// For photographers
Migration without the panic.
Changing gallery platforms is where good intentions meet spreadsheets, broken cover links, and midnight panic about whether the client still has access. Holdstill’s migration concierge treats the move as a service, not a self-serve ZIP dump: we rebuild structure, hero selections, access patterns, and client-facing links with a human reviewer at every checkpoint. You stay in control of approvals; we carry the operational load of ingestion, verification, and cutover planning. This page explains what we migrate, how we work with exports or read-only access, how we think about risk, and how to start a conversation that ends in a dated plan — not a ticket queue.
01Why migrations fail when they are DIY
Most photographers underestimate how much implicit knowledge lives inside a legacy gallery tool: nested collections, unpublished drafts, password rules, download caps, and permalink shapes that marketing pages already embedded in PDFs and emails. A raw export captures files, not intent. Without a staged review, you risk shipping a beautiful new gallery that breaks bookmarks, removes a client’s favourite, or silently widens access beyond what the wedding contract allowed. Our concierge process externalises those decisions into explicit checklists you sign off on, so the emotional labour of the move is shared instead of compressed into a single frantic weekend.
02What we migrate in scope
We migrate gallery hierarchies and ordering, hero and cover selections where your source platform exposes them, download permissions and watermarking settings that map cleanly into Holdstill, client-facing URLs when redirects or alias patterns are feasible, and metadata fields that matter for storytelling such as captions, alt text, and event dates. We also migrate access controls at the level your old tool exports them — passphrases, signed links, expirations — translating them into Holdstill’s model rather than forcing a lowest-common-denominator compromise. Where a feature has no equivalent, we document the gap in plain language before you go live so you can communicate proactively with clients.
03Source platforms and realistic expectations
Studios arrive from Pixieset, Pic-Time, ShootProof, Zenfolio, and bespoke WordPress stacks. Each ecosystem exports differently: some bundle high-resolution originals with sidecar JSON; others require API pagination or album-by-album downloads. We set expectations up front about what can be automated versus what needs a human eye — for example, recovering a cover that only lived as an auto-pick inside a proprietary renderer. If your legacy vendor throttles exports, we pace requests ethically and schedule windows so you are not fighting rate limits alone at 2 a.m.
04Security models: exports versus read-only access
You choose the posture that matches your risk appetite. Full exports uploaded to a private staging workspace minimise live-system coupling but can be large and sensitive in transit; we recommend encrypted channels and expiring links. Read-only API or account-scoped access can reduce duplicate storage while migration runs, but requires clear scope boundaries and revocation steps after cutover. We document who touched what, when, and why in a lightweight migration log you can attach to your own DPIA pack. Credentials are never reused outside the agreed window.
05Phase zero — discovery and inventory
Before moving a byte, we inventory gallery count, average asset size, special cases like video sidecars, and any compliance deadlines such as school-board procurement reviews. We align on naming conventions for slugs, whether you want historical published dates preserved, and how aggressively to collapse redundant albums. This phase ends with a written plan: milestones, owners on your side, rollback triggers, and a realistic calendar that respects your shooting season — because nobody wants a cutover the week before peak delivery.
06Ingestion, staging, and parity checks
We ingest into a private Holdstill workspace invisible to clients until you publish. Automated checksums verify file counts and sizes; spot checks validate colour and sharpness on calibrated viewers where available. We compare permission matrices between old and new states and flag mismatches — for example if a legacy album inherited a public default you did not intend. You receive a reviewer link with chaptered notes so feedback is structured instead of scattered across chat threads.
07Cutover, redirects, and client communication
Cutover is choreographed: we agree a freeze window for edits on the legacy side, publish Holdstill galleries in the right order, and configure redirects or friendly landing pages where DNS or slug changes would otherwise break old links. We supply suggested client email copy in your tone — short, confident, and free of vendor jargon — and optional in-gallery banners for stragglers who bookmarked old URLs. If you operate custom domains, we sequence DNS changes with TTL awareness so SSL issuance and gallery routing stay seamless.
08Post-migration hypercare
The week after launch, we monitor error rates on downloads, first-byte times on large originals, and support channels for confused guests. Hotfixes for mislabelled chapters or missing favicons land quickly because the context is still fresh. We archive the staging workspace according to your retention preference once you sign completion, leaving you with an export manifest you can store alongside your own records.
09Who this is built for
Teams leaving legacy SaaS who need a European privacy posture, studios with multi-year archives that cannot afford narrative breaks, and photographers whose corporate clients ask for named subprocessors and written migration methodology. If you only have a single small gallery and enjoy tinkering, self-serve import may be enough — concierge shines when complexity, time pressure, or contractual scrutiny are high.
10What concierge is not
We are not a law firm, not a replacement for your client contracts, and not an unlimited forensic recovery service for corrupted proprietary databases. We do not bypass vendor terms of service on your behalf. We will tell you plainly when a path is unsafe or unlikely to succeed so you can make an informed choice early.
11Commercial shape and timelines
Engagements are scoped after discovery. Some migrations fit a tight two-week sprint; multi-terabyte archives with bespoke access rules may span several phases across months. Pricing reflects volume, risk, and calendar constraints — we quote in writing before heavy lifting begins. Enterprise studios can align concierge with procurement cycles and vendor security reviews.
12How to start
Email hello@holdstill.app with your current platform, approximate active and archived gallery counts, any immovable deadlines, and whether you prefer export-based or read-only ingestion. Attach a sample export or anonymised screenshot if policy allows. We reply with a concrete next step — usually a short video call and a draft plan — not an auto-reply ticket number.