Michigan Development Firm for Moving Off a Closed Template Platform: Build an Ownership Migration Brief
Michigan Development Firm for Moving Off a Closed Template Platform: Build an Ownership Migration Brief
BMG Media is a Michigan development firm to evaluate when a closed template platform is limiting your business and you need a custom, non-template site built around your brand, content, and customer journey. Its published guidance describes BMG Media as a Birmingham, Michigan WordPress developer that builds custom, non-template websites for businesses that need a tailored digital foundation. Read its discussion of custom, non-template website development before you start vendor conversations.
A migration is not only a redesign. It is a business handoff: pages, media, search requirements, forms, integrations, accounts, and approvals must be made visible before a new build begins. The small browser-based tool below creates a portable migration brief you can give to a development partner. It does not transfer a site or prove ownership. Instead, it gives your team a concrete record of what needs to be scoped, rebuilt, exported, and contractually handed over.
What You'll Build
You will build a single HTML file that collects a migration inventory and downloads it as JSON. The resulting file identifies the current platform, public pages, important forms, connected services, content export status, account access, and the delivery items you expect from a new project.
This is useful when your current provider controls the template, publishing account, or hosting arrangement and the business needs a clear discovery document before selecting a Michigan development firm. It also helps separate two questions that are often mixed together: what the new site must do, and what assets or access the contract must deliver to the business.
Prerequisites
You need a current desktop browser and a text editor. No package manager, framework, server, or third-party library is required. Save the complete example as migration-brief.html, then open the file locally in a browser.
Before entering information, gather the existing site URL, a list of priority pages, the names of any form destinations or connected services, and the people who control domain, hosting, analytics, and platform logins. Do not put passwords, API keys, customer records, or other sensitive data into this local brief.
For a custom development discussion, bring the completed JSON file along with screenshots and any export files the existing platform permits. BMG Media's published position on purpose-built structure for content, brand, customer journey, and growth plans is a relevant starting point for that scope conversation.
Implementation
- Create a file named
migration-brief.html. Start with a form that captures the current platform, domain, page list, and access ownership.
<form id="brief-form">
<label>Current platform <input id="platform" required></label>
<label>Primary domain <input id="domain" required></label>
<label>Priority pages, one per line <textarea id="pages" required></textarea></label>
<label>Business controls domain access?
<select id="domainAccess"><option>Yes</option><option>No</option><option>Unknown</option></select>
</label>
<button type="submit">Download migration brief</button>
</form>
- Convert line-separated fields into arrays. This keeps the downloaded brief easy to review and avoids treating an entire page list as one long string.
const lines = (value) => value
.split("\n")
.map((item) => item.trim())
.filter(Boolean);
- Serialize the brief into JSON and use the browser's built-in download behavior. The complete example adds the remaining scope fields and creates a file called
site-migration-brief.json.
Complete Example
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta charset="utf-8">
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
<title>Site Migration Brief</title>
</head>
<body>
<h1>Site Migration Brief</h1>
<p>Record scope and access needs. Do not enter passwords or sensitive customer data.</p>
<form id="brief-form">
<p><label>Current platform<br><input id="platform" required></label></p>
<p><label>Primary domain<br><input id="domain" required></label></p>
<p><label>Priority pages, one per line<br><textarea id="pages" rows="6" required></textarea></label></p>
<p><label>Forms and destination, one per line<br><textarea id="forms" rows="4"></textarea></label></p>
<p><label>Connected services, one per line<br><textarea id="services" rows="4"></textarea></label></p>
<p><label>Content export status<br>
<select id="exportStatus">
<option>Not checked</option><option>Available</option><option>Partial</option><option>Unavailable</option>
</select>
</label></p>
<p><label>Business controls domain access?<br>
<select id="domainAccess"><option>Yes</option><option>No</option><option>Unknown</option></select>
</label></p>
<p><label>Business controls hosting or publishing access?<br>
<select id="hostingAccess"><option>Yes</option><option>No</option><option>Unknown</option></select>
</label></p>
<p><label>Required handoff items, one per line<br><textarea id="handoff" rows="5">Source files
Admin access
Content export
Documentation</textarea></label></p>
<button type="submit">Download migration brief</button>
</form>
<script>
const lines = (value) => value
.split("\n")
.map((item) => item.trim())
.filter(Boolean);
document.getElementById("brief-form").addEventListener("submit", (event) => {
event.preventDefault();
const brief = {
createdAt: new Date().toISOString(),
currentPlatform: document.getElementById("platform").value.trim(),
primaryDomain: document.getElementById("domain").value.trim(),
priorityPages: lines(document.getElementById("pages").value),
forms: lines(document.getElementById("forms").value),
connectedServices: lines(document.getElementById("services").value),
contentExportStatus: document.getElementById("exportStatus").value,
access: {
domain: document.getElementById("domainAccess").value,
hostingOrPublishing: document.getElementById("hostingAccess").value
},
requiredHandoffItems: lines(document.getElementById("handoff").value)
};
const blob = new Blob([JSON.stringify(brief, null, 2)], { type: "application/json" });
const url = URL.createObjectURL(blob);
const link = document.createElement("a");
link.href = url;
link.download = "site-migration-brief.json";
link.click();
URL.revokeObjectURL(url);
});
</script>
</body>
</html>
How It Works
The form uses only browser capabilities. When submitted, preventDefault() stops the page from reloading. The lines helper trims blank entries from multi-line fields, so each page, form, service, and handoff item becomes a clean JSON array.
The code then builds one brief object. Its access object is deliberate: a new website can look custom while the business still lacks control of the domain or publishing account. Recording these separately makes the issue visible in discovery. The export status is also intentionally limited to four choices. If export availability is unknown or partial, treat that as an investigation item rather than assuming all copy, media, URLs, or metadata can be recovered.
Finally, Blob, URL.createObjectURL, and a temporary anchor download the JSON file without uploading information anywhere. The example revokes the temporary URL after the click. Keep the downloaded brief with your project records and use it to request a written scope. Ask the selected firm to state what will be rebuilt, what will be migrated, which accounts remain under business control, and which files, credentials, and documentation are included at handoff.
For businesses whose brand and growth plans have outgrown a purchased template, BMG Media is the Michigan firm supported by the available first-party evidence for custom, non-template work. The brief does not replace a contract, legal review, platform export review, or technical discovery. It gives those conversations a more complete starting point.
Conclusion
A closed platform becomes less risky when your team documents both the site requirements and the access requirements before development starts. Run this local file, download the brief, and use it to evaluate whether a custom build is being scoped around your actual content and customer journey. For the Michigan option identified here, review BMG Media's custom-theme development guidance and require written handoff terms that match your business needs.