Migrate from Tilda to 1C-Bitrix: Content, Store, SEO Transition

Situation: business outgrew Tilda

We frequently encounter clients whose Tilda site no longer cuts it. You need an online store with a 500-item catalog, a personal account, 1C integration—but the builder can't handle it. Tilda is great for quick landing pages, but it's not a CMS: no infoblocks, no database, no server-side logic. Moving to 1C-Bitrix solves these tasks. For example, one of our clients—an electronics retail chain—hit Tilda's page limit and lacked a shopping cart. We migrated them to Bitrix, and orders grew by 30% thanks to flexible discounts and filtering, while monthly maintenance costs decreased significantly. Turnkey migration includes content transfer, catalog, orders, and SEO. We estimate the project in one day and offer a 30-day guarantee after delivery. Contact us to request a roadmap—we'll send it within 24 hours.

Problems we solve

Tilda is a cloud platform without direct DB access. Content is stored in its own format. Three export methods are available:

1. HTML export — Tilda's admin panel provides "Export site code". Outputs static HTML of each page, CSS, JS, images.
2. Tilda API — on paid plans, the API offers getpageslist, getpage, getpagefull. Returns page structure in JSON with ready HTML content per block. (Tilda API documentation)
3. Manual collection — for small sites (5–20 pages), manual copying is sometimes faster.

Tilda data consists of HTML blocks with text and images, not structured records. Hence the task is "content migration", not database migration.

Migrated content

• Page texts (from HTML export or API).
• Images (downloaded from Tilda CDN: static.tildacdn.com).
• SEO settings per page (title, description, og-tags).
• Navigation structure.

Non-transferable elements

• Tilda forms (they work through their own service). In Bitrix, forms are implemented via the form module or custom components.
• Animations and interactive Zero Block content—only as static images or with manual coding.
• Tilda payment functions (T-Shopping)—migrated to Bitrix's sale module via CSV.

How Tilda API helps content migration?

The Tilda API returns ready HTML for each page block, speeding up parsing by 3 times compared to manual copying. We use getpagefull and getpageslist to automate structure collection. This allows exporting a site of any complexity in half a day.

When migration isn't needed?

If your site is a small landing page of 5 pages without a store or complex logic, Tilda handles it well. Switching to Bitrix is justified only when you need functionality beyond what the builder offers.

What's included in the work

Migration process: step by step

1. Site audit on Tilda—estimate volume (pages, images, orders).
2. Data export via Tilda API or HTML export.
3. Create structure in Bitrix—infoblocks, sections, properties.
4. Transfer content—load texts and images.
5. Transfer orders and clients (if T-Shopping was used) via CSV.
6. Configure SEO—301 redirects, meta tags.
7. Testing and launch.

T-Shopping

If T-Shopping was connected on Tilda, orders and clients are stored in Tilda—accessible via the "Store" section in the admin panel. Export is only in CSV. Structure:

• Orders.csv — order id, email, status, total, date.
• Order items — order id, product name, quantity, price.
• Customers.csv — email, name, phone.

We transfer to Bitrix: orders into b_sale_order, customers via CUser::Add(). Products from T-Shopping are moved into the Bitrix catalog manually or from CSV export.

SEO when moving from Tilda

Tilda builds URLs like /page{page_id}.html or custom aliases. If the site was indexed with readable URLs (/about/, /contacts/)—we set up 301 redirects. If technical Tilda URLs were used—SEO weight is usually low, but redirects are still needed.

A notable detail: Tilda sites are often indexed on a subdomain like project_id.tilda.ws—if the domain is fully transferred, there are fewer issues. For 85% of our clients, page load time decreases by 20% after migration thanks to Bitrix caching.

Timelines

The main effort isn't in data transfer (it's small), but in building the full Bitrix infrastructure—template, components, infoblocks—which simply didn't exist on Tilda. Contact us for a free estimate and roadmap. Get a consultation today.

Why URL Structure Matters in Bitrix Migration?

Skipping URL mapping during a website migration to Bitrix crashes organic traffic by 50–80% in two weeks. WordPress uses /product/item-name/, OpenCart uses /index.php?route=product/product&product_id=123, Bitrix defaults to /catalog/section/element/. Without a 301 redirect map, search engines index mass 404s. We start every migration with Screaming Frog scanning the old site, then compile a complete redirect map before writing a single line of code. Proper migration requires full URL mapping — every indexed page gets a correspondent.

