Website migration is a critical process, often involving a replatform, domain change, or redesign, with significant SEO implications. When handled improperly, it can result in a loss of search rankings, traffic, and even revenue.
To ensure that your site remains functional and visible after migration, follow this 12-step checklist that covers everything from planning to post-launch optimization.
1. Define the Scope and Purpose of the Migration
Before jumping into the migration process, take the time to understand why you’re migrating in the first place. Are you moving to a more powerful CMS, rebranding, or changing your site’s domain? Clarifying your objectives early on ensures that every action taken during the migration aligns with your business goals.
Additionally, defining the scope will help you decide the technical approach for migration. For instance, if you’re migrating for SEO purposes, consider whether the migration will require changes to your site’s structure, metadata, or content. Establishing a solid plan will minimize errors and ensure a smooth transition.
2. Create a Full Backup of Your Existing Site
A comprehensive backup of your existing website is essential for ensuring you can restore it if anything goes wrong during migration. This backup should include your site’s content, databases, and media files. There are numerous tools available, including automated solutions offered by web hosting providers and WordPress backup plugins.
Beyond creating a backup, ensure that the backup is stored securely. Consider saving it in a cloud-based storage solution or an external hard drive. The key is to have easy access to your old site in case you need to roll back the changes or resolve any migration issues.
3. Audit Your Current Website
Conducting a thorough audit of your current website is a crucial step before migration. This will help you identify which parts of your website are performing well and must be preserved. Tools like Google Analytics and Search Console can help you understand your traffic sources, top-performing content, and key SEO metrics like backlinks and page load times.
In addition to SEO, audit technical elements such as broken links, response codes, and server errors. A full audit will give you a baseline understanding of your site’s performance, allowing you to compare metrics post-migration. Keeping a detailed report will also help you troubleshoot if issues arise later.
4. Set Up a Temporary Staging Environment
Working within a staging environment is critical for testing your migration without impacting your live site’s functionality. A staging environment is a replica of your live site where changes can be made and tested in isolation. It’s essential to ensure that your staging site is not indexed by search engines, as it could cause duplicate content issues or reveal unfinished pages to your audience.
Test different elements on the staging site, such as plugins, themes, and content migration, before going live. Running through this phase allows you to identify any potential issues with links, redirects, or functionalities that may affect user experience and SEO.
5. Check for URL Structure Consistency
Maintaining a consistent URL structure during migration is one of the most important SEO considerations. If your URL structure changes drastically, you could risk losing traffic as well as the ranking authority built up over time. If changes are necessary, ensure you implement a detailed URL mapping strategy to minimize disruptions.
It’s also wise to create a spreadsheet of all the old URLs and their new counterparts. This will serve as a guide for setting up 301 redirects and will ensure that every important page is accounted for in the new structure. Consistency here is key to avoiding SEO losses.
6. Set Up 301 Redirects
Once you have mapped your URLs, the next step is to implement 301 redirects. A 301 redirect tells search engines and users that the page has been permanently moved to a new location. This is critical to preserving your site’s SEO, as it ensures that any existing backlinks and traffic are directed to the correct pages post-migration.
Without proper redirects, visitors may land on broken pages, leading to a poor user experience and potential ranking drops. Use tools like Screaming Frog or Google Search Console to monitor your redirects and fix any broken links after the migration is complete.
7. Update Internal Linking Structure
Internal links are an essential part of SEO, as they help search engines crawl your site more efficiently and provide users with a seamless browsing experience. After your migration, check that all internal links have been updated to point to the correct URLs. This includes links in your site’s navigation, footer, and in-content links.
Neglecting this step can result in broken links and a poor user experience, both of which can harm your SEO rankings. Tools like Screaming Frog or Ahrefs can help you scan your site and identify any broken internal links that need updating.
8. Test on the Staging Site
Once your migration steps have been implemented on the staging site, it’s time for thorough testing. Test every element, including navigation, form submissions, functionality of plugins, and overall site performance. Simulate user behavior and check how your website responds on different devices and browsers.
Don’t overlook SEO during the testing phase. Use Google Search Console’s URL inspection tool to ensure that your staging site can be crawled by search engines, and check that all important SEO elements, such as title tags, meta descriptions, and canonical tags, are intact.
9. Inform Google of the Migration
Once your migration is live, use Google Search Console to inform Google about the changes. If you’ve changed domains, use the “Change of Address” tool to let Google know that your site has moved. This ensures that Google updates its index to reflect the new URLs and prevents any drops in rankings.
Resubmit your XML sitemap and update your robots.txt file to ensure that all necessary pages are being crawled and indexed properly. It’s also a good idea to update your canonical tags if they reference the old domain.
10. Monitor the Migration in Real Time
Immediately after the migration goes live, closely monitor your site’s performance. Check your real-time traffic in Google Analytics, and watch for any significant drops in visitor numbers or crawl errors in Google Search Console. This real-time monitoring will alert you to any immediate issues so that they can be fixed before they cause significant harm.
Pay attention to SEO metrics, such as keyword rankings and organic traffic, to ensure that your site maintains its search visibility. If any pages drop in ranking, investigate whether it’s due to broken links, redirects, or missing metadata.
11. Perform a Full SEO Review Post-Migration
After your website migration is complete, conduct a thorough SEO audit to ensure that everything is functioning as expected. Use tools like Ahrefs or SEMrush to monitor your keyword rankings, backlink health, and overall traffic. Check that all 301 redirects are functioning properly and that there are no 404 errors or broken links.
It’s also important to review your site speed, mobile responsiveness, and crawlability. Make sure that Google and other search engines can access all the critical pages on your site and that no important content is blocked by robots.txt or noindex tags.
12. Optimize for Ongoing Performance
Even after a successful migration, there are always opportunities for further optimization. Review your site’s performance in areas such as speed, mobile usability, and user experience. Implement any necessary improvements to ensure that your site remains fast, accessible, and engaging for users across all devices.
Continue to monitor your SEO performance over the coming weeks and months. If you notice any drops in rankings or traffic, investigate the cause and take action to fix any lingering issues from the migration. Ongoing optimization will ensure that your website remains competitive in search results and continues to grow.
Conclusion
Website migration is a complex but necessary process for many businesses. By following these 12 steps, you can ensure that your migration goes smoothly and that your site maintains its SEO rankings and user experience. From planning and backups to testing and post-launch optimization, each step plays a crucial role in the success of your migration.
Remember that preparation and testing are key. Don’t rush the process, and be sure to monitor your site closely after the migration to catch any issues early. With careful planning and execution, your new site can perform even better than the old one, setting the stage for future growth.
