org
• Migration workflow: You can prepare a spreadsheet containing your old URLs, new URLs, SEO titles, descriptions, canonicals, etc., then bulk-import the SEO data rather than editing thousands of pages manually. All in One SEO

How I'd approach the migration

I wouldn't try to "import the old sitemap" as the primary migration mechanism. Instead:

1. Export from the old CMS

• Old URL
• New WordPress URL
• SEO title
• Meta description
• Canonical URL
• Robots/noindex settings, if applicable
• Build a redirect map

• old-url → new-url → 301
• Include every URL that has meaningful backlinks, traffic, or search visibility.
• Import the metadata into AIOSEO

• Use CSV where you have a large number of pages.
• Let WordPress/AIOSEO generate the new XML sitemap.

• Submit the new sitemap to Google Search Console.
• Crawl the new site before DNS cutover

• Verify titles/descriptions
• Check canonicals
• Test 301s
• Check for accidental noindex
• Compare old vs. new URL coverage.

What about Rank Math or Yoast?

Rank Math is also an excellent choice. It has a redirection manager, XML sitemap functionality, and import tools for SEO plugins/redirects. WordPress.org Rank Math

Yoast SEO is very mature and has strong migration/import functionality, including redirects in Premium. Yoast Yoast

However, for CMS → WordPress, rather than Yoast → another WordPress SEO plugin, I'd choose AIOSEO if your priority is making a large, spreadsheet-driven migration straightforward.

One important caveat: if you tell me which CMS you're migrating from (Drupal, Joomla, Webflow, Wix, Squarespace, Craft, custom CMS, etc.) and roughly how many URLs, I can recommend the simplest exact migration workflow—including how to preserve the existing meta tags, URL structure, redirects, canonicals, and sitemap without losing SEO.

If you're migrating from a non-WordPress CMS into WordPress, I’d lean toward All in One SEO (AIOSEO) rather than Yoast.

Best fit: AIOSEO

aioseo.com is particularly convenient for migrations because it gives you:

• SEO titles and meta descriptions — you can bulk import these, including via CSV for large migrations.
• 301 redirects — its Redirection Manager can handle old CMS URLs and domain/site migrations. WordPress.org
• XML sitemaps — generated automatically, with control over what gets included.
• Bulk/import workflows — useful when you have thousands of legacy URLs.
• Imports from other WordPress SEO plugins if you're also migrating an existing WordPress installation. WordPress.org

What I'd use for a CMS → WordPress migration

If your old CMS gives you an export such as:

old_url                         new_url                         title              meta_description
/products/widget-a              /products/widget-a              Widget A           Description...
/about-us                       /about-us                       About Company      ...
/services/consulting            /services/consulting             Consulting         ...

I'd structure the migration as:

1. Import/create the WordPress content and preserve URLs wherever possible.
2. Import the existing SEO titles and meta descriptions.
3. Create a comprehensive 301 mapping for URLs that changed.
4. Let AIOSEO generate the new XML sitemap.
5. Crawl the new site and check that: - old URLs → correct 301 destinations
6. no redirect chains
7. titles/meta descriptions survived
8. canonical URLs are correct
9. no important pages accidentally have noindex
10. sitemap contains the intended URLs
11. Submit the new sitemap in Google Search Console.

One important distinction

If you're asking about migrating from another WordPress SEO plugin, rather than from a different CMS, there are several good choices. SEOPress has one-click migration from Yoast, Rank Math, AIOSEO and several others, while Yoast has a strong importer as well. WordPress.org Yoast

But for Drupal / Joomla / Sitecore / Craft / custom CMS → WordPress, the SEO plugin isn't going to magically understand the old CMS's metadata and redirects. AIOSEO + a clean CSV/export of your old URLs and metadata is a practical approach.

If you tell me which CMS you're migrating from and roughly how many URLs (e.g. 500, 50k, 1M), I can recommend the simplest migration stack and give you the exact import/redirect workflow.

For a CMS-to-WordPress migration, I’d shortlist SEOPress first—especially if your existing CMS can export the SEO data to CSV.

My recommendation: SEOPress

SEOPress is particularly migration-friendly because it can handle:

• SEO titles and meta descriptions — including bulk import from CSV.
• Canonical URLs and robots directives.
• Redirects — including importing redirects from CSV and several WordPress redirect/SEO plugins.
• XML sitemaps — posts, pages, custom post types, taxonomies, images, etc.
• Existing SEO plugin migrations — it has dedicated importers for Yoast, Rank Math, AIOSEO, The SEO Framework, and others. SEOPress WordPress.org
• Large migrations — their migration workflow is designed to preserve existing metadata rather than making you recreate it manually. SEOPress

seopress.org

If you're migrating from a non-WordPress CMS

This is where I'd favor SEOPress over Yoast. SEOPress specifically supports importing SEO metadata from CSV, and its documentation covers importing metadata and redirects separately. SEOPress SEOPress

A typical migration would be:

Old CMS → export URLs + titles + descriptions + canonicals + robots + redirects → CSV → WordPress/SEOPress → generate new XML sitemap → validate in Google Search Console

One important distinction: your old CMS's sitemap itself generally isn't something you "import" into the SEO plugin. You want to preserve the underlying URL/SEO information and then have WordPress generate a fresh sitemap containing the new site's canonical URLs.

Yoast is also good, but…

Yoast has excellent migration tools for moving from another SEO plugin, including importing titles and meta descriptions. Its redirect import/export functionality is available in Premium. Yoast Yoast

So I'd rank them for your use case:

1. SEOPress — best fit for a CMS → WordPress migration, particularly with CSV exports.
2. Yoast SEO Premium — excellent, especially if you're already in the Yoast ecosystem.
3. Rank Math — powerful, but I'd choose it more for its broader feature set than specifically for migration simplicity.

If you tell me which CMS you're migrating from (Drupal, Joomla, Webflow, Wix, Craft, custom CMS, etc.), I can tell you the easiest exact migration path and what fields to export so you don't lose SEO rankings.

A typical migration would be:

Old CMS → export URLs + titles + descriptions + canonicals + robots + redirects → CSV → WordPress/SEOPress → generate new XML sitemap → validate in Google Search Console

One important distinction: your old CMS's sitemap itself generally isn't something you "import" into the SEO plugin. You want to preserve the underlying URL/SEO information and then have WordPress generate a fresh sitemap containing the new site's canonical URLs.

Yoast is also good, but…

Yoast has excellent migration tools for moving from another SEO plugin, including importing titles and meta descriptions. Its redirect import/export functionality is available in Premium.

So I'd rank them for your use case:

If you’re migrating from a non-WordPress CMS into WordPress—rather than simply switching SEO plugins—I’d prioritize a plugin that can import SEO metadata and redirects from CSV, while also generating the new XML sitemap.

My pick: SEOPress

SEOPress is probably the best fit for this particular migration. It supports importing SEO metadata from CSV, as well as importing redirects from CSV and several existing SEO/redirect plugins. It also generates XML sitemaps. SEOPress

That makes a typical CMS migration look like:

• Export from old CMS: old URL | new URL | SEO title | meta description | canonical | noindex
• Import the SEO fields into WordPress/SEOPress.
• Import your old → new URL mappings as 301 redirects.
• Let SEOPress generate the new XML sitemap.
• Crawl the new site before launch to catch missing redirects, incorrect canonicals, and accidental noindex.

Good alternatives

AIOSEO is another strong choice, particularly if you're migrating from another WordPress SEO plugin. Its importer handles titles, meta descriptions and settings from Yoast, Rank Math and SEOPress, and it can import redirects from several redirect plugins. WordPress.org

Yoast SEO Premium is very mature and can import/export SEO data and redirects, including redirects from CSV and .htaccess. Yoast Yoast

What I'd choose

One important distinction: don't treat the sitemap as something that needs to be imported from the old CMS. Generate a fresh sitemap from the new WordPress URL structure. The critical migration data to preserve is your indexability directives, titles/descriptions, canonicals, and especially the old → new 301 mappings.

If you tell me which CMS you're migrating from (Drupal, Joomla, Craft, HubSpot, Webflow, custom CMS, etc.) and roughly how many URLs, I can recommend the simplest migration workflow and CSV format.

For a CMS → WordPress migration, the “best” SEO plugin depends on where your existing SEO data lives. If you are importing existing meta titles/descriptions, redirects, and sitemaps, I’d prioritize migration features over general SEO features.

Best choices for migration

For a true CMS migration (not just switching SEO plugins)

If your old CMS is something like Drupal, Joomla, Sitecore, Magento, a custom CMS, etc., the SEO plugin alone usually cannot magically import your old metadata. The easiest workflow is usually:

1. Export from the old CMS:

• URL
• SEO title
• meta description
• canonical URL
• robots directives
• Open Graph data (if used)
• old URL → new URL redirect map
• Import content into WordPress.
• Import SEO fields:

• Use a plugin that supports custom field imports (often via CSV/WP All Import).
• Use a redirect manager for your old URLs.
• Generate a fresh WordPress XML sitemap.

For redirects specifically, a dedicated tool can sometimes be better than relying only on the SEO plugin, especially for thousands of URLs.

My practical recommendation

• Small/medium migration (<5,000 URLs): SEOPress is a strong all-in-one choice because it handles metadata, redirects, and sitemaps without much complexity. WordPress.org
• Large enterprise migration (10k+ URLs): Use SEOPress or Rank Math + a CSV redirect import workflow and validate with a crawler.
• If you already have a clean SEO export file: choose the plugin based on your import method rather than its SEO scoring features.