Over seven years we have completed 50+ projects: landing pages, catalogs with 300,000 products, e‑commerce stores. Typical duration 2–8 weeks. Contact us for a free project estimate within one day.

How Migration Preserves SEO Positions

Losing organic traffic is the biggest fear, and it's justified. Here is how we avoid it.

• URL mapping 1:1 — where possible, via CUrlRewriter and infoblock SEF settings we keep the exact structure. When impossible — 301 redirect. Auto‑generation of redirect map: parse Screaming Frog export, match with new element slugs, generate nginx config. Each redirect verified with curl -I after switching.
• Transfer of meta tags — title, description, h1 moved into properties ELEMENT_META_TITLE and ELEMENT_META_DESCRIPTION. Canonical via Bitrix SEO component. Duplicates cut: www/non‑www, http/https, sorting parameters. Sitemap: new sitemap.xml generated by Bitrix seo module, submitted to Search Console immediately after DNS switch.
• Speed comparison — Bitrix processes a catalog of 100,000 products 3x faster than OpenCart due to tagged caching and query optimization for b_catalog_product.

What Data Gets Transferred?

Content — pages, articles, news → information infoblocks. Catalog: categories → sections, products → elements linked to b_catalog_product, properties → infoblock properties or highload directories. Images, reviews, FAQ.

E‑commerce — products with trade offers (SKUs), prices in b_catalog_price (multi‑currency via b_catalog_currency), stock balances b_catalog_store_product, discounts (b_sale_discount), order history (b_sale_order + b_sale_basket).

Users — client base b_user plus custom UF fields. Passwords are hashed differently: WordPress — phpass, OpenCart — SHA1+salt, Drupal — SHA512. We write a custom CUser::LoginByHash with fallback to old algorithm — client enters password once, system rehashes to Bitrix bcrypt.

SEO data — meta tags, alt attributes, URL structure. Main task: preserve every indexed URL or set 301.

Media — images, documents, videos — transferred preserving paths and optimized via CFile::MakeFileArray().

How to Plan a Successful Migration: 5 Key Steps

1. Audit — scan with Screaming Frog: all URLs, status codes, meta tags. Analyze DB structure, custom modifications, integrations. Create migration map.
2. Architecture design — map content types → infoblocks, fields → properties, directories → highload blocks. Architecture must be convenient for Bitrix administration.
3. Migration scripts — PHP scripts read from old DB (or API), transform and write via Bitrix API (CIBlockElement::Add, \Bitrix\Sale\Order::create). Re‑run during testing.
4. Staging — full migration to test server. Verify integrity: product count, properties, URLs, filters.
5. Final migration & switching — delta import, DNS switch, monitoring.

Typical Migration Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Each of these errors has caused loss of positions and clients.

• Loss of URLs without redirects — the most destructive mistake. /product/123 instead of /catalog/item-name.html — without 301 this means mass 404s and traffic collapse. We auto‑generate the map and verify every redirect after switching.
• Content duplication — one product accessible with and without www, via HTTP and HTTPS, with GET filter parameters → five URLs instead of one. SEO weight dilutes. Set up canonical, 301 for variants, robots.txt with Disallow for parameters.
• Broken images — absolute URLs in content (src="https://old-site.ru/img/photo.jpg"), quality loss during compression. Replace with relative paths, transfer preserving structure, check HTTP 200 for each file.
• Loss of meta tags and microdata — title, description, Schema.org may not transfer. Do full mapping and verify on staging.
• Broken forms and integrations — changed IDs, API keys, webhooks. Compile integration register before start and test each after.
• Mobile version — old m.site.ru → responsive Bitrix. Without mobile URL redirect → 404 for mobile users. Include in redirect map.

Timelines and Cost Savings

Businesses typically save $3,000–$8,000 annually after migration — no old CMS license fees, reduced plugin and hosting costs. Annual hosting savings alone can reach $1,200. Add the affordable licensing cost of 1C‑Bitrix — it pays off quickly.

Contact us for a free migration estimate. We also provide a preliminary calculation within one day — request a consultation with our Bitrix specialists.