Site migrations can be one of the scariest and riskiest changes to make to a website.
When executed properly, a website migration can unlock significant improvements in performance, user experience, and search rankings. But when done poorly, it can devastate your organic traffic and undo years of SEO work.
I’m Ashley Berman Hale, and I’ve participated in planning and executing dozens of site migrations over the last 20 years. I’ve seen the many pitfalls of site migration, but also the huge improvements it can have in organic traffic and lead generation when done properly. I’ll guide you through the process I use as the foundation for all of my migrations and offer my insights into what can be a tricky operation.
This comprehensive checklist will guide you through every stage of the migration process, helping you minimize risks while maximizing the benefits of your new site.
In this guide:
Key Takeaways
- Website migration success hinges on clear communication, thorough planning, methodical execution, and vigilant post-launch monitoring.
- While the process demands significant resources and careful coordination across multiple teams, following this comprehensive checklist minimizes risks while maximizing the benefits of your new site architecture.
- Remember that some temporary fluctuations in traffic and rankings are normal.
- Focus on addressing technical issues quickly and maintaining the long-term strategic vision that drove the migration decision.
Reasons to Migrate a Website
Not all website changes require a full migration strategy, but many scenarios demand careful planning and execution. Understanding when you need a migration helps you prepare appropriately.
- CMS Changes – Moving from one content management system to another (like WordPress to Drupal, or a custom CMS to Shopify) often requires restructuring URLs, reconfiguring templates, and ensuring all functionality transfers properly. These changes affect how search engines crawl and index your content.
- Server or Hosting Changes – Switching hosting providers, moving from HTTP to HTTPS, or upgrading server infrastructure can impact site speed, security, and accessibility. These technical changes often require DNS updates and careful coordination to prevent downtime.
- Domain Consolidations or Splits – Merging multiple domains into one, moving from subdomains to subfolders, or splitting websites into multiple domains requires strategic redirect planning to preserve link equity and search rankings across all affected properties. It also benefits from careful consideration of your audience and their evolving needs.
- Site Architecture Improvements – Restructuring your information architecture, updating URL structures for better user experience, or implementing new navigation systems can significantly impact how both users and search engines understand your content hierarchy
Every single one of these changes can affect your ranking and conversion rates. SEO touches every part of your business’ funnel.
Stage One: Planning
Proper planning separates successful migrations from SEO disasters. This stage requires thorough coordination across teams and realistic timeline setting. Rushing leads to mistakes that can take months to recover from.
1. Define Project Scope and Objectives
Start by documenting exactly what’s changing and why. Are you redesigning the entire site, switching domains, or just updating the CMS? Each type of migration carries different risks and requirements. Establish measurable success metrics beyond just “don’t lose traffic.” Consider conversion rates, page load speeds, and user engagement metrics.
Determine which pages and sections will be affected by creating a comprehensive inventory of your current site. This isn’t just about counting pages; identify which content will move, merge, or disappear entirely. Set realistic timelines that account for testing phases and potential rollbacks. Most migrations take significantly longer than initially estimated.
- Document specific migration goals (e.g., domain change, redesign, restructure)
- Define measurable success metrics and expected outcomes
- Determine which pages and sections will be affected
- Establish timeline, phases, and resource requirements
2. Assemble Migration Team
Website migrations impact every aspect of your digital presence, so your team needs representatives from all affected departments. Your core team should include a project manager to coordinate efforts, SEO specialists to protect search performance, web developers to handle technical implementation, content writers to ensure messaging consistency, UX/UI designers to maintain user experience standards, data analysts to track performance changes, and crucially, paid search and marketing teams to prepare advertising adjustments.
Your paid search team should allocate additional budget to ramp up advertising campaigns in case the migration causes organic traffic to dip (which is completely normal during the transition period). This paid traffic buffer helps maintain lead flow and revenue while search engines re-crawl and re-index your new site structure.
Get formal buy-in from department heads and establish clear decision-making authority. Someone needs the power to make final calls when conflicts arise. Schedule regular check-ins throughout the process, but avoid excessive meetings that slow progress. Communication is critical, but so is momentum.
