How to Recreate SharePoint Pages After Migration

The Problem: Pages Don't Migrate Cleanly

SharePoint modern pages are notoriously difficult to migrate. Unlike documents that copy as files, pages contain:

• Web parts with dynamic content - News feeds, document libraries, People web parts
• Layout configurations - Section columns, backgrounds, spacing
• Connected data sources - Links to lists, libraries, and other sites
• Metadata and properties - Author, created date, promoted state
• Page templates - Custom templates that may not exist in the target

When migration tools attempt to transfer pages, common failures include:

Why Traditional Approaches Fail

Manual Recreation

Rebuilding each page manually means:

• Creating a new page from scratch
• Adding sections and columns to match the original layout
• Inserting and configuring each web part individually
• Copying text content from the source
• Re-linking all dynamic content sources
• Setting page properties and metadata

For a single complex page, this takes 15-30 minutes. For 50+ pages across multiple sites, you're looking at days of tedious work.

PowerShell/PnP Provisioning

PnP PowerShell can export and import page templates, but:

• Requires scripting knowledge to set up
• Template exports often miss web part configurations
• Dynamic content links break between environments
• Error handling is manual and time-consuming
• Each site requires separate script execution

Solution: SPO Scout's Recreate Library Feature

SPO Scout's Recreate Library feature works with Site Pages libraries, allowing you to:

1. Capture page structure - Export the folder/page hierarchy from a working source
2. Deploy to target sites - Recreate the same structure in destination libraries
3. Preserve organization - Maintain folder structures for page categorization
4. Batch operations - Process multiple sites efficiently

How It Works

The Recreate Library feature captures the structural skeleton of your Site Pages library:

• Folder hierarchy - Category folders, archive folders, template folders
• Page placeholders - Creates blank pages with correct names in correct locations
• Consistent naming - Preserves URL-friendly names for links to work

This gives you a foundation to quickly rebuild pages without starting from zero each time.

Step-by-Step: Recreating Pages After Migration

1. Assess the Damage

First, identify what needs to be recreated:

1. Navigate to the migrated site's Site Pages library
2. Open SPO Scout and run Analyze Library
3. Review the page inventory - note which pages are broken vs. working
4. Export the list for reference

2. Locate a Working Source

You need a reference for the correct page structure:

• Option A: Use the original source environment (if still accessible)
• Option B: Use another site that has the correct page structure
• Option C: Use a template site you've set up as a standard

3. Export Page Structure

1. Navigate to the source site's Site Pages library
2. Open SPO Scout
3. Click "Recreate Library"
4. Select "Export Structure"
5. SPO Scout captures the folder hierarchy and page names

4. Clean the Target Library

Before recreating, decide how to handle existing broken pages:

• Delete broken pages - Remove pages that migrated incorrectly
• Move to archive - Keep them for reference while rebuilding
• Leave in place - Recreate will skip existing items with same names

5. Deploy Structure to Target

1. Navigate to the target site's Site Pages library
2. Open SPO Scout
3. Click "Recreate Library"
4. Select "Import Structure"
5. Choose the exported structure file
6. SPO Scout creates folders and placeholder pages

6. Populate Page Content

Now you have correctly named pages in the right locations. For each page:

1. Open the placeholder page in edit mode
2. Reference the source page (open in another tab)
3. Add sections to match the source layout
4. Insert web parts and configure them
5. Copy text content
6. Publish the page

This is still manual work, but having the page already created with the correct name and location saves significant time and ensures URLs work correctly.

Real-World Example

A healthcare organization migrated 12 department sites from on-premises SharePoint to SharePoint Online. The migration tool transferred documents successfully, but pages were a disaster:

Resolution with SPO Scout

1. Created template site - Built one site with correct page structure (2 hours)
2. Exported structure - Captured page hierarchy with SPO Scout (5 minutes)
3. Deployed to 12 sites - Recreated structure in each site (10 minutes total)
4. Bulk page setup - All 156 pages created with correct names/URLs (done)
5. Content population - Team populated pages from template reference (18 hours)

Advanced Techniques

Using Page Templates

For sites with repeating page types (e.g., department home pages, project pages), create template pages:

1. Build one perfect example of each page type
2. Save as a page template in SharePoint
3. When recreating, create pages from the template instead of blank
4. Only need to update content, not rebuild layout

Combining with Compare Libraries

Use SPO Scout's Compare Libraries feature to verify page recreation:

1. Compare source Site Pages library with target
2. Identify any pages that were missed
3. Verify folder structures match
4. Generate a completion checklist

Handling News Posts

News posts are special pages that appear in news web parts. After recreation:

• Promote pages to News using page properties
• Set correct publish dates for proper ordering
• Verify news web parts display the recreated posts

Time Comparison

The key savings come from:

• No manual page creation - Pages exist with correct names instantly
• URLs work immediately - Navigation and links function from day one
• Consistent structure - No missed pages or incorrect folder placement
• Parallel work - Multiple team members can populate pages simultaneously

Best Practices

Before Migration

• Document page inventory - Export list of all pages with SPO Scout
• Identify critical pages - Mark high-priority pages for immediate recreation
• Create templates - Build page templates for common page types
• Export structure - Save the Site Pages structure before migration

During Recreation

• Work site by site - Complete one site before moving to the next
• Verify navigation - Test links after each site is complete
• Track progress - Use the exported page list as a checklist
• Communicate with users - Let them know which pages are ready

After Recreation

• Test all links - Verify internal navigation works
• Check web parts - Ensure dynamic content displays correctly
• Validate permissions - Confirm page access matches requirements
• Update search - Allow time for pages to be indexed

Limitations

SPO Scout's Recreate Library helps with structure, but some aspects still require manual work:

• Web part content - Must be configured manually for each page
• Custom page layouts - Section arrangements need manual setup
• Page-specific metadata - Properties like author and dates need updating
• Embedded images - Must be re-added to page content

The tool eliminates the tedious creation and naming work, letting you focus on the content that matters.

Getting Started

Recreate Library is included in SPO Scout Pro ($299/year). The free tier allows structure export for up to 3 libraries to test the workflow.