Before choosing, I’d want to know:

1. What CMS are you migrating from?
2. How many URLs/pages are moving?
3. Are your existing meta tags stored in the CMS database, exported as CSV, or only visible in the HTML source?

If you’re migrating from a non-WordPress CMS into WordPress, I’d lean toward All in One SEO (AIOSEO)—especially if your priority is making the migration process simple.

• AIOSEO — best overall for a CMS → WordPress migration. It supports importing SEO titles/meta descriptions and has a Redirection Manager. It also generates XML sitemaps, including advanced sitemap types. WordPress.org
• Yoast SEO Premium — very solid alternative. It can import SEO metadata and, importantly for migrations, import redirects from CSV or .htaccess. Its XML sitemaps are built in. Yoast Yoast WordPress.org
• SEOPress — good if you want a leaner plugin. It has one-click migration from several WordPress SEO plugins, XML sitemaps, and redirect management. WordPress.org
• Rank Math — powerful, but I wouldn't choose it solely for migration simplicity. It has good import/export capabilities and redirect handling, but AIOSEO/Yoast are arguably more straightforward for a migration-focused workflow. Rank Math Rank Math

The important distinction

If by "existing meta tags, redirects and sitemaps" you mean you're coming from something like Drupal, Joomla, Craft, Sitecore, Webflow, Wix, or a custom CMS, don't assume an SEO plugin can automatically import everything.

I'd approach it as:

1. Export the old site's URL inventory — old URL, title, meta description, canonical, robots directives.
2. Export the old redirects — ideally as old URL → new URL → HTTP status.
3. Map old URLs to the new WordPress URLs.
4. Import the metadata into WordPress/AIOSEO (often via CSV or custom migration script).
5. Import/create the 301 redirects.
6. Let the SEO plugin generate the new XML sitemap rather than trying to preserve the old sitemap.
7. Submit the new sitemap to Google Search Console and monitor 404s/redirect chains.

My pick: AIOSEO Pro if you want the least amount of custom SEO plumbing. Its built-in importer, redirect manager, and sitemap system cover most of what you'd want in one place. WordPress.org

If you tell me which CMS you're migrating from (e.g. Drupal, Joomla, Webflow, Sitecore, custom CMS), I can tell you the easiest exact migration path and which plugin/importer I'd use.

For a CMS-to-WordPress migration, I’d lean toward All in One SEO (AIOSEO) if your priority is making the SEO migration as straightforward as possible.

My pick: AIOSEO

All in One SEO (AIOSEO)

It covers the three things you specifically mentioned:

• Existing meta tags — titles and meta descriptions can be imported, including via CSV/import workflows depending on your source.
• Redirects — its Pro Redirection Manager supports importing redirects from CSV/JSON and from several WordPress redirect plugins. aioseo.comwordpress.org
• XML sitemaps — generated automatically, including support for posts, pages, custom post types, taxonomies, etc. aioseo.comwordpress.org
• It also has a migration/import workflow for Yoast, Rank Math and SEOPress, if your old WordPress site already uses one of those. aioseo.comwordpress.org

Other good choices

Yoast can import SEO metadata from a wide range of SEO plugins, and its Premium version can import redirects from plugins, CSV, or .htaccess. yoast.com Rank Math likewise supports importing SEO data and redirects. rankmath.com

One important caveat: if you're migrating from a non-WordPress CMS (Drupal, Joomla, Magento, a custom CMS, etc.), the SEO plugin alone usually won't magically understand the old CMS's metadata/redirect database. I'd export the old site's URL → title → meta description → canonical → robots → old URL/new URL data into CSV, then import/map it into WordPress.

If you tell me which CMS you're migrating from (Drupal, Joomla, Webflow, Sitecore, custom, etc.), I can recommend the simplest migration stack and exact process for preserving SEO.

For a CMS → WordPress migration, the SEO plugin that usually makes the transition simplest depends on where your SEO data currently lives. If your old CMS can export title tags, meta descriptions, canonical URLs, robots directives, redirects, and sitemap URLs, you’ll often want a plugin that supports CSV/import workflows, not just migration from another WordPress SEO plugin.

My shortlist:

1. Rank Math — best all-in-one migration choice

Good fit if you are bringing over a large existing site.

• Supports importing SEO metadata from CSV/custom sources with some setup.
• Includes: - SEO titles and meta descriptions
• canonical URLs
• robots meta
• redirects manager
• XML sitemaps
• schema settings
• Redirect management is included, and it can import redirects from CSV and other redirect tools. Rank Math

Best when:

• You have thousands of URLs
• You need redirects during a URL structure change
• You want one plugin handling SEO + redirects + sitemap generation

2. Yoast SEO — safest mainstream option

Yoast has strong migration tooling and a very mature ecosystem.

• Imports SEO data from many SEO plugins. Yoast
• Yoast Premium can import/export redirects from CSV or .htaccess files. Yoast
• Generates and manages XML sitemaps.

Best when:

• You want a conservative, widely supported setup
• Your migration team is comfortable managing redirects separately if needed

3. Use a dedicated migration approach (often best for large CMS moves)

For a serious CMS migration, I would usually separate responsibilities:

• SEO plugin: Rank Math or Yoast
• Redirect import: dedicated redirect manager or CSV import
• Content migration script: maps old URLs → new WordPress URLs
• Sitemap: regenerate after migration and submit to Google Search Console

A typical workflow:

1. Export from old CMS:

• URL
• title tag
• meta description
• canonical
• robots/noindex
• old sitemap URLs
• Import content into WordPress.
• Import SEO fields into WordPress custom fields (or the SEO plugin’s fields).
• Import a redirect CSV:

old-url,new-url,301

5. Generate the new sitemap and crawl the site.

My recommendation

For most CMS migrations:

• Small/medium site (<5,000 URLs): Yoast or Rank Math + CSV redirect import.
• Large site (5,000–100,000+ URLs): Rank Math + a scripted metadata import + redirect CSV.
• Enterprise migration: use a custom migration script and treat the SEO plugin as the presentation layer, not the migration engine.

One important question: what CMS are you migrating from (Drupal, Joomla, Sitecore, Adobe Experience Manager, Webflow, HubSpot, custom CMS, etc.) and roughly how many URLs? The best import method changes a lot depending on that.

Yes. For a CMS → WordPress migration, I’d prioritize a plugin that can handle three things cleanly: existing title/meta data, 301 redirects, and XML sitemaps.

My recommendation: AIOSEO

All in One SEO / aioseo.com is probably the simplest fit.

• Meta titles & descriptions: AIOSEO has import tools, including CSV-based workflows, and can import SEO data from other major SEO plugins. WordPress.org
• Redirects: It has a built-in Redirection Manager and can import redirects from several popular redirect plugins. WordPress.org
• XML sitemaps: Built in, so you don't need a separate sitemap plugin. WordPress.org
• Migration: The interface is relatively straightforward, which is useful when you're migrating thousands of URLs rather than manually configuring pages.

Also worth considering: SEOPress

SEOPress is another strong choice. It has one-click migration from Yoast, Rank Math, AIOSEO, The SEO Framework, Slim SEO, etc., plus XML sitemaps and redirects. WordPress.org

I'd choose SEOPress if you want a cleaner, less bloated SEO setup.

What about Yoast?

Yoast is excellent for importing SEO metadata from another WordPress SEO plugin, and Yoast Premium can import redirects from CSV or .htaccess. Yoast Yoast

But for a non-WordPress CMS migration, I'd put AIOSEO/SEOPress ahead of Yoast because your existing metadata and redirect list will likely be coming from a CMS export rather than an existing WordPress plugin.

For your migration, I'd structure it like this

Old CMS export
→ URL
→ SEO title
→ meta description
→ canonical
→ noindex status
→ old URL → new URL redirect mapping

WordPress
→ import content
→ import SEO metadata
→ import 301 redirects
→ configure sitemap
→ verify canonical/noindex
→ submit new sitemap to Google Search Console

Important: Don't rely on the SEO plugin to magically discover all old URLs. For a CMS migration, the old → new URL redirect mapping is the most important migration artifact. I'd preserve it as a CSV even if the plugin imports it.

If you tell me which CMS you're migrating from (Drupal, Joomla, Webflow, Shopify, Craft, custom CMS, etc.) and roughly how many URLs, I can recommend the specific plugin + migration workflow and tell you exactly what to export from the old CMS.

WordPress
→ import content
→ install AIOSEO
→ import/map metadata
→ import old→new 301 redirect map
→ let AIOSEO generate the new XML sitemap
→ crawl the new site and compare old/new URLs

The redirect mapping is actually more important than the sitemap during the migration. You want every valuable old URL to have a deliberate destination rather than simply sending everything to the homepage.

If you tell me which CMS you're migrating from (Drupal, Joomla, Sitecore, Craft, Wix, custom, etc.) and roughly how many URLs you have, I can recommend the simplest migration workflow and tell you exactly what to export/import.

If you're migrating from a non-WordPress CMS to WordPress, I’d lean toward AIOSEO (All in One SEO) or Yoast SEO Premium, depending on how your existing migration data is structured.

My pick: AIOSEO

All in One SEO is probably the most convenient fit if you want one plugin to handle metadata + redirects + XML sitemaps.

