Steps to migrate SharePoint 2013 to SharePoint Online

Read time 6 minutes

Cloud-based platforms provide a multitude of advantages through the seamless integration of various services, surpassing the benefits offered by traditional on-premises software and platforms. SharePoint Online is no exception to this trend.

It’s time to migrate your SharePoint sites and content to enjoy advanced document management, team collaboration, and security solutions in Microsoft 365. In this article, we will learn how to migrate from SharePoint 2013 to SharePoint Online while ensuring data security and integrity.

More about SharePoint

SharePoint, available in multiple versions, plays a pivotal role within Microsoft 365 enterprise packages. Professionals recommend business proprietors to opt for Microsoft 365 over investing in newer iterations of individual applications. Notably, support for SharePoint Server 2013 will conclude on April 11, 2023. Subsequently, businesses have the option to either migrate to SharePoint Server 2016 or to the cloud-based SharePoint Online platform.

There are several advantages of moving from SharePoint 2013 to SharePoint Online (SPO). Let’s have a look at them and understand the significance of this transition.

• SharePoint 2013 had its end-of-support in April 2023, while SPO has at least 10 years to experience that.
• SPO helps in managing site proliferation while maintaining site security.
• No need to worry about feature or security updates as it’s continuously updated.
• Less dependency on administrators for infrastructure or other updates.
• Combines site as well as content in a single tenancy of MS 365 while lowering multiple farms.

Microsoft’s products undergo a predetermined lifecycle during which they receive regular updates, bug fixes, the introduction of new features, and enhancements to security features, all accompanied by 24/7 technical support. However, following the conclusion of SharePoint 2013 end of support, the software will continue to function, but users will no longer receive technical support or benefit from any further updates. As of April 11, 2023, SharePoint Server 2013 will encounter subsequent challenges.

• No time zone updates.
• Without technical assistance from Microsoft, many problems will not be rectified.
• Without bug fixing, the robustness or availability of the server will be affected.
• Without security updates, the server will become vulnerable to malware, spyware, or ransomware attacks.

You should routinely monitor the SharePoint Online storage information and proactively strategize your upgrades or migrations by referring to the Microsoft products’ lifecycle site. It’s advisable to make the transition to SharePoint Online rather than risking complications with an outdated SharePoint Server.

Microsoft designates Microsoft 365 as the premier choice for SharePoint Server 2013, presenting a contemporary platform that delivers security, intelligence, and seamless integration with other Microsoft applications such as Office Suites, Exchange Server, OneDrive, Teams, Skype, and more. When you check SharePoint Online storage information, you’ll find it boasts a generous 1 TB of cloud storage in OneDrive. This means you can effortlessly transfer substantial SharePoint files to OneDrive as well.

SharePoint Online is available in the Microsoft 365 plan. Once you subscribe to it, you can directly migrate data into any site, list, or library. A free migration software can move selected sites to SharePoint Sites without much preparation or prerequisites. It will move subsites to another site in SharePoint with all permission levels, accessibility, versions, etc.

If you have access rights for the source site and global administrator credentials for the destination site, then the SharePoint Migration tool can run a smooth migration job.

You should download the MS SharePoint Migration Tool from the link –

https://spmt.sharepointonline.com/install/default.htm

1. Download the tool to your system and follow the instructions to install.
2. After the installation, a welcome page will appear with an option to Start a new migration. Also, it would help if you input the Microsoft 365 credentials to start the migration job.
3. Choose the first option to copy the content from SharePoint Server. It supports SharePoint 2010, 2013, and 2016.
4. Choose one option amongst – Site migration, list or document library migration, and workflow migration.
5. If you choose a site, input the source URL you require to migrate. Click Next.
6. A pop-up will appear asking for the source location credentials. Click sign in.
7. Select whether you want to migrate to the current site or the site and all subsites. Click Next.
8. Select SharePoint as the destination.
9. Input the SharePoint site URL and click Next.
10. A review migration page will summarize the source and destination site and migration type information. Click Next.
11. In Basic Settings, you can select the settings for permissions, file version, user mapping, inheritance, etc. Click the Migrate button.
12. Migration will start, and the progress report will show a summary of each item migrating. You can pause the migration (if needed) and resume it later.

With Kernel Migration for SharePoint, you simply need to connect source with the destination. The tool supports all versions of SharePoint, which means any version of SharePoint can be migrated using our SharePoint Migration solution. It offers various supplementary functionalities, including robust filtering options and the ability to schedule larger migrations for a later timeframe.

You can fill in the form on our website and the setup of SharePoint Migration tool will become available for download instantly.

1. The home page of the software offers both source and destination. Here, you can connect with the SharePoint 2013 and SharePoint Online and migrate complete contents that the software support.
2. In the source pane, right-click on SharePoint (On-Premises/Online) and input the required information related to SharePoint 2013 account.
3. Similarly, connect with the SharePoint Online account in the destination pane.
4. Select the project in the source pane and open it to check the items present on site, list & libraries, etc.
5. Right-click on the destination item or you can select the whole project too.
6. Go to the destination pane and right-click on a project and click Paste.
7. There will be a proper mapping wizard to select the source and destination accounts.
8. Choose all the necessary features of source SharePoint that you want to migrate. Use the checkbox to select it.
9. Apply the filters from the filter page.
10. Schedule the migration to run either instantly or at a later period.
11. Review the summary of all the selected options for the necessary migration.
12. After the migration, you can check the complete report of migrated items.

Conclusion

It is advisable to migrate from SharePoint Server 2013 to SharePoint Online without further ado as Microsoft has ended its support for the iteration. Individuals who are still utilizing SharePoint 2010 can similarly opt to migrate SharePoint 2010 to SharePoint Online utilizing the same migration procedure.

In instances where your on-premises SharePoint hosts a substantial number of sites or if the sites are of significant size, use Kernel Migration for SharePoint. This professional migration tool enables the seamless migration of an unrestricted number of sites, site collections, versions, workflows, metadata, lists/libraries, and more between two SharePoint accounts.