DNN to Oqtane Migration for Leading U.S. Life and Health Insurance Provider

Background

The client was using DNN as the CMS for their flagship website, which had grown complex over the years, with hundreds of pages and thousands of modules. The platform’s outdated infrastructure caused frequent instabilities, and customizations made it impossible to upgrade, exposing the system to security vulnerabilities.

As a result, due to persistent site fluctuation, legacy constraints preventing DNN upgrades, and critical security vulnerabilities, the client decided to modernize their website by migrating to Oqtane. They needed to do this while transitioning to a cloud-based infrastructure on Microsoft Azure for scalability and cost efficiency.

Task

Our overarching requirement for the migration was to create an exact replica of the existing site – i.e., transition all of the content and assets to the new CMS. We had to do this without disrupting the user experience.

A critical part of the process involved updating all hyperlinks and links to resources, such as images and artifacts. As the migration led to new URL addresses for many pages, ensuring all links remained functional was a complex task.

In essence, we had to migrate all content and eliminate legacy issues while maintaining the integrity of design, functionality, and workflows.

Challenge 2: Lack of search engine

As was already said, the client’s site contained hundreds of pages of blogs and articles. Consequently, a reliable search engine was essential for users to quickly locate content.

The existing DNN site had a search capability, but Oqtane did not yet have this functionality natively (as it was still on the platform roadmap). The challenge was to create a search solution that matched the DNN engine’s capabilities while improving upon its limitations.

At the same time, building a new search engine required not only replicating the core functionality but also ensuring compatibility with Oqtane’s architecture. Not to mention that it needed to handle the large volume of content efficiently and integrate seamlessly into the site without performance issues.

Our solution

We designed and implemented a powerful search engine for Oqtane, drawing inspiration from the DNN search engine but enhancing it to meet modern standards.

The new search engine was extensible, faster, and aligned with Oqtane's product philosophy. As part of the 5.2.0 release, this feature became a significant improvement for both the client’s website and the Oqtane platform itself.

Challenge 3: Outdated design theme

The DNN site used the “Porto” theme by Mandeeps, a popular skin based on Bootstrap 4.4.1, a version released over six years ago. The theme was no longer compatible with modern web standards. It was difficult to maintain and optimize for performance. Moreover, the outdated Bootstrap version limited the site's scalability and ability to incorporate newer features.

Migrating to Oqtane introduced the opportunity to modernize the design, but retaining the existing theme would have meant dealing with bloated, unnecessary features from the latest Porto version. This complexity risked slowing down the site and adding extra development effort.

Our solution

We developed a custom Oqtane theme using the latest Bootstrap version (5.3.3).

This approach ensured the theme was lightweight, aligned with modern web standards, and fully customized to reflect the client's branding and color palette. The new theme improved performance and reduced complexity, offering a clean foundation for future enhancements.

Challenge 4: Complex and custom data entry forms

The DNN site featured numerous custom data entry forms built with a third-party DNN module. These forms were deeply integrated into the site’s workflows, handling critical functions like file uploads with specific validation and approval processes. Since Oqtane and DNN use entirely different tech stacks, to migrate these forms, we needed to find or create equivalent solutions in Oqtane.

The added challenge was that some functionalities in the DNN forms were highly specialized and not readily available in any existing Oqtane modules. Without a reliable solution, the client risked losing key business workflows during migration.

Our solution

The client wanted to retain the ability to maintain their own custom forms, so we initially considered using the DynamicForms module for Oqtane by Studio-Elf. DynamicForms is a commercial form builder module and has a lot of capabilities, however it was missing some features which the client was depending on. Studio-Elf enhanced their module to replicate the missing features from the DNN forms module. Later during user acceptance testing, the client decided that they would instead prefer to use HubSpot for these forms so we created a simple Oqtane integration to meet their needs.

For unique workflows, such as the custom file upload process, we developed a new Oqtane module tailored to the client’s needs. These modules also incorporated business automation enhancements, streamlining operations and reducing manual effort for end-users.