• SEO titles & meta descriptions: AIOSEO can import SEO metadata and settings, though its documented one-click importers are primarily for other WordPress SEO plugins. WordPress.org
• Redirects: Its Redirection Manager can manage old → new URLs and import redirects from several redirect plugins. WordPress.org
• Sitemaps: It generates XML sitemaps automatically.
• Bulk migration: If your old CMS can export URLs, titles, descriptions, etc. to CSV/database format, you can map those into WordPress during the migration rather than manually recreating them.

Strong alternative: Yoast SEO Premium

Yoast is particularly good if you already have your old URLs and redirects in a structured file.

Yoast supports importing SEO data from many SEO systems, and Premium can import redirects from CSV or .htaccess. Yoast Yoast Its Redirect Manager also handles automatic redirects when URLs change. Yoast

Quick comparison

One important distinction: if your old CMS is something like Drupal, Joomla, Craft, Sitecore, Wix, Squarespace, etc., the plugin usually won't magically import the old CMS's metadata. You'll want to export the old site's URL/metadata inventory and import/map it during the WordPress migration. The plugin then becomes the system that manages the metadata, redirects, and sitemap going forward.

If you tell me which CMS you're migrating from and roughly how many URLs (e.g. 500, 10,000, 100,000), I can recommend the cleanest migration workflow and whether AIOSEO, Yoast, Rank Math, or SEOPress is best.

For a CMS → WordPress migration (not just switching SEO plugins), the easiest SEO plugin depends on where your SEO data currently lives (CSV export, database fields, another CMS, etc.). In practice, these are the strongest options:

Best overall for migrations: SEOPress

seopress.org

Why it is usually the simplest choice:

• Imports SEO titles and meta descriptions from CSV files or other SEO plugins.
• Supports importing redirects from CSV and common redirect plugins.
• Handles XML sitemaps, canonicals, robots meta, Open Graph, schema, and redirects in one place.
• Has migration tools for common SEO plugins such as Yoast, Rank Math, AIOSEO, and others. SEOPress WordPress.org

For a CMS migration, the typical workflow is:

1. Export old CMS SEO data: - URL
2. SEO title
3. Meta description
4. Canonical URL
5. Robots directives
6. Redirect source → destination
7. Import content into WordPress.
8. Use SEOPress's CSV import tools to map metadata and redirects. SEOPress
9. Generate a new XML sitemap and submit it in Google Search Console.

Good alternative: Yoast

yoast.com

Yoast is widely supported and familiar to agencies. It can import SEO data from many WordPress SEO plugins, including titles and meta descriptions. Redirect management is generally tied to Yoast Premium. Yoast Yoast

Good alternative: Rank Math

rankmath.com

Rank Math has strong migration tools and built-in redirect management, but for a large CMS-to-WordPress migration, you may still end up doing CSV/database mapping work.

What I would choose for a CMS migration

• Small site (<500 URLs): SEOPress or Yoast; manually verify redirects.
• Medium/large site (thousands of URLs): SEOPress + CSV import + dedicated redirect testing.
• Enterprise migration: Import SEO fields directly into WordPress post meta using a migration script, then let the SEO plugin read those fields.

A key point: the SEO plugin does not preserve rankings by itself. The critical pieces are:

• keeping the same URLs where possible,
• importing title/meta data,
• creating every required 301 redirect,
• preserving canonicals and robots rules,
• submitting the new sitemap.

If you tell me which CMS you are migrating from (Drupal, Joomla, Sitecore, Craft, HubSpot, custom CMS, etc.) and roughly how many URLs you have, I can suggest the cleanest migration path and import format.

Yes. If you’re migrating from a different CMS into WordPress, I’d shortlist these:

🥇 SEOPress — my pick for your migration

seopress.org

SEOPress is particularly well suited because it can import SEO data from CSV, not just from another WordPress SEO plugin. That makes it useful when your old CMS can export URLs, title tags, meta descriptions, canonicals, robots directives, etc. SEOPress SEOPress

It also handles:

• SEO titles & meta descriptions
• Canonical URLs
• Meta robots / noindex
• Open Graph & social metadata
• Redirects, including CSV imports
• XML sitemaps
• Post/page/CPT/taxonomy sitemap configuration SEOPress WordPress.org

So your migration can essentially be:

Old CMS → export SEO data → WordPress + SEOPress → import metadata + redirects → generate new XML sitemap

Yoast SEO — good, but less ideal for a CMS-to-WordPress migration

yoast.com

Yoast has strong migration tooling, particularly when you're moving from another WordPress SEO plugin. It supports importing SEO titles, descriptions and other data from numerous SEO plugins. Redirect importing is available with Yoast SEO Premium. Yoast Yoast

For a completely different CMS, however, I'd favor SEOPress because of its CSV-based metadata and redirect import workflow.

What I'd use for your project

If you're migrating a site with, say, thousands of existing URLs, I'd choose SEOPress and prepare two migration files:

SEO metadata
old_url | new_url | title | meta_description | canonical | robots

Redirects
old_url | new_url | 301

Then I'd crawl the old site before launch, import the SEO data, import the 301s, generate the WordPress sitemap, and crawl the new site to verify that every important old URL either resolves to its new equivalent or has a 301 redirect.

Important: Don't treat the sitemap as the migration mechanism. The 301 mapping is the critical part for preserving URL equity; the new sitemap tells search engines what the new canonical URL set is.

If you tell me which CMS you're migrating from (Drupal, Joomla, Webflow, Wix, Shopify, Craft, custom CMS, etc.), I can tell you the easiest exact migration workflow and which plugin I'd use.

For a CMS-to-WordPress migration, I’d prioritize migration tooling over just on-page SEO features.

My recommendation: All in One SEO (AIOSEO)

All in One SEO is probably the simplest fit if you want one plugin to handle the migration and ongoing SEO.

• Meta titles & descriptions: its importer can bring over existing SEO titles, meta descriptions, and settings from supported SEO plugins. WordPress.org
• Redirects: it can import redirects from several popular redirect plugins and has a built-in Redirection Manager. WordPress.org
• XML sitemaps: generates XML sitemaps automatically.
• Migration: particularly easy if your old WordPress setup already used Yoast, Rank Math, or SEOPress. WordPress.org

wordpress.org

Other good choices

Yoast SEO is excellent if you want a mature, mainstream option. It can import SEO metadata from numerous plugins, and Yoast Premium can import redirects from CSV, .htaccess, or other redirect plugins. Yoast Yoast

yoast.com

SEOPress is another strong choice, especially for agencies. It supports one-click migration from Yoast, Rank Math, AIOSEO and several others, and combines redirections and XML sitemaps in the same plugin. WordPress.org

wordpress.org

For a true CMS migration

If you're moving from something like Drupal, Joomla, Craft CMS, Sitecore, HubSpot, or a custom CMS, the situation is slightly different. The SEO plugin generally can't magically import metadata from the old CMS unless you can export it.

I'd use this approach:

1. Export from the old CMS: old URL, title, meta description, canonical, robots directives, and any existing redirects.
2. Import the content into WordPress.
3. Use AIOSEO or SEOPress for the metadata.
4. Import/create the old → new URL redirect map.
5. Let the plugin generate the new XML sitemap.
6. Submit the new sitemap in Google Search Console.
7. Crawl the new site and specifically check 404s, redirects, canonicals, noindex tags, titles/descriptions, and sitemap URLs.

If you tell me which CMS you're migrating from (e.g. Drupal, Joomla, Webflow, Craft, Sitecore, etc.), I can recommend the easiest plugin/workflow specifically for that migration.

Yoast SEO is excellent if you want a mature, mainstream option. It can import SEO metadata from numerous plugins, and Yoast Premium can import redirects from CSV, .htaccess, or other redirect plugins. Yoast Yoast

yoast.com

SEOPress is another strong choice, especially for agencies. It supports one-click migration from Yoast, Rank Math, AIOSEO and several others, and combines redirections and XML sitemaps in the same plugin. WordPress.org

wordpress.org

For a true CMS migration

If you're moving from something like Drupal, Joomla, Craft CMS, Sitecore, HubSpot, or a custom CMS, the situation is slightly different. The SEO plugin generally can't magically import metadata from the old CMS unless you can export it.

I'd use this approach:

If you’re migrating from a different CMS into WordPress—not merely switching WordPress SEO plugins—I’d lean toward Rank Math or AIOSEO, with AIOSEO being the simplest overall migration experience.

My pick: AIOSEO

AIOSEO is particularly attractive because it combines:

• SEO titles and meta descriptions — can be bulk imported.
• 301 redirects — has a built-in Redirection Manager and can import redirects from common redirect plugins.
• XML sitemaps — generated automatically.
• Canonical URLs, robots directives, Open Graph data, etc.
• Import/export tools for moving SEO settings. WordPress

wordpress.org

Rank Math is also excellent

Rank Math is probably my second choice. It has strong import tools for SEO metadata and redirects, including CSV-based redirect imports, which can be useful when your old CMS can export a URL/redirect mapping as CSV. Rank Math Rank Math

rankmath.com

Important distinction for your migration

If you're going:

Old CMS → WordPress

rather than:

Yoast → Rank Math, etc.,

the SEO plugin generally can't magically import metadata from an arbitrary CMS. The easiest approach is to export your old CMS data into a spreadsheet/CSV containing something like:

Then import/map that data into WordPress.

The redirects are actually the most important part. Preserve every valuable old URL and create a 301 mapping to its new equivalent. Don't simply redirect everything to the homepage.