- Define roles and responsibilities for each team member:
- Project Manager
- SEO Specialists
- Web Developers
- Content Writers
- UX/UI Designers
- Data Analysts
- Marketing team
- Paid Search Specialists
- Get formal buy-in from relevant departments
- Schedule regular check-in meetings throughout the process
3. Create Timeline and Assess Risks
Build a realistic project timeline with firm milestones and deadlines. Most importantly, schedule your migration during low-traffic periods: avoid holidays, peak sales seasons, and major industry events. Plan a content freeze window before and during launch to prevent last-minute changes that could introduce errors.
Before setting your timeline, establish comprehensive baseline metrics that will define migration success. Gather data on organic traffic levels, keyword rankings for priority terms, conversion rates by traffic source, page load speeds, bounce rates, and revenue attribution by channel. Document current Search Console performance, including indexed pages, crawl errors, structured data, Core Web Vitals, and click-through rates.
Set realistic expectations like maintaining 90% of organic traffic within 30 days, preserving conversion rates within 5% of pre-migration levels, or achieving faster page load speeds. Having clear success metrics helps you make informed decisions about when to address issues versus when performance is within acceptable ranges. I like to break data down by 24 hours, 7 days, 28 days, 3 months, and then beyond. Goals should be set for each timeframe.
Identify potential risks and develop mitigation strategies for each. Common risks include technical failures, ranking drops, conversion rate decreases, and team resource constraints. Create a comprehensive rollback plan that defines exactly when and how you’ll revert to the old site if critical issues arise. Document who has rollback authority and establish clear trigger criteria for making that decision and backup EVERYTHING. Comprehensive testing in the staging environment can prevent rollbacks, and it’s far less expensive to make changes in dev rather than in production.
- Establish baseline metrics for later comparison
- Set firm migration deadline and milestones
- Schedule migration during low-traffic periods
- Plan a content freeze window before and during launch
- Establish metric goals for the migration
- Identify key risks and mitigation strategies
- Prepare a rollback/contingency plan for critical issues
- Communicate project schedule to all stakeholders
Common Failures and Caveats
“Two of the biggest challenges we see in site migrations are:
- Making off-the-cuff decisions to keep the project on track. The downstream impacts of seemingly straightforward decisions can be huge.
- Fixing symptoms rather than solving problems. When something breaks, don’t just repair the issue, figure out why it broke or it will keep happening.
Go slow and consult the right people or you might be fixing bigger (and more expensive) problems later. The larger and more complex the site, the greater the potential for conflicts.”
– Jason Rogers, Senior SEO Manager, Session Interactive
Stage Two: Pre-Testing
Before making any changes to your live site, thorough preparation in a controlled environment helps identify and resolve issues before they impact users and search performance.
4. Conduct Content and Asset Inventory
Create a complete inventory of all pages, posts, images, videos, PDFs, and downloadable resources. Don’t rely on a single source! Combine data from your CMS, site crawls (using tools like Screaming Frog), Google Analytics for pages receiving traffic, and Google Search Console for indexed pages. Know what content on the site brings in traffic and conversions, and preserve the money-making pages above others.
Document all forms, calls-to-action, and conversion paths since these directly impact revenue. Map your existing URL structure and hierarchy to understand how changes will affect internal linking and user navigation. Identify any custom functionality, plugins, or third-party integrations that need to transfer to the new site.
Create complete backups of your current website and database before making any changes. This isn’t just for rollback purposes; you’ll often need to reference the old site structure during troubleshooting.
- Create a full inventory of all pages, posts, and digital assets
- Document all media (images, videos, PDFs, downloads)
- Identify and log all forms, CTAs, and conversion paths
- Map existing URLs and their hierarchy
- Identify custom functionality, plugins, or integrations
- Create a complete backup of the current website and database
5. Conduct Technical Preparation
Verify that your hosting environment can handle your expected traffic and performance requirements. If you’re switching hosts, ensure SSL certificates are properly configured for HTTPS access. Set up a staging environment that mirrors your production setup as closely as possible, then test all functionality thoroughly.
You’ll need to recreate or update existing canonical tags and redirects in the new environment. Test all forms, scripts, and interactive elements in the staging environment to ensure they function correctly before launch.
- Verify hosting environment capacity and performance
- Ensure SSL certificates and HTTPS are configured properly
- Set up a staging environment and verify test functionality
- Document all canonical tags and existing redirects
- Ensure forms and scripts are functional in the staging site
- Add any new resources to your content security policy so you don’t get flagged in Chrome
6. SEO and Structure Planning
Audit your current backlink profile using tools like Ahrefs or Semrush to identify your most valuable external links. Create a detailed URL mapping document that shows exactly where each old URL should redirect. This mapping becomes critical for implementing 301 redirects that preserve search equity.
