Gatsby to Webflow:
step-by-step guide

What this Gatsby to Webflow migration guide covers

This guide covers the full process of migrating from a Gatsby-powered site to Webflow — from auditing your existing setup to launching and monitoring the new platform.

Who this guide is for

This guide is for teams and organizations that have built on Gatsby and are ready to move to a platform that gives non-technical stakeholders more control, without sacrificing front-end quality.

When migrating from Gatsby to Webflow makes sense

Gatsby is a powerful static site generator, but it's fundamentally a developer tool. Migrating to Webflow makes sense when you want to:

• Move from a developer-only workflow to one the whole team can participate in
• Replace a headless CMS setup with a fully integrated visual platform
• Eliminate build pipeline complexity and deploy faster
• Give marketing teams direct control over content without developer involvement
• Simplify your stack without sacrificing performance

What's included in this guide

Besides the migration steps, this guide also covers pre-migration preparation, design rebuild considerations, common mistakes, and timeline estimates based on site complexity.

Step-by-step: How to migrate from Gatsby to Webflow

Moving from Gatsby to Webflow means transitioning from a developer-first static framework to a fully integrated visual platform. Our 8-step process is designed to handle the technical complexity of that shift while protecting your SEO and content throughout.

Step 1 – Audit your existing Gatsby site

Gatsby sites vary significantly in complexity depending on how they're built and what CMS they're connected to. A thorough audit gives you the full picture before you start planning the migration.

• Map all pages and templates: List every static page and dynamic route in your Gatsby site. Include URLs, content types, and the data source for each — whether that's a headless CMS, markdown files, or a GraphQL API.
• Identify CMS connections: Document which headless CMS or data sources Gatsby is pulling from (Contentful, Sanity, Markdown, etc.), as this affects how content will be extracted and restructured for Webflow.
• Flag high-value content: Use Google Analytics and Google Search Console to prioritize high-traffic pages and content with strong backlink profiles.
• Audit custom functionality: Note any Gatsby plugins, custom React components, or GraphQL queries that handle functionality you'll need to replicate or replace in Webflow.
• Review URL structures: Export all URLs and assess what's clean enough to carry over versus what should be restructured during the migration.

Step 2 – Define your Webflow site architecture

Gatsby's component-based, GraphQL-driven architecture doesn't map directly to Webflow, so this step is about translating your existing structure into Webflow's model.

• Convert Gatsby templates to Webflow pages: Static pages in Gatsby become static pages in Webflow. Dynamic page templates driven by GraphQL queries should become Webflow CMS Collection Templates.
• Define CMS Collections: For each dynamic content type — blog posts, case studies, product pages — plan out the Webflow CMS Collection structure and fields.
• Replace GraphQL relationships: Gatsby's GraphQL data layer allows complex content relationships. Recreate these using Webflow's Reference and Multi-Reference fields.
• Simplify URL structures: Use this opportunity to clean up any URL patterns that were overly complex or inconsistent in the Gatsby setup.
• Decide what to retire: Identify pages or content that are outdated or low-value and leave them behind rather than migrating everything by default.

Step 3 – Map SEO, URLs, and redirects

Gatsby's URL structure is determined by file paths or programmatic routing. Moving to Webflow's slug-based system means careful mapping is essential to avoid broken links and ranking losses.

• Export all Gatsby URLs: Use Screaming Frog or a similar tool to crawl and export a complete URL list from your current Gatsby site.
• Map old paths to new Webflow slugs: Document every URL change and match it to the new Webflow destination. Flag structural changes that require special attention.
• Transfer SEO metadata: Extract page titles, meta descriptions, alt texts, and canonical tags from your current setup and prepare them for Webflow's SEO fields or CMS Collection fields.
• Configure 301 redirects: Set up redirects in Webflow for every URL that's changing. Use Webflow's bulk redirect import to handle large volumes efficiently.

Step 4 – Rebuild design and layout in Webflow

Gatsby's front-end is built with React components and CSS-in-JS or module CSS. In Webflow, you'll be recreating those layouts visually using the Designer. Approach this systematically.

Begin by establishing a design system in Webflow. Define color variables, typography scales, and spacing values globally before building individual pages. Create reusable components — buttons, cards, nav, footer — that mirror the component library from your Gatsby build.

Rebuild page templates responsively from the start. Webflow's breakpoint-based system is powerful, but it requires deliberate setup at each breakpoint rather than inheriting styles automatically.

Avoid importing complex animations or interactions from the Gatsby site until the core layouts are stable. Build the structure first, then layer in interactivity once the foundation is solid.

Step 5 – Migrate content and CMS data

Content migration from Gatsby depends heavily on where your data lives. Markdown-based content and headless CMS data both require different extraction approaches.

• Extract from your data source: If your Gatsby site pulls from a headless CMS like Contentful or Sanity, use that platform's export tools to generate CSV files. For markdown-based content, use scripts to parse and convert frontmatter and body content into CSV format.
• Clean and reformat for Webflow: Webflow's CSV import has specific field requirements. Restructure your exported data to match Webflow's expected format, paying attention to rich text, image URLs, and reference fields.
• Handle media assets: Images hosted externally can be referenced by URL in the CSV import. Locally hosted assets will need to be uploaded to Webflow's Asset Manager manually.
• Import and validate: Import CSV files into Webflow CMS Collections and spot-check a sample of items from each collection to verify accuracy before moving on.

Step 6 – Reconnect integrations and scripts

Gatsby sites often use custom API integrations, third-party services, and serverless functions for forms and dynamic features. These all need to be rebuilt or replaced in Webflow.

Start with forms. Rebuild any contact or lead capture forms using Webflow's Form Builder. Reconnect them to downstream tools like HubSpot, Mailchimp, or Salesforce, and test submissions end-to-end before launch.

Re-add analytics and tracking via Webflow's Project Settings. This covers Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, Meta Pixel, Hotjar, and similar tools. For page-specific tracking, use Page Settings.

For custom Gatsby functionality that doesn't have a direct Webflow equivalent — serverless functions, complex API calls, or custom React components — evaluate whether it can be replicated with Webflow's custom code embed, third-party tools, or automation platforms like Zapier.

Step 7 – QA, performance, and SEO validation

Gatsby is known for strong performance out of the box. Webflow can match or exceed those results, but only if the build is clean. Validate thoroughly before launch.

• Visual and layout review: Compare every page against its Gatsby counterpart across all breakpoints. Check for spacing inconsistencies, font rendering differences, and image sizing issues.
• CMS content checks: Sample items from each CMS Collection to confirm field accuracy, correct image display, and working internal links.
• Performance benchmarking: Run PageSpeed Insights, Lighthouse, and GTmetrix on key pages. Gatsby sites often have high performance baselines — confirm Webflow matches them before going live.
• Redirect verification: Crawl old Gatsby URLs and verify that every changed path returns a 301 redirect to the correct new destination.
• SEO audit: Check page titles, meta descriptions, heading hierarchies, canonical tags, and sitemap completeness.

Step 8 – Launch and post-launch monitoring

When the build and QA are complete, point your domain to Webflow, publish the site, and submit the updated sitemap to Google Search Console immediately. This initiates re-indexing and gives you visibility into how Google is crawling the new site.

Monitor the following in the weeks after launch:

• Search Console reports: Watch for crawl errors, indexing issues, and any pages failing to resolve correctly.
• Traffic and ranking trends: Some volatility is expected post-migration. Sustained drops after the initial settling period point to a specific issue worth investigating.
• Core Web Vitals in the field: Webflow's lab scores are a good indicator, but monitor real-world CWV data in Search Console to confirm performance in production.

{{cta}}