Website Migration Checklist: Before, During, and After

Moving a website is one of the highest-risk technical tasks a business can undertake. Done correctly, your visitors never notice. Done wrong, you face downtime, broken links, lost data, and significant drops in search rankings that can take months to recover.

This checklist covers everything you need to do before, during, and after a website migration — whether you are moving to a new hosting provider, switching platforms, or changing your domain.

Types of Website Migrations

Before diving into the checklist, it helps to understand what type of migration you are doing:

Hosting migration: Moving your existing website from one hosting provider to another. Your domain and URL structure stay the same.

Platform migration: Moving from one website platform to another — for example, from Wix or Squarespace to WordPress. Content must be restructured.

Domain migration: Moving your website to a new domain name. Requires 301 redirects from all old URLs to new ones.

HTTP to HTTPS migration: Adding SSL and moving from HTTP to HTTPS. Requires updating internal links and setting up redirects.

Each type has different risks and requirements. This checklist covers the core tasks that apply to all migrations, with notes on type-specific considerations.

Before the Migration

Audit Your Current Site

Before moving anything, document what you have:

Crawl your site with a tool like Screaming Frog or Sitebulb. Export a list of all URLs, titles, meta descriptions, H1s, and status codes.
Document your current rankings — export your Google Search Console data and note your top-performing pages and keywords.
Record your current traffic — take a screenshot of your Google Analytics traffic for the past 3 months as a baseline.
List all redirects — document any existing 301 redirects so they can be recreated on the new server.
Identify all forms and integrations — note every form, payment processor, CRM integration, and third-party tool that needs to work after the migration.

Prepare the New Environment

Set up the new hosting account before touching the live site.
Install SSL on the new server before migrating.
Lower DNS TTL to 300 seconds (5 minutes) at least 24 hours before the migration. This speeds up DNS propagation when you make the cutover.
Create a staging environment on the new host to test the migrated site before going live.

Back Up Everything

Take a complete backup of your website files and database.
Download the backup to your local computer — do not rely solely on a backup stored on the same server you are leaving.
Verify the backup — confirm the files are complete and the database export is not empty.

During the Migration

Transfer Files and Database

Copy all website files to the new server.
Export and import the database — for WordPress, this means exporting the MySQL database and importing it on the new server.
Update the database connection settings — for WordPress, update wp-config.php with the new database credentials.
Update URLs in the database — if the domain is changing, use a tool like Search-Replace-DB to update all URLs in the database.

Test on the New Server

Before changing DNS, test the site on the new server using a hosts file modification or a temporary URL:

All pages load correctly
Images display properly
Forms work and submit correctly
Payment processing works (test with a test transaction)
Login and user accounts work
SSL certificate is active (HTTPS works without errors)
Email sending works (contact forms, order confirmations)
Third-party integrations work (CRM, analytics, chat)

Set Up Redirects (For Domain or URL Changes)

If any URLs are changing:

Create 301 redirects from every old URL to the corresponding new URL.
Redirect the old domain to the new domain (if changing domains).
Test every redirect — confirm each old URL redirects to the correct new URL.

A 301 redirect tells search engines that the page has permanently moved. This transfers the SEO value from the old URL to the new one.

The DNS Cutover

Update DNS records to point to the new server's IP address.
Monitor propagation using whatsmydns.net to track when the change takes effect globally.
Keep the old server running for at least 48-72 hours after the cutover in case some visitors are still hitting the old server.

After the Migration

Verify the Live Site

Confirm the site loads correctly on the new server.
Check SSL — confirm HTTPS works and there are no mixed-content warnings.
Test all forms on the live site.
Check all redirects are working on the live site.
Verify email — send a test email through any contact forms.

Update Google Search Console

Add the new site to Google Search Console if the domain changed.
Submit your sitemap to Google Search Console.
Use the Change of Address tool in Search Console if you changed domains — this tells Google about the migration and speeds up re-indexing.
Monitor for crawl errors in Search Console over the next few weeks.

Update