How to migrate from CKEditor

CKEditor 4 and TinyMCE are well-known and highly-regarded text editors often referred to as twins in the world of web development. However, while they share similarities, CKEditor 4 has reached its end of life (EOL), making way for its successor, CKEditor 5, which is an entirely separate framework with a different licensing system. This new version presents a significant departure from CKEditor 4, with a revamped codebase and reimagined functionalities.

With CKEditor 4 nearing the end of its life, and the new CKEditor 5 representing a distinct framework, users who seek a seamless transition and a comparable editor may find themselves considering the benefits of migrating to TinyMCE. The active development and feature updates in TinyMCE, coupled with its potential to offer a similar editing experience without causing any disruptions to ongoing projects, make it a compelling alternative for those seeking a reliable and forward-looking text editor solution.

In addition to the compelling reasons for considering a migration to TinyMCE, it is worth noting that the installation process is virtually identical to that of CKEditor, making the transition even smoother for users.

Following the straightforward installation procedures you can quickly replace CKEditor with the new text editor without any significant hurdles.

Install TinyMCE

Step 1: Download TinyMCE

Download the latest official build of TinyMCE under the TinyMCE Community heading.

Step 2: Integrate TinyMCE into your website

Replace CKEditor with TinyMCE in your website's codebase. Open the HTML files where CKEditor is implemented, and replace the CKEditor script references with TinyMCE script references. Make sure to update any custom configurations or settings as needed to match TinyMCE's requirements.

Step 3: Customize TinyMCE

Default plugins

You may notice that the editors differ in their set of default plugins. To address this and enable the same plugins in TinyMCE as in CKEditor, include the following plugins in the plugins parameter:

tinymce.init({
    selector: '#editor',
    plugins: 'link, lists, image, table, media'
});

By adding these plugins to the configuration, you can ensure that TinyMCE possesses the same functionalities as CKEditor. Refer to the full list of available TinyMCE plugins.

Additionally, you can extend the standard functionality of TinyMCE by integrating third-party plugins from our catalog.

Set toolbar

The configuration and customization of toolbar options are quite similar in both editors. You can compare sitax for configure a toolbar in both editors:

CKEditor

toolbar: ['Bold', 'Italic', '-', 'Undo', 'Redo']

TinyMCE

toolbar: 'bold italic | undo redo'

Adapt your toolbar to the new syntax and explore the available buttons for adding to the toolbar.

Step 4: Test and Verify

After integrating TinyMCE into your website, thoroughly test the editor's functionality across various pages and forms. Verify that all essential features are working as expected and that the content displays correctly.

If you encounter any compatibility issues or discrepancies during testing, refer to the TinyMCE documentation and community forums for solutions. TinyMCE offers a wide range of APIs and configuration options that can be used to match or enhance the functionalities you had in CKEditor, providing a seamless migration experience.