An old website has invisible residents: links in chats, bookmarks, search results, and images in other people’s publications. The owner looks at the homepage. The rest of the internet enters through hundreds of other doors.
I treated the LiveDXB migration as work on those doors. A new Astro template can be ready quickly, but that does not mean the website has moved. Content, address, language, and images must stay connected, and old addresses need to know where to go.
The “LiveDXB — opening screen” view preserves the project’s actual materials and design.
LiveDXB — opening screen
Archived interface · demo data
The CMS and public website gained different responsibilities
Ghost belonged to the earlier stage. In the current architecture checked for this case, LiveDXB’s editorial source is EmDash: published revisions, a shared content structure, and language versions. Astro builds the public pages. Running the editor and serving a finished article no longer need to be the same operation.
The “LiveDXB — inner section” view preserves the project’s actual materials and design.
LiveDXB — inner section
Archived interface · demo data
This distinction is clearest with drafts. A record can exist in a database and remain unfinished. Its mere existence does not entitle it to appear in search, a feed, or a public page. Publication needs the published version.
LiveDXB — contact section
Archived interface · demo data
The seven languages share a block order with localised text. A photograph and an article section must not swap places merely because a translator is working on English. But a language existing in the model does not mean every material has already been translated and editorially accepted.
There is no single magic migration check
A redirect checks an address. Viewing a page checks its layout. Comparing content checks that the material survived. Checking images covers another part of the move. A green build status replaces none of these.
I do not promise that switching from Ghost to Astro itself improves search rankings. A move can damage what already worked; avoiding that comes first. Fast HTML is useful, but it cannot compensate for a missing article.
Old project reports contain precise route and redirect counts. They are snapshots of particular releases. Treating them as permanent website characteristics in today’s account would be another way to lose touch with reality.
In this project, I moved LiveDXB’s public presentation while retaining its connection to accumulated content and addresses. The CMS and static-page arrangement described belongs to that migration stage. Current route counts and later changes need their own dated snapshot.
Related stories: A shared platform for three websites · The Nevsky.ae story · LiveDXB Analytics.
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