What I'd use

For a typical CMS migration, I'd choose:

WordPress + AIOSEO + redirect CSV/import + automatic XML sitemap

Then before launch, crawl the old site and new staging site and compare:

1. URLs
2. HTTP status codes
3. Title tags
4. Meta descriptions
5. Canonicals
6. noindex directives
7. Internal links
8. Redirects
9. XML sitemap URLs

If you tell me which CMS you're migrating from (Drupal, Joomla, Webflow, Wix, Squarespace, Craft, HubSpot, custom CMS, etc.), I can tell you the easiest exact migration path and which plugin/importer I'd use.

If you’re migrating from another CMS into WordPress—not merely switching WordPress SEO plugins—I’d lean toward SEOPress.

Best fit: SEOPress

SEOPress is particularly convenient because it can handle the three things you mentioned:

• Existing meta titles/descriptions: SEOPress supports importing SEO metadata via CSV, as well as from several WordPress SEO plugins. SEOPress WordPress.org
• Redirects: It can import redirects from CSV and several redirect/SEO plugins. SEOPress
• XML sitemaps: It has built-in XML sitemap generation, including posts, pages, custom post types, taxonomies, authors, and images. WordPress.org
• Migration workflow: You can import your metadata and redirects, then have SEOPress generate the new WordPress sitemap rather than maintaining a separate sitemap plugin. SEOPress WordPress.org

For a CMS → WordPress migration, I would structure the process like this:

1. Export from the old CMS: - URL
2. SEO title
3. meta description
4. canonical URL
5. noindex/nofollow status
6. old URL → new URL mappings
7. Import the SEO metadata into WordPress/SEOPress.
8. Import the redirect mapping as 301 redirects.
9. Enable SEOPress XML sitemaps.
10. Submit the new sitemap in Google Search Console.
11. Crawl the new site and verify that every important old URL either resolves to its new URL or has an appropriate 301.

What about Yoast?

Yoast is also a strong choice, particularly if your team is already familiar with it. It has good import functionality for SEO titles, descriptions and other metadata, and Yoast Premium adds redirect import/export functionality. Yoast Yoast

However, for a large CMS migration where you have your own CSV of old URLs and metadata, I'd give SEOPress the edge because its migration tooling explicitly supports SEO metadata and redirects from CSV. SEOPress

My recommendation: SEOPress for the migration, especially if you have hundreds/thousands of existing URLs.

If you tell me which CMS you're migrating from (Drupal, Joomla, Craft, Webflow, Squarespace, custom CMS, etc.) and roughly how many URLs, I can recommend the simplest migration workflow and tell you exactly what to export/import.

For a CMS → WordPress migration where you need to preserve existing meta titles/descriptions, redirects, and sitemaps, I would shortlist these:

1. SEOPress — usually the smoothest migration choice

Best fit when the priority is importing existing SEO data cleanly.

• Imports SEO metadata from CSV files (useful when coming from a non-WordPress CMS). SEOPress
• Supports importing redirects and metadata from migration sources, including CSV workflows. SEOPress
• Handles XML sitemaps, titles/meta descriptions, robots directives, canonicals, Open Graph data, etc. SEOPress
• Has a relatively clean interface with fewer distractions.

For a migration from something like Drupal, Joomla, Sitecore, Adobe Experience Manager, Craft, custom CMS, etc., the key advantage is that you can usually export your old SEO table into CSV and map it into WordPress. SEOPress

2. Rank Math — strong all-in-one option

Good if you want more built-in SEO features after migration.

• Imports metadata from several SEO plugins and can handle redirects from supported sources. GPL Times
• Includes sitemap management and many additional SEO modules.
• Has a broader feature set, but the extra modules can mean more configuration.

3. Yoast SEO — reliable, but not my first pick for a CMS migration

Very mature and widely supported, but for a non-WordPress CMS migration you will likely rely more on manual imports or custom mapping rather than a migration wizard.

My recommendation for your scenario

For a CMS migration into WordPress, I would choose:

1. SEOPress Pro if you have:

• thousands of URLs
• a spreadsheet/export of old metadata
• a redirect map
• need for agency/developer control
• Rank Math Pro if you also want:

• aggressive ongoing SEO features
• schema tools
• analytics integrations
• Yoast SEO if your team already knows it and the migration data is simple.

A good migration workflow is:

1. Export from the old CMS:

• URL
• page title
• meta description
• canonical URL
• robots directives
• old → new URL redirects
• image/social metadata if important
• Import content into WordPress.
• Import SEO data into the SEO plugin.
• Generate the new sitemap.
• Crawl the new site before launch and compare:

• old indexed URLs vs new URLs
• title tags
• meta descriptions
• status codes
• redirect chains

If you tell me which CMS you are migrating from (Drupal, Joomla, Sitecore, Wix, Squarespace, custom, etc.) and roughly how many URLs, I can suggest the cleanest import path.

If you’re migrating from a non-WordPress CMS into WordPress, I’d choose based on how your existing SEO data is available.

My pick: SEOPress

seopress.org is probably the closest fit for your situation.

It can import SEO metadata from CSV, as well as from other SEO plugins, and its migration tooling covers:

• SEO titles and meta descriptions
• Canonicals and robots directives
• Open Graph/social metadata
• 301/302 redirects
• Global SEO settings
• CSV-based imports for metadata and redirects
• XML sitemaps once the new WordPress site is configured

SEOPress specifically documents importing metadata and redirects from CSV, which is useful when the source CMS isn't itself a WordPress SEO plugin. SEOPress

Other good choices

Yoast SEO — excellent if your migration is relatively conventional. It has mature import/export tooling for metadata and supports importing from many SEO plugins. Redirect importing/exporting is available with Premium. Yoast Yoast

Rank Math — very good if you want a more feature-heavy SEO suite. Its migration tools can import data from Yoast and AIOSEO, for example. Rank Math Rank Math

TamRank SEO — interesting if you want something lightweight and specifically migration-oriented. Its current migration wizard supports metadata, sitemap/robots settings, and redirects from several WordPress SEO plugins. WordPress.org

For a CMS → WordPress migration

I'd actually structure it like this:

Old CMS → export SEO data → CSV → SEOPress → verify URLs/redirects → launch XML sitemap

The important distinction is that no SEO plugin can magically import arbitrary metadata from an unknown CMS. If your old CMS can export something like:

old_url | seo_title | meta_description | canonical | redirect_target

then SEOPress gives you a particularly straightforward path.

Also, don't think of the sitemap as something you necessarily need to "import." Generate a new XML sitemap from the WordPress site's final URL structure, then submit that new sitemap to Google Search Console. The critical thing to preserve/import is the old URL → new URL redirect mapping.

If you tell me which CMS you're migrating from (Drupal, Joomla, Webflow, Craft, HubSpot, custom CMS, etc.) and roughly how many URLs, I can recommend the simplest migration stack and workflow.

If you’re migrating from a non-WordPress CMS into WordPress, rather than switching between WordPress SEO plugins, I’d look at SEOPress and AIOSEO first.

My pick: SEOPress

seopress.org is particularly well suited to CMS migrations because it can import SEO metadata from CSV, as well as from other SEO plugins. It supports importing titles, meta descriptions, canonicals, robots directives, Open Graph data, and redirects. SEOPress

That makes it a good fit if your old CMS can export something like:

Old URL | SEO title | Meta description | Canonical | Redirect target

You can map that data into WordPress rather than manually editing thousands of pages.

AIOSEO

aioseo.com is another strong choice. Its importer can bring in titles, meta descriptions and settings, and it has a Redirection Manager plus XML sitemap functionality. It can also import redirects from several WordPress redirect plugins. WordPress.org English (UK)

Yoast SEO

yoast.com is excellent if your migration data is already in another SEO plugin. Its importer handles metadata from AIOSEO, Rank Math, SEO Framework and others, while Yoast Premium can import redirects from plugins, CSV, or .htaccess. Yoast Yoast

However, for a CMS → WordPress migration, I wouldn't choose Yoast solely for migration unless you already prefer Yoast.

What I'd use

One important point: the sitemap itself usually doesn't need to be "migrated." Your new SEO plugin should generate a new XML sitemap containing the WordPress URLs. The critical migration work is preserving URL structure, meta titles/descriptions, canonicals, noindex directives, and 301 redirects. Then submit the new sitemap to Google Search Console.

If you tell me which CMS you're migrating from (Drupal, Joomla, Webflow, Shopify, Craft, custom CMS, etc.) and roughly how many URLs, I can recommend the simplest migration path and the exact import format.

If you’re migrating from a different CMS into WordPress—rather than simply switching WordPress SEO plugins—I’d look at AIOSEO first, with Yoast SEO Premium as the other strong option.

My pick: All in One SEO (AIOSEO)

All in One SEO (AIOSEO)

AIOSEO is particularly convenient for migrations because it has:

• Importing of SEO titles and meta descriptions
• Redirect importing from common redirect plugins
• XML sitemaps built in
• Canonical URLs and robots directives
• Tools for managing 404s and redirects
• CSV-based sitemap importing for larger migrations
• Importers for Yoast, Rank Math and SEOPress if your old WordPress installation used one of those. wordpress.org

However, there's an important distinction: if your old CMS is something like Drupal, Joomla, Magento, Webflow, Wix, a custom CMS, etc., the plugin generally can't magically understand that CMS's database. You'll normally export the old URLs/meta data into CSV or another format and map them to the new WordPress URLs.

Yoast SEO Premium

Yoast SEO

Yoast has excellent migration tooling and supports importing metadata from a number of SEO plugins. Its Premium version also has a Redirect Manager, including CSV import/export and automatic redirects when URLs change. yoast.com

So I'd rank them:

SEOPress is also worth considering; its current migration tool can import from Yoast, Rank Math, AIOSEO and several other SEO plugins. wordpress.org

For a CMS → WordPress migration, though, the plugin is only part of the solution. The most important thing is building a URL + metadata migration map:

old URL → new URL → old title → old meta description → canonical → redirect

That lets you preserve organic traffic instead of just importing whatever metadata happens to exist.

If you tell me which CMS you're migrating from (e.g. Drupal, Joomla, Webflow, Wix, Magento, custom CMS), I can tell you the easiest exact migration approach and which plugin handles that CMS best.

If you’re migrating from a non-WordPress CMS into WordPress, I’d lean toward SEOPress for this particular job.

Best fit: SEOPress

seopress.org is particularly well suited because it combines:

• Importing existing SEO metadata — titles, meta descriptions, canonicals, robots directives, Open Graph data, etc.
• CSV import — useful when your old CMS can export URLs and metadata but doesn’t have a direct WordPress migration path. SEOPress SEOPress
• Redirect management — including CSV import, which is especially useful for a CMS-to-WordPress migration where you have an old-URL → new-URL mapping. WordPress.org
• XML sitemaps built in — so you don't need a separate sitemap plugin. WordPress.org

The important distinction is that your old CMS isn't necessarily something an SEO plugin can directly "import." If you can export your old site's metadata and redirects to CSV, SEOPress can give you a relatively clean migration path. It explicitly supports importing SEO metadata and redirects from CSV. SEOPress

What I'd use for a migration

Yoast SEO is also a strong option, particularly if you're already familiar with it. Its migration tools import metadata from numerous SEO plugins, while redirect import/export requires Premium. Yoast Yoast

For a CMS → WordPress migration, though, I'd choose SEOPress if your priority is minimizing migration plumbing and avoiding multiple plugins.

One important caveat: don't rely on the SEO plugin alone for the migration. Before launch, I'd create a complete old-URL → new-URL mapping, preserve titles/descriptions/canonicals where appropriate, implement 301s, verify the new XML sitemap, and crawl the staging site for 404s and redirect chains.

If you tell me which CMS you're migrating from (Drupal, Joomla, Webflow, Wix, Craft, custom CMS, etc.), I can tell you the simplest exact migration workflow and whether SEOPress, Yoast, or Rank Math is the better choice.

For a CMS-to-WordPress migration—where you need to preserve existing meta titles/descriptions, redirects, and XML sitemaps—I’d shortlist these:

My pick: All in One SEO (AIOSEO)

All in One SEO is probably the simplest all-around choice for a migration.

• Imports SEO titles, meta descriptions and SEO settings.
• Has a Redirection Manager and can import redirects from common redirect plugins.
• Generates and manages XML sitemaps.
• Supports importing data via CSV in some migration workflows.
• The interface is relatively migration-friendly and designed for non-technical users. wordpress.org

Important caveat: If your existing CMS isn't a WordPress SEO plugin, you'll probably want to export the old CMS's metadata/redirects to CSV, then map/import those fields rather than expecting the plugin to automatically understand the old CMS's database.

Also very good: SEOPress

SEOPress is attractive if you're doing a large/technical migration. It has titles/meta, redirects, XML sitemaps and migration tools in one plugin, and supports importing from multiple WordPress SEO plugins. wordpress.org

Yoast SEO

Yoast SEO is excellent, but I'd rank it slightly behind AIOSEO for your particular requirement. Its migration tools import metadata from many SEO plugins, while redirect importing/management is a Premium feature. It can import redirects from CSV or .htaccess. yoast.com

Rank Math

Rank Math is another strong option, particularly if you're comfortable with a more feature-heavy SEO plugin. It has migration/import tools and redirect management. rankmath.com

For an actual CMS migration, though, the plugin is only half the solution. I'd structure it as:

1. Export old CMS URLs + meta titles + meta descriptions + canonical/noindex directives.
2. Export every old URL → new URL mapping and create 301 redirects.
3. Recreate URL structures/slugs in WordPress where possible.
4. Install AIOSEO or SEOPress and import the metadata.
5. Generate the new XML sitemap.
6. Crawl the new site before launch.
7. Crawl the old URLs against the new site to verify 301 → correct destination, not 404/redirect chains.
8. Submit the new sitemap to Google Search Console after launch.

If you tell me which CMS you're migrating from (Drupal, Joomla, Webflow, Craft, Sitecore, Umbraco, custom CMS, etc.) and roughly how many URLs, I can recommend the easiest migration path and exactly how I'd import the meta + redirects + sitemap.

For a CMS → WordPress migration (not just switching WordPress SEO plugins), the easiest path is usually a combination of an SEO plugin plus a redirect importer. The best choice depends on how much of your old SEO data you can export.

Best all-around migration choice: Rank Math

rankmath.com

Why it fits migrations well:

• Imports existing SEO titles and meta descriptions from CSV or other SEO plugins.
• Has built-in redirect management and redirect import options (including CSV-based workflows). Rank Math
• Handles XML sitemaps automatically.
• Good if you are moving from a legacy CMS because you can prepare a URL → new URL redirect map before launch.

A typical migration workflow:

1. Export old CMS URLs + meta titles + meta descriptions.
2. Import content into WordPress.
3. Import SEO metadata into Rank Math (or bulk-create it).
4. Import your 301 redirect list.
5. Generate the new sitemap and submit it to Google Search Console.

Strong alternative: Yoast SEO

yoast.com

Yoast is very mature and has good migration tools. It can import SEO titles, meta descriptions, and other SEO data from many SEO plugins. Yoast Yoast Its redirect import/export features are available in Yoast SEO Premium. Yoast

If your old CMS can export a spreadsheet

I would prioritize:

1. Rank Math + CSV import workflow (often simplest)
2. Yoast SEO Premium + redirect manager
3. A dedicated redirect tool such as Redirection for very large URL maps

Important migration checks

Regardless of plugin:

• Preserve old URLs where possible.
• Create a 301 redirect for every changed URL.
• Verify canonical tags.
• Check robots/noindex settings.
• Compare old and new XML sitemaps.
• Crawl the staging site before launch.

If you tell me which CMS you are migrating from (Drupal, Joomla, Craft, Magento, custom CMS, etc.) and whether you have an export of the old meta tags + URL list, I can suggest the cleanest import path.

If you're migrating an existing site from another CMS into WordPress—rather than simply switching WordPress SEO plugins—I’d shortlist these:

Best fit: SEOPress

SEOPress migration tools

SEOPress is probably the simplest choice if your existing SEO data can be exported as CSV or you can map it from the old CMS.

It can import:

• SEO titles and meta descriptions
• Canonicals
• Robots/noindex directives
• Open Graph/social metadata
• 301/302 redirects
• Global SEO settings
• SEO metadata from CSV
• Redirects from CSV
• It generates/manages XML sitemaps

Its migration tool is explicitly designed for importing SEO data from other systems, and the free version is sufficient for the basic migration process. www.seopress.org

Also excellent: AIOSEO

All in One SEO

AIOSEO is particularly attractive if you want an all-in-one solution after migration. It has:

• SEO title/meta importers
• Redirect Manager
• XML sitemaps
• Importers for Yoast, Rank Math and SEOPress
• Redirect importers from several redirect plugins
• CSV-based sitemap management

It also has a migration-oriented setup, so it's a good choice for agencies handling multiple CMS migrations. wordpress.org

Yoast SEO

Yoast SEO migration tools

Yoast is very mature and excellent if you're coming from another WordPress SEO plugin. Its importer handles metadata from numerous SEO plugins. However, redirect importing is a Premium feature, and for a CMS-to-WordPress migration I'd lean toward SEOPress or AIOSEO if minimizing migration friction is the priority. yoast.com

My recommendation

One important distinction: the SEO plugin won't magically discover all redirects from the old CMS. Ideally, export the old CMS's URL list and create a URL mapping (old URL → new WordPress URL) before launch. Then import those redirects and verify them.

If you tell me which CMS you're migrating from (Drupal, Joomla, Webflow, Squarespace, Wix, custom CMS, etc.), I can recommend the easiest specific migration path and explain exactly how I'd handle meta tags + redirects + sitemap + canonicals.

For a CMS → WordPress migration (not just switching SEO plugins), I would prioritize a plugin that can:

1. Import existing title tags and meta descriptions
2. Import or bulk-load redirects (301s)
3. Generate/manage XML sitemaps
4. Support CSV imports if your old CMS exports SEO data

The best fits are:

1. SEOPress — probably the simplest for a CMS migration

SEOPress official website

Why it’s a strong migration choice:

• Imports SEO metadata from CSV files (useful when coming from a non-WordPress CMS)
• Imports titles, meta descriptions, canonical URLs, robots directives, Open Graph data, etc.
• Has redirect management (including CSV import/export in Pro)
• Includes XML sitemaps
• Lets you configure everything in one plugin instead of stacking SEO + redirect plugins

SEOPress specifically documents importing metadata and redirects from other SEO setups and CSV files. www.seopress.org

Best for: Drupal, Joomla, Sitecore, custom CMS, Craft CMS, Magento, or any migration where you can export a spreadsheet of URLs and metadata.

2. Rank Math — good if you want a feature-heavy SEO suite

Rank Math official website

Pros:

• Strong importer ecosystem
• Redirect manager
• XML sitemaps
• Good bulk SEO editing tools

Potential downside: It has many settings, so it can feel more complex during a migration.

3. Yoast — reliable but less migration-focused

Yoast SEO official website

Pros:

• Mature ecosystem
• Good metadata importing from other SEO plugins
• XML sitemaps built in

Potential downside: Redirect importing requires Yoast Premium, and it is more optimized for WordPress-to-WordPress SEO migrations than arbitrary CMS migrations. yoast.com

My recommendation for your scenario

For a full CMS migration into WordPress, I’d usually choose:

SEOPress + a CSV migration workflow

Typical process:

1. Export from old CMS:
   • Old URL
   • New WordPress URL
   • SEO title
   • Meta description
   • Canonical URL
   • Robots/noindex status

2. Import content into WordPress.

3. Import SEO metadata into SEOPress.

4. Import redirects:
   • /old-page/ → /new-page/

5. Generate the new XML sitemap.

6. Crawl the site with a tool like Screaming Frog or Sitebulb to verify:
   • No broken URLs
   • Redirect chains removed
   • Metadata carried over
   • Sitemap URLs return 200 status

If you tell me which CMS you are migrating from (Drupal, Joomla, HubSpot, Sitecore, Adobe Experience Manager, custom, etc.) and roughly how many URLs you have, I can suggest the cleanest migration path.

If you're migrating from a non-WordPress CMS to WordPress, I’d pick AIOSEO (All in One SEO) for the simplest overall migration workflow.

All in One SEO (AIOSEO)

My recommendation

AIOSEO has built-in importers for SEO data and can import redirects from several WordPress redirect plugins. It also generates XML sitemaps. wordpress.org

Important distinction: if you're coming from something like Drupal, Joomla, Craft, Webflow, Magento, a custom CMS, etc., the SEO plugin generally can't magically discover all the old CMS metadata and redirects. You'll want to export your old URLs/meta data into CSV and map them to the new WordPress URLs.

For example:

old URL                         new URL                         redirect
/products/widget-a              /products/widget-a             301
/about-us                       /about/                        301
/blog/old-article              /blog/new-article              301

Then import the metadata into WordPress and the redirect mapping into the SEO plugin.

A couple of good alternatives

Yoast SEO Premium is also very solid. It supports importing SEO data from numerous SEO plugins and its Premium version can import redirects from CSV or .htaccess. yoast.com

Yoast SEO

SEOPress is another good choice if you want something relatively lightweight. It supports one-click migration from Yoast, Rank Math, AIOSEO and several other SEO plugins, and includes XML sitemaps and redirections. wordpress.org

SEOPress

Bottom line: for a CMS → WordPress migration, I'd use AIOSEO Pro if the site has a significant number of old URLs and redirects. The bigger issue isn't choosing the SEO plugin—it's getting a clean old URL → new URL + meta title + meta description + canonical/noindex migration spreadsheet.

If you tell me which CMS you're migrating from (Drupal, Joomla, Webflow, Craft, etc.) and roughly how many URLs, I can recommend the simplest migration method and plugin specifically for that CMS.

For a CMS → WordPress migration, I’d shortlist Rank Math and SEOPress, with Rank Math probably the simplest all-in-one choice.

🥇 Rank Math — my first choice

Rank Math

• Imports SEO titles, meta descriptions and other SEO data from several SEO plugins during setup. rankmath.com
• Can import existing redirects from the Redirection plugin, Yoast SEO Premium, CSV, etc. rankmath.comrankmath.com
• Has built-in XML sitemaps, so you don't need a separate sitemap plugin.
• Good fit if you want SEO + redirects + sitemap in one plugin.

Important: if your old CMS isn't a WordPress SEO plugin, I'd export the old site's metadata and redirects to CSV first, then map/import them into Rank Math. Rank Math's CSV capabilities for SEO metadata/redirects are particularly useful for larger migrations. rankmath.com

🥈 SEOPress — very good for migrations

SEOPress

SEOPress specifically supports migration from Yoast, Rank Math, AIOSEO and several other SEO plugins, including importing titles, descriptions, social metadata, robots directives, canonical URLs and redirects. www.seopress.org

🥉 Yoast SEO

Yoast SEO

Yoast has strong import/export functionality and can import SEO data from several other WordPress SEO plugins. However, redirect importing is a Premium feature, including CSV, .htaccess, and supported redirect plugins. yoast.com

What I'd use for your migration

My pick: Rank Math, particularly if you're migrating hundreds/thousands of URLs. The key is to treat the migration as a URL + metadata mapping exercise, rather than simply installing an SEO plugin and hoping it discovers everything.

If you tell me which CMS you're migrating from (Drupal, Joomla, Wix, Squarespace, Magento, custom CMS, etc.) and roughly how many URLs, I can tell you the cleanest migration path and exactly how I'd handle the meta tags, 301s, canonicals, and sitemap.

If you're migrating from a non-WordPress CMS into WordPress, I’d choose All in One SEO (AIOSEO) for simplicity—especially if your existing SEO data can be exported to CSV.

My recommendation: AIOSEO

All in One SEO is a strong fit because it combines the three things you care about:

• Meta titles/descriptions: supports importing SEO titles and meta descriptions from other SEO plugins, and can bulk-import page data via CSV. wordpress.org
• Redirects: its Pro version includes a Redirection Manager and can import redirects from CSV/other redirect plugins. wordpress.org
• XML sitemaps: generates XML sitemaps automatically, including specialized sitemap types. wordpress.org

The important distinction is that you're migrating from another CMS, not merely switching WordPress SEO plugins. In that case, none of the major SEO plugins can magically extract every old CMS's metadata. The cleanest workflow is usually:

Old CMS export → CSV containing old URL + title + meta description → WordPress import → redirect mapping → AIOSEO sitemap

How I'd rank the options

Rank Math has built-in import from several SEO plugins and redirect sources, plus XML sitemaps. rankmath.com

Yoast Premium is particularly good if you already have a clean redirect CSV or .htaccess file: it can import redirects from CSV, .htaccess, and supported redirect plugins. yoast.com

One important migration tip

Don't treat the sitemap as something you need to "migrate." Generate a new sitemap in WordPress. What you really need to preserve is:

1. Old URL → new URL mapping
2. Existing title tags
3. Existing meta descriptions
4. Canonicals
5. noindex/robots directives
6. Image metadata where relevant
7. 301 redirects
8. Then submit the new XML sitemap to Google Search Console.

If you tell me which CMS you're migrating from (Drupal, Joomla, Webflow, Wix, Squarespace, Craft, custom CMS, etc.) and roughly how many URLs, I can recommend the easiest exact migration workflow and plugin.

For a CMS → WordPress migration, the simplest SEO plugin depends on where your SEO data currently lives (old CMS database, CSV export, another SEO plugin, etc.). In general, I’d shortlist these:

For your specific case (another CMS, not another WordPress SEO plugin), I would usually choose SEOPress because it handles a common migration workflow:

1. Export from the old CMS:
   • URL
   • SEO title
   • meta description
   • canonical URL
   • robots directives (index/noindex)
   • Open Graph fields (if used)
   • old URL → new URL redirect map

2. Import that data into WordPress.

3. Use the redirect manager to load your 301 map (often from CSV). www.seopress.org

4. Generate the new XML sitemap and submit it in Google Search Console.

A few migration-specific cautions:

• Do not rely only on the SEO plugin to create redirects automatically. Export the old URL list and explicitly map every changed URL.
• Preserve existing URLs where possible; changing slugs creates unnecessary ranking risk.
• Crawl the old site before migration (Screaming Frog, Sitebulb, etc.) and keep that crawl as your migration checklist.
• After launch, compare old vs new URLs and monitor 404s.

If your old CMS is something specific (Drupal, Joomla, Magento, Craft CMS, Sitecore, custom CMS, etc.) and you know how the metadata is stored/exported, the best import approach may change.

If you’re migrating from a different CMS into WordPress—not just switching WordPress SEO plugins—I’d prioritize a plugin that can handle metadata + redirects + XML sitemaps without making you rebuild everything manually.

My pick: Yoast SEO

Yoast is probably the safest, simplest choice for a typical CMS migration.

• Meta titles/descriptions: supports importing SEO metadata from many sources/plugins. yoast.comyoast.com
• Redirects: Yoast SEO Premium has redirect importing/management capabilities. yoast.comyoast.com
• XML sitemaps: built in.
• Migration workflow: mature and well documented.
• Good fit if: you want something mainstream that your team can easily maintain afterward.

Yoast SEO migration documentation

Also worth considering: SEOPress

SEOPress is particularly attractive if you want an all-in-one migration/SEO tool with redirects and sitemaps included. It supports one-click migration from Yoast, Rank Math, AIOSEO and several other SEO plugins, plus XML sitemaps and redirections. wordpress.org

SEOPress on WordPress.org

Important distinction for a CMS → WordPress migration

If your old CMS is something like Drupal, Joomla, Sitecore, Craft, Webflow, Wix, etc., the plugin usually cannot magically import all the old site's metadata and redirects. I'd handle the migration as:

1. Export old URLs + title + meta description + canonical/noindex data.
2. Map old URLs → new WordPress URLs.
3. Import the metadata into WordPress.
4. Import/create the 301 redirect map.
5. Let the SEO plugin generate the new XML sitemap.
6. Keep the old sitemap/URLs accessible long enough to validate the migration.
7. Crawl the new site and check for missing metadata, redirect chains, 404s, canonicals, and indexation problems.

If you tell me which CMS you're migrating from (e.g. Drupal, Joomla, Sitecore, Webflow), I can recommend the easiest plugin/workflow specifically for that migration and explain how to import the existing meta tags and redirects.

If you're migrating from another CMS into WordPress—rather than simply switching WordPress SEO plugins—I’d lean toward SEOPress.

My pick: SEOPress

SEOPress is particularly convenient for migrations because it can handle:

• SEO titles & meta descriptions — import from CSV or other SEO systems.
• Redirects — import redirect mappings from CSV and several WordPress redirect/SEO plugins.
• XML sitemaps — generates your new WordPress XML sitemaps.
• Canonicals, robots directives, Open Graph data, etc.
• Bulk metadata management — useful if you have a large CMS export. www.seopress.org

SEOPress migration documentation

How I'd approach the migration

I'd separate the migration into three datasets:

Important: don't try to "import" the old sitemap as the new sitemap. Your sitemap should be regenerated from the new WordPress URLs. The critical migration asset is the old → new URL redirect map.

If you're coming from a non-WordPress CMS (Drupal, Joomla, Sitecore, Craft, a custom CMS, etc.), SEOPress's CSV import capability is especially useful because you can transform your existing SEO export into the fields WordPress needs. www.seopress.org

Other good choices

Rank Math — strong option if you want redirects, sitemap generation and a broad feature set in one plugin. It also has migration/import functionality, including importing redirects from the WordPress Redirection plugin. rankmath.com

Yoast SEO — probably the safest choice if your team already knows Yoast. Its migration tools are good for importing SEO metadata from other WordPress SEO plugins, but for a CMS-to-WordPress migration I'd find SEOPress's CSV-oriented workflow more convenient. yoast.com

Bottom line: for a CMS → WordPress migration where you already have an export of URLs/meta/redirects, I'd choose SEOPress. It lets you consolidate metadata, redirects, and sitemap functionality rather than maintaining several migration-specific plugins. wordpress.org

If you tell me which CMS you're migrating from (Drupal, Joomla, Sitecore, HubSpot, Webflow, custom, etc.), I can give you the exact migration workflow and CSV structure I'd use.

Yes. For a CMS → WordPress migration, I’d prioritize an SEO plugin that can handle three things cleanly: existing title/meta data, 301 redirects, and XML sitemaps.

My pick: Rank Math

Rank Math is probably the simplest all-in-one choice for this particular migration.

• Meta titles & descriptions: its migration tools can import SEO data from other major SEO plugins, including Yoast. rankmath.com
• Redirects: it can import redirects from CSV, Yoast SEO Premium, and other redirect plugins. rankmath.com
• Sitemaps: generates XML sitemaps automatically, so you don't need to manually recreate the sitemap structure.
• One plugin: redirects, SEO metadata, sitemap, canonical controls, robots directives, schema, etc., can live in one place.

Another strong option: AIOSEO

All in One SEO is particularly attractive if your old site is already using Yoast, Rank Math, or SEOPress. Its importer brings over titles, meta descriptions, schema settings and social metadata, and its Redirection Manager can import redirects from several redirect plugins. aioseo.com

The catch is that redirect management is a Pro feature, whereas Rank Math includes its redirect functionality more readily.

What I'd use for a CMS migration

Yoast can also import SEO data and, in Premium, redirects from plugins, CSV, or .htaccess. yoast.com

One important distinction: if by "another CMS" you mean Drupal, Joomla, Webflow, Craft, HubSpot, a custom CMS, etc., rather than another WordPress SEO plugin, the answer changes. Most SEO plugins don't have a magic importer for arbitrary CMS databases. In that case I'd migrate the SEO data via CSV/database mapping, then import the redirects.

If you tell me which CMS you're migrating from and roughly how many URLs (e.g. 500, 10k, 100k), I can recommend the cleanest migration workflow and tell you exactly which plugin I'd use.

If you're migrating from a non-WordPress CMS to WordPress, I'd shortlist these:

1. AIOSEO (All in One SEO) — probably the easiest overall
   • Import existing SEO titles and meta descriptions if you can export them to a compatible format.
   • Has XML sitemaps built in.
   • Its Redirection Manager can handle/import redirects from several redirect plugins. aioseo.com
   • Good choice if you want a relatively straightforward migration workflow.

2. Rank Math — best if redirects are a major part of the migration
   • Built-in redirects, XML sitemaps, canonical/meta controls, schema, etc.
   • Particularly convenient if you have a large URL mapping to preserve.
   • Its migration tools are especially well developed for moving between SEO plugins, rather than directly from an arbitrary CMS. rankmath.com

3. Yoast SEO — safest conservative choice
   • Excellent if your old CMS can export SEO data to CSV/database fields that you can map into WordPress.
   • Yoast has strong import/export functionality and, with Premium, redirect importing from CSV or .htaccess. yoast.com

For your specific migration

If your old CMS has thousands of existing URLs, I'd lean toward AIOSEO or Rank Math rather than choosing based purely on meta-tag features.

The important distinction is that no SEO plugin can magically import arbitrary metadata from every CMS. The easiest migration is usually:

Old CMS export
→ URL + SEO title + meta description + canonical + robots + old URL
→ CSV/database import into WordPress
→ SEO plugin manages the resulting metadata
→ redirect map handles changed URLs
→ new XML sitemap gets submitted to Google.

If you tell me which CMS you're migrating from (Drupal, Joomla, Webflow, Squarespace, Craft, custom CMS, etc.) and roughly how many URLs, I can recommend the simplest migration stack and the exact import process.

For a CMS → WordPress migration where preserving existing SEO data is the priority, I would shortlist these:

1. SEOPress — usually the easiest migration-focused choice

Best fit if you are importing:

• existing title tags
• meta descriptions
• Open Graph/social metadata
• canonical URLs
• robots directives
• redirects
• XML sitemaps (after migration)

SEOPress has import tools for metadata from CSV files and from several SEO plugins, and it includes redirect management and XML sitemaps. www.seopress.org Its migration tooling is particularly strong if your old CMS can export SEO fields into a CSV. www.seopress.org

2. Rank Math SEO — good all-in-one option

A good choice if you want:

• SEO metadata import
• redirects
• sitemaps
• schema support
• fewer separate plugins

It is popular for migrations from other WordPress SEO plugins, but for a non-WordPress CMS migration, you will usually still need a CSV import workflow or custom mapping. www.reddit.com

3. Yoast SEO — safest mainstream choice

Good documentation and a large ecosystem, but I would not pick it specifically because of migration flexibility. It is often easier when migrating from another SEO plugin inside WordPress than from a completely different CMS. www.seopress.org

My recommendation for a CMS migration

If your current CMS can export SEO fields:

1. Export:
   • URL
   • page title
   • meta description
   • canonical URL
   • robots/noindex status
   • old URL → new URL redirects
2. Import content into WordPress.
3. Use SEOPress to import metadata and redirects from CSV. www.seopress.org
4. Generate the new sitemap.
5. Compare old vs. new URLs before launch.

For a large site (thousands of URLs), the most important feature is not the SEO plugin itself—it is having a clean URL redirect map and a reliable metadata import process.

If you tell me which CMS you are migrating from (Drupal, Joomla, Magento, Craft, Sitecore, Webflow, custom CMS, etc.) and roughly how many URLs, I can suggest the smoothest migration path.

If your main goal is making a CMS → WordPress migration as painless as possible for existing SEO data, I’d shortlist:

1. Yoast SEO — mature migration/import tooling, redirects, XML sitemaps, and broad compatibility. Good default for a conventional migration.
2. Rank Math — particularly convenient if you need to import SEO titles/descriptions and manage redirects in one place. Its redirection and sitemap features are built in.
3. All in One SEO — strong migration/import capabilities and a relatively straightforward interface, especially for larger sites.

My pick: Rank Math if you're doing a migration and want the fewest separate tools. It combines meta-data management, redirects, XML sitemaps, and import/export functionality.

The important caveat is that the best plugin depends on the CMS you're migrating from. If you tell me whether it's Drupal, Joomla, Shopify, Wix, Squarespace, Webflow, a custom CMS, etc., I can tell you which plugin has the easiest direct import path and how I'd handle the URL/redirect migration.

If you're migrating from a non-WordPress CMS to WordPress, I’d shortlist these:

My recommendation: AIOSEO

AIOSEO official site is probably the simplest choice if you're moving from a different CMS, rather than merely switching WordPress SEO plugins.

It handles SEO titles/meta descriptions, generates XML sitemaps, and its Redirect Manager can import redirects. It also has import tools for data from other SEO plugins. aioseo.com

One important distinction: none of these plugins can magically know the old CMS's metadata/redirects unless you can export the old site's data. For a real CMS-to-WordPress migration, I'd do:

1. Export old URLs + title tags + meta descriptions from the old CMS.
2. Build a URL mapping of old URL → new WordPress URL.
3. Import the metadata into WordPress.
4. Import/create the 301 redirects.
5. Let the SEO plugin generate the new XML sitemap.
6. Submit the new sitemap in Google Search Console.
7. Crawl the new site and verify that old URLs return the expected 301s.

