Whether you’re migrating all your data or just the assets you still use, the self-service migration in Staffbase Studio empowers you to take control of the process. It helps reduce manual setup, eliminate unnecessary data in the process, and ensure a smoother transition from Email Classic to Staffbase Email. By selecting exactly what you want to keep—such as emails, contacts, lists, users, and settings—you can streamline your Staffbase Email setup and start fresh with a cleaner, more organized email environment.
Benefits of Email Classic data migration
- Seamless connection to your existing Email Classic instance for easy access to your data.
- Migrate only what matters by selecting specific domains, senders, email content (templates, drafts, sent emails with analytics), and users or user groups.
- Use migration as a cleanup opportunity by leaving behind outdated or unused data and streamlining your email environment.
- Preview your data before migrating, with a summary of data points based on your selections.
- Migrate on your schedule, giving you control over timing and execution.
- Review migration results, including any warnings or errors, to ensure everything transfers as expected.
- Re-run migrations anytime to bring over any new Email Classic data added since the last migration run.
Overview of the migration process
The migration process consists of the following steps:
- Prepare for data migration
- Connect to your Email Classic instance
- Select domains and sender addresses (aliases)
- Select data (users, contacts, lists, emails, branding)
- Verify data selection, preview and migrate
- Confirm migration completion and inform Staffbase
Prepare for data migration by fulfilling the prerequisites and reviewing your current Email Classic setup. Learn more.
Once all data is migrated, you can confirm the migration completion and inform Staffbase. Simply send an email to email-review@staffbase.com with the date you would like your Email Classic instance to be deactivated.
During the migration, you can continue using your Email Classic instance. The migration runs in the background and does not affect your current Email Classic setup.
Overview of migrated data
See the tables below for a breakdown of which Email Classic data is migrated and which data is excluded.
| Sending Domains | During the migration, Staffbase re-adds the domains you have added in Email Classic. You can find those domains in the Studio Settings under Sending Domains. New DNS records are generated for those domains, and the domains are verified again. Learn more about Sending Domains in Staffbase Email. |
| Sender Addresses | During the migration, Staffbase re-adds the sender addresses (“aliases”) you have added in Email Classic. You can find those addresses in the Studio Settings > Sender Addresses. You can only add sender addresses if they belong to a corresponding sending domain.Learn more about Sender Addresses in Staffbase Email. |
| Users | Users are matched by their email address between Email Classic and Staffbase Email. If a user already exists in Staffbase Email and User Groups is selected, their group memberships are updated. Note: Newly created users do not receive an automatic invitation email from the system. When users are migrated, their roles are mapped as follows (Classic > Staffbase Email): - Parent Admin > Admin - Admin > Managing Editor - Manager & Base User > User Learn more about user rights and roles in Staffbase Email. |
| User Groups | User groups (teams) from Email Classic are migrated as Manual User Groups into Staffbase Email, prefixed with [Migration | Team].
Learn more about user groups in Staffbase Email. |
| Contacts | This only includes contacts created by CSV upload (source type). Migrating contacts always includes contact attributes. The Unique Contact ID from Email Classic will be used as an identifier in Staffbase Email. Synced contacts, e.g., via Entra ID, Workday and Staffbase App / Intranet are not migrated. |
| Attributes | Attributes are migrated as Profile Fields with a prefix ec_ (for Email Classic) in the profile field ID for better recognition.Learn more about profile fields in Staffbase Email. Empty and/or unused attributes are not migrated, i.e. not used in any dynamic distribution lists. |
| Distribution Lists (DLs) | Static DLs are migrated as Manual User Groups and dynamic DLs are migrated as Conditional User Groups in Staffbase Email, prefixed with [Migration | List].Learn more about user groups in Staffbase Email. All supported DLs are migrated regardless of their sharing options in Email Classic. Empty DLs are not migrated. Any dynamic DL using Email Classic-specific fields such as First Name, Last Name, Source and/or Phone Number are not supported. This means DLs using any of those fields will not be migrated.Also, lists synced via Entra ID or Staffbase App / Intranet are not migrated. |
| Branding | Button and link styles as well as custom fonts are migrated. The branding settings are migrated to the Email Branding page. Learn more about branding in Staffbase Email. |
| Media Files | This includes all media files from the shared library within the Classic Email Designer. Media files are migrated to the file manager. Folders from the shared library will be migrated as file collections. Learn more about file management in Staffbase Email. |
| Email Drafts | Drafts are migrated into one new folder called Migration in Staffbase Email.Learn more about drafts & templates in Staffbase Email. All supported email drafts are migrated regardless of their sharing options in Email Classic. Only the latest version of a draft is migrated, not all versions. |
| Sent Emails | Sent emails including their analytics data are migrated into one folder called Migration in Staffbase Email. All supported sent emails are migrated regardless of their sharing options in Email Classic. |
| Email Templates | During migration, each template folder from Email Classic is recreated in Staffbase Email as a new Template Gallery with the same name, prefixed with [Migration]. All templates from the original folder in Email Classic are moved to the corresponding new gallery in Staffbase Email, including any deactivated templates.Learn more about drafts & templates in Staffbase Email. All supported email templates are migrated regardless of their sharing options in Email Classic. |
| Users | Deactivated users in Email Classic are not migrated. |
| Branding | Advanced button options, social media icons and survey feedback settings are not migrated. |
| Archived Emails | Archived emails are not migrated. |
| Scheduled Emails | Scheduled emails are not migrated. |
| Analytics | Custom reports, read times, location maps and IP addresses are not migrated. Learn more about Staffbase Email Analytics. |
| Aliases | The concept of aliases is replaced with flexible sender addresses in Staffbase Email. Learn more about sender addresses. Existing aliases will be re-added to Staffbase Email if the corresponding sending domain was re-added as well. Learn more about sending domains. |
| Integrations | Any Entra ID, Workday as well as Staffbase App / Intranet integrations are not migrated. This includes any contacts and groups created by one of these integrations. Entra ID: You need to set up a new integration with Entra ID. Learn more about Entra ID contacts and group sync. Workday: You need to set up a new integration with Workday. Learn more about Workday contacts sync. Staffbase App / Intranet: You don’t need to set up any integration since all contacts and users should already exist in the Studio. |
| CSV upload history | Previous CSV uploads & files are not migrated. Learn more about CSV files in Staffbase Email. |
| Technical Configurations | Any API keys in Email Classic are not migrated. If you are using any API-based integration with Email Classic, e.g., Contact API, you need to update your integration. Learn more about migrating API contacts integration from Email Classic to Staffbase Email. |