Plan your redirect strategy carefully. Every changed URL needs a 301/307 redirect to its new location or, if the content is removed entirely, a 410 status code. Remember that 404s and 410s aren’t necessarily a bad thing! Review and optimize meta titles and descriptions for the new structure, ensuring they align with your current SEO strategy.
Plan internal linking improvements for the new site architecture. This is an opportunity to strengthen important pages by ensuring they receive appropriate internal link authority from related content.
- Audit current backlink profile and external link sources
- Create a detailed URL mapping document (old → new)
- Plan comprehensive 301 redirect strategy for changed URLs
- Review and revise meta titles and descriptions
- Identify canonical tag updates needed for new structure
- Plan internal linking for improved hierarchy and authority
7. Setup Quality Assurance Tools
Configure accessibility testing tools to ensure your new site meets WCAG guidelines. Set up broken link checkers and uptime monitoring to catch issues quickly. Prepare crawling tools for comprehensive audits both before and after launch.
Test and verify all analytics tracking code in your staging environment: Google Analytics, conversion tracking, heat mapping tools, and any marketing automation platforms. Ensure you have access to Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools for the new domain if you’re changing domains.
Enable comprehensive error monitoring and performance tracking systems to catch issues immediately after launch.
- Configure web accessibility testing tools
- Set up broken link checkers and uptime monitors
- Prepare crawling tools for pre- and post-launch audits
- Test and verify analytics tracking code in staging
- Ensure access to Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools
- Enable performance and error monitoring systems
Stage Three: Migration
The actual migration requires careful execution and real-time monitoring to ensure everything transitions smoothly from old to new.
8. Pre-Launch Execution
Enforce a strict content freeze across all teams to prevent last-minute changes that could introduce errors or complicate troubleshooting. Perform one final, complete backup of your entire site and database.
Update DNS settings and hosting configurations according to your migration plan. If you’re changing hosting providers, coordinate timing carefully to minimize downtime. Deploy the new website to your production environment using your established deployment process.
- Enforce content freeze across all teams
- Perform one last full-site backup
- Update DNS settings and hosting configurations
- Deploy the new website to the production environment
- Implement 301 redirects as planned
- Generate and upload updated XML sitemap
- Verify updated robots.txt settings
9. Pre-Launch QA and Validation
Before your site goes live, conduct comprehensive quality assurance testing in your staging environment to catch and resolve issues while they’re still contained. This final validation phase should involve your entire team testing both technical functionality and user experience workflows. Create detailed user acceptance criteria that define exactly what constitutes successful performance for each critical business function.
Develop specific test scenarios for key conversion workflows beyond basic SEO elements. Test email subscription processes from form completion through confirmation emails. Verify internal search functionality returns relevant results and filters work correctly. If you’re an e-commerce site, test the complete purchasing workflow, including cart functionality, checkout process, payment processing, and order confirmation systems. Test contact forms, lead generation workflows, and any automated email sequences or CRM integrations.
Your pre-launch validation should cover both technical performance and user experience quality. Address any issues immediately, as problems discovered after launch become exponentially more expensive and time-consuming to resolve.
- Create and execute user acceptance test scenarios for all critical conversion workflows
- Test email subscription, internal search, e-commerce checkout, and lead generation processes
- Monitor staging site uptime and server performance under simulated traffic loads
- Validate all critical user journeys, forms, and calls-to-action function correctly
- Confirm analytics and conversion tracking capture data accurately in staging environment
- Run comprehensive site crawl to identify broken links, 404 errors, or technical issues
- Validate redirect mappings work correctly for a representative sample of important URLs
- Verify canonical tags are implemented correctly across all page templates
- Test mobile responsiveness and cross-browser compatibility for key pages
- Confirm all third-party integrations (CRM, marketing automation, chat tools) function properly
- Prepare XML sitemaps for submission immediately after launch
- Document any remaining issues and establish post-launch resolution priorities
10. Migration
Migration day requires focused execution and constant communication across your entire team. This is when all your preparation comes together, and careful coordination becomes critical to success. Your migration manager should be actively monitoring all systems while team members execute their assigned tasks. Have your rollback plan ready and ensure decision-makers are available throughout the process.
The day typically involves several coordinated actions that must happen in sequence. Each step builds on the previous one, so timing and communication are essential. Keep all stakeholders informed of progress and any issues that arise, but avoid making major changes to the plan unless absolutely necessary. If possible, plan for a ~4 hour open call where involved parties are testing and reporting as the switches are flipped.
- Remove password protection and HTTP authentication from staging environment unless you’re moving off that domain/subdomain entirely
- Implement all planned 301 redirects exactly as documented in your URL mapping
- Update DNS records to point to the new server environment
- Generate and upload updated XML sitemap to help search engines discover new structure
- Verify robots.txt file is correctly configured for the new site
- Remove any noindex tags that were preventing search engine access
- Confirm that all absolute links have been changed to the live domain OR use relative links for the launch – this includes CDN or back-end resource scripts/URLs
- Activate new Google Analytics and tracking code across all pages
- Test critical conversion paths and contact forms immediately after launch
- Monitor server performance and uptime in real-time
- Communicate launch completion to all team members and stakeholders
Stage Four: Post-Migration
I’m sorry to say, the work doesn’t end at launch. Careful monitoring and quick issue resolution in the days and weeks following migration are critical for long-term success.
11. Conduct Technical Validation
Run comprehensive technical audits immediately after launch to identify and fix any issues that emerged during the migration process. Conduct robust crawls using tools like Screaming Frog, Sitebulb, Lumar, or similar enterprise crawling platforms to capture a complete picture of your site’s technical health. Pay particular attention to broken pages, redirect chains, and asset loading issues that commonly surface during migrations.
Be especially vigilant about absolute URL implementations that may have worked in your staging environment but break in production. CDN-hosted assets, images served from subdomains, and third-party integrations are frequent culprits for post-launch failures. Check that all CSS, JavaScript, images, and downloadable resources load correctly across different page templates and user pathways.
Address 404 errors immediately if appropriate; they represent broken user experiences and lost search equity. Resolve redirect chains where one redirect leads to another: they slow down page loading and can confuse search engines. Document any patterns you discover, as they often reveal systematic issues that need broader fixes rather than one-off solutions.
Check for orphaned pages that lack internal links, as these may not be discoverable by users or search engines. Verify that metadata (titles and descriptions) is present and optimized for all pages. Ensure image alt text and other accessibility elements are properly implemented across your entire site, not just key landing pages.
- Perform robust crawl to identify any issues
- Fix any 404 errors, broken links, or loading issues
- Resolve redirect chains or incorrect redirect paths
- Check for orphaned pages lacking internal links
- Ensure metadata (titles, descriptions) is present and optimized
- Verify alt text for images and overall content accessibility
- Review structured data for loss of info or for opportunities to add new markup
12. Inspect Analytics and Tracking
Verify that all analytics tags and tracking pixels are firing correctly using browser developer tools or tag testing utilities. Test goal conversions and form submissions to ensure you’re capturing critical business metrics. Set up alerts for abnormal traffic drops or ranking changes that might indicate problems.
Confirm that marketing automation platforms, CRM integrations, and other third-party tools are receiving data correctly. Monitor key performance indicators, including bounce rate, session duration, and conversion rates, to identify any user experience issues
- Verify that all analytics tags and events are firing
- Test goal conversions and form submissions
- Set up alerts for abnormal traffic/ranking drops
- Confirm marketing automation and tracking integrations
- Monitor KPIs (bounce rate, session duration, etc.
13. SEO Checks
Submit your final XML sitemap to Google and Bing, and monitor Search Console for crawl errors, indexing warnings, or coverage issues. Request re-indexing of your most important pages to accelerate the discovery process.
Watch carefully for manual penalties or significant coverage anomalies that might indicate technical problems. Monitor your most important keywords for ranking changes, understanding that some fluctuation is normal during the initial weeks after migration.
- Submit final XML sitemap to Google and Bing
- Monitor Search Console for crawl errors, warnings, or indexation issues
- Request re-indexing of updated or critical pages
- Watch for manual penalties or coverage anomalies
14. Performance Monitoring
Compare post-migration metrics to your pre-migration baseline across all key areas. Monitor organic traffic trends daily for the first two weeks, then weekly for the following month. Track keyword rankings for your priority pages and be prepared to address significant drops quickly.
Measure page load speeds and Core Web Vitals scores, as these impact both user experience and search rankings. Monitor conversion rates and goal completions to ensure the migration hasn’t negatively impacted business performance.
- Compare post-migration metrics to pre-migration baseline
- Monitor organic traffic trends daily for the first two weeks
- Track keyword rankings for priority pages
- Measure page load speeds and Core Web Vitals
- Monitor conversions and goal completions
15. Accessibility Validation
Run comprehensive accessibility audits using automated tools like aXe or WAVE to identify potential barriers for users with disabilities. Test site compatibility with screen readers and keyboard navigation to ensure all users can access your content effectively.
Verify color contrast ratios and font accessibility across all templates. Ensure that interactive elements like buttons and forms are fully accessible and properly labeled for assistive technologies.
- Run full accessibility audit with automated tools
- Test site compatibility with screen readers
- Verify keyboard navigation and focus management
- Confirm color contrast and font accessibility
- Ensure interactive elements are fully accessible
16. Ongoing Optimization
Address SEO and performance issues uncovered during monitoring as quickly as possible. Small problems can compound over time if left unresolved. Optimize site speed and server response times, since these affect both user experience and search rankings.
Refine internal linking structure based on performance data from your new analytics setup. Adjust redirect logic to address any remaining improper 404 errors or improve page loading speeds. Respond promptly to user feedback and usability complaints, as these often reveal issues that technical monitoring might miss.
- Address any SEO or performance issues uncovered during monitoring
- Optimize site speed and server response time
- Refine internal linking structure based on performance
- Adjust redirect logic to address any remaining 404s
- Respond to user feedback and usability complaints
17. Reporting and Documentation
Create a comprehensive migration report that includes before-and-after benchmarks across all key metrics. Document lessons learned and key takeaways that will inform future migration projects. Update internal process documents and knowledge bases with new procedures and insights gained.
Communicate results to stakeholders with supporting data that demonstrates the migration’s impact on business objectives. Archive backup files and related assets securely for future reference. Schedule follow-up performance reviews at 30, 60, and 90 days post-migration to track long-term trends and identify optimization opportunities.
- Create a full migration report including before/after benchmarks
- Document lessons learned and key takeaways
- Update internal process documents and knowledge base
- Communicate results to stakeholders with supporting data
- Archive the old site backup and related assets
- Schedule a 30-/60-/90-day performance review
Case Study: Pine Country’ Migration Success
Pine Country Truck and Trailer’s website migration exemplifies how following a systematic migration process can deliver transformative results. When Pine Country approached Session Interactive, they faced two critical challenges: an outdated CMS that created massive SEO problems with over 44,000 indexed pages (mostly duplicates from faceted navigation), and zero paid search presence.
We followed the comprehensive migration approach outlined in this guide. During the planning stage, we conducted a rigorous SEO audit that confirmed the CMS platform was fundamentally unsuitable for effective SEO. This led to the strategic decision to rebuild their entire website on WordPress, a significant undertaking that required careful coordination with development partners and transparent communication with Pine Country’s leadership team.
The pre-testing phase proved crucial for Pine Country’s success. We meticulously mapped their existing URL structure, planned comprehensive redirect strategies, and established baseline metrics across organic traffic, keyword rankings, and conversion performance. Simultaneously, we built a robust paid search foundation from scratch, creating Brand, Non-Brand, and Competitor campaigns alongside Shopping campaigns, ensuring traffic continuity during the migration transition.
The results show the importance of methodical execution: within three months of launch, Pine Country achieved a 235% increase in clicks, 133% jump in impressions, and a record-breaking 3.86% conversion rate. Most importantly, we trimmed their indexed pages from over 44,000 to just 4,000, eliminating the duplicate content issues that had been suppressing their search performance for years.
At Session Interactive, we’ve guided dozens of mid-market and enterprise companies through complex website migrations, preserving their search equity while unlocking new growth opportunities.
Our systematic approach combines deep technical expertise with strategic thinking, ensuring your migration enhances (rather than disrupts) your digital marketing performance. From initial planning through post-launch optimization, we provide the collaborative partnership and data-driven insights you need to make your website migration a resounding success.
Ready to discuss your migration goals? Let’s talk about how we can help you navigate this critical transition with confidence.