If you have hundreds/thousands of old URLs, I'd lean toward AIOSEO or Yoast Premium rather than trying to manage redirects manually. Yoast Premium specifically supports importing redirects from other redirect plugins, CSV, and .htaccess. yoast.com

If you tell me which CMS you're migrating from (Drupal, Joomla, Webflow, Squarespace, custom CMS, etc.) and roughly how many URLs, I can recommend the easiest migration path and exactly how I'd import the metadata + redirects.

For a CMS → WordPress migration, I would prioritize a plugin that can handle:

1. importing existing SEO titles/meta descriptions
2. preserving canonical/noindex data
3. importing old URL redirects (301s)
4. generating and managing XML sitemaps
5. allowing bulk import (CSV is a big plus)

The best fits are:

My pick for a CMS migration:
➡️ SEOPress if you are moving from a non-WordPress CMS and have an export of your old metadata. Its CSV import workflow and migration tools make it a good fit for a one-time content migration. www.seopress.org

A typical migration workflow would be:

1. Export from old CMS:
   • URL
   • SEO title
   • meta description
   • canonical URL
   • robots directives
   • old URL → new URL redirect map

2. Import content into WordPress.

3. Install SEO plugin.

4. Import SEO fields and redirects.

5. Generate new sitemap.

6. Crawl the new site with a tool like Screaming Frog/Sitebulb and check:
   • old URLs return 301s
   • no important pages became noindex
   • titles/descriptions match
   • sitemap contains only canonical URLs

One important caveat: most SEO plugins do not magically understand arbitrary CMS metadata fields. If your current CMS stores SEO data in custom fields, the easiest path is often exporting a CSV and mapping those columns into WordPress/your SEO plugin.

If you tell me which CMS you are migrating from (Drupal, Joomla, Craft, Sitecore, HubSpot, custom CMS, etc.) and roughly how many URLs, I can suggest the cleanest import path.

If you're migrating from another CMS to WordPress, the easiest SEO plugin depends on what you're importing from, but a few stand out for migration support.

My recommendation: Rank Math

Rank Math

For most CMS migrations, Rank Math provides the smoothest experience because it offers:

• Import wizard for data from many SEO plugins (Yoast, AIOSEO, SEOPress, etc.).
• Easy CSV import for 301 redirects.
• Built-in XML sitemap generation.
• Support for custom meta titles, descriptions, robots settings, and schema.
• Redirection manager included without requiring a premium version.

If your old CMS can export SEO metadata to CSV or XML, importing into WordPress is usually straightforward.

If your old CMS isn't WordPress

The migration process typically looks like this:

1. Export:
   • URLs
   • SEO titles
   • Meta descriptions
   • Canonical URLs
   • Robots directives
   • Redirect list
2. Import the content into WordPress.
3. Import SEO metadata (using the plugin's importer, CSV importer, or a migration plugin).
4. Import redirects.
5. Generate a new XML sitemap.
6. Submit the new sitemap to search engines.

Redirects

Regardless of the SEO plugin, preserving redirects is critical.

Ideally, you should import all existing:

• 301 redirects
• Canonical URL changes
• Old URL → new URL mappings

Both Rank Math and AIOSEO have built-in redirect managers, while Yoast requires its Premium edition for redirect management.

Sitemaps

All four plugins automatically generate XML sitemaps, so you generally don't need to import your old sitemap. After the migration, generate a fresh sitemap reflecting the new WordPress URLs and submit it in search engine webmaster tools.

If you're migrating from a specific CMS

The best approach varies depending on the source platform. For example:

• Drupal
• Joomla
• Magento
• Sitecore
• HubSpot CMS
• Kentico
• Umbraco
• Craft CMS
• Adobe Experience Manager
• A custom CMS

If you tell me which CMS you're migrating from, I can recommend the simplest migration workflow and whether there are existing import tools that preserve SEO metadata automatically.

If you're migrating from another CMS to WordPress, the easiest SEO plugin depends on how much existing SEO data you want to preserve and whether your old CMS can export it.

Here's how the major options compare:

My recommendation

Option 1: All in One SEO (Best for most migrations)

AIOSEO is particularly migration-friendly because it supports:

• importing SEO metadata from other plugins
• importing custom fields
• CSV imports
• automatic sitemap generation
• redirect management
• schema support
• robots.txt editor

If your old CMS can export:

• page URL
• SEO title
• meta description
• canonical URL
• robots directives

AIOSEO can usually import them with little custom work.

Option 2: Rank Math (Best value)

Rank Math includes many features in the free version:

• redirect manager
• sitemap
• schema
• metadata import
• migration wizard from Yoast, AIOSEO, SEOPress, etc.

If you're migrating from another WordPress SEO plugin, Rank Math is one of the easiest.

For redirects

The SEO plugin isn't always the best place to manage thousands of redirects.

For large migrations (500–100,000 URLs):

• use server-level redirects (.htaccess or Nginx)
• or import CSV redirects into Rank Math/AIOSEO
• keep the redirect map separate from SEO metadata

This performs better and is easier to maintain.

For meta tags

If your old CMS exports something like:

URL
Title
Meta Description
Canonical
Robots
Open Graph Title
Open Graph Description

you can import these using:

• CSV Importer
• WP All Import (with ACF/custom fields if needed)
• built-in import tools

rather than entering them manually.

Sitemaps

All major SEO plugins automatically generate:

• XML sitemap
• Image sitemap
• News sitemap (some plugins)
• Video sitemap (some plugins)

After migration, you simply submit the new sitemap to Google Search Console.

If you're migrating from a non-WordPress CMS

If you're moving from platforms like Sitecore, Drupal, Joomla, Umbraco, Kentico, or a custom CMS, a typical migration workflow is:

1. Import pages into WordPress.
2. Import SEO metadata via CSV or custom fields.
3. Import the redirect map (301 redirects).
4. Install AIOSEO or Rank Math.
5. Generate a fresh XML sitemap.
6. Submit the sitemap to Google Search Console.
7. Crawl the site to verify titles, canonicals, robots tags, and redirects.

This approach preserves the most SEO value while minimizing manual work.

If you can share which CMS you're migrating from (e.g., Drupal, Sitecore, Joomla, Adobe Experience Manager, Umbraco, or a custom CMS), I can recommend the smoothest import process and the plugins or tools that work best for that specific platform.

For a CMS → WordPress migration, the SEO plugin choice depends on where your existing SEO data lives (old CMS export, database fields, CSV, another SEO plugin, etc.). The plugins that generally make this easiest are:

www.seopress.orgyoast.com

My recommendation for a CMS migration (not just switching WordPress plugins): use SEOPress or Rank Math.

• Choose SEOPress if you have exported metadata from the old CMS (CSV/XML/database dump). It has a straightforward import workflow and supports importing metadata and redirects from CSV or other SEO systems. www.seopress.org
• Choose Rank Math if you want an all-in-one SEO stack after migration (SEO fields, redirects, schema, sitemap management).
• Choose Yoast if your team already knows it and the migration is mostly from another SEO plugin rather than a different CMS. Yoast has migration tools for many SEO plugins, but some redirect features require Premium. yoast.com

For a clean migration, I’d usually do this:

1. Export from the old CMS:
   • URL
   • SEO title
   • meta description
   • canonical URL
   • robots/noindex settings
   • old URL → new URL redirect map
   • image alt text (if important)

2. Import content into WordPress.

3. Import SEO metadata into your SEO plugin.

4. Import redirects.

5. Generate the new XML sitemap and submit it in Google Search Console.

One important point: don’t rely on the SEO plugin alone to “discover” old URLs. Preserve your old URL structure where possible, and maintain a redirect map for every changed URL.

If you tell me which CMS you are migrating from (Drupal, Joomla, Sitecore, Magento, custom CMS, etc.) and whether you have a CSV export, I can suggest the smoothest migration path.

For a CMS → WordPress migration, the easiest SEO plugin depends on where your existing SEO data lives (database fields, CSV export, old plugin, etc.). For most migrations, I’d shortlist these:

yoast.comrankmath.com

My recommendation for a CMS migration:

1. If you can export your old CMS SEO fields (title tags, meta descriptions, canonical URLs, robots settings) to CSV:

Use Rank Math or Yoast + a migration/import process. You’ll have the most control.

2. If you have thousands of existing URLs and need redirects:

Consider Rank Math or Yoast SEO Premium because redirect management is integrated. Yoast Premium supports importing redirects from CSV and other redirect sources. yoast.com Rank Math also supports importing redirects from CSV and other redirect plugins. yoast.comrankmath.com

3. If the old CMS already has an SEO plugin equivalent:

Check whether your chosen plugin has a direct importer. For example, Yoast supports importing SEO data from several SEO plugins, preserving items such as SEO titles and meta descriptions. yoast.com

A typical migration workflow I’d use:

1. Crawl the old site and export:
   • URL list
   • title tags
   • meta descriptions
   • canonical URLs
   • noindex rules
   • XML sitemap URLs
   • existing redirects

2. Import content into WordPress.

3. Import SEO metadata into the SEO plugin.

4. Load old URL → new URL redirects.

5. Generate the new WordPress XML sitemap.

6. Compare old vs. new crawl before launch.

For a large migration (10k+ URLs), I would not rely only on an SEO plugin importer—use a crawl/export tool as the source of truth and import the data into WordPress custom fields or the SEO plugin.

If you tell me which CMS you are migrating from (Drupal, Joomla, Sitecore, Craft, Magento, custom CMS, etc.) and roughly how many URLs, I can suggest the cleanest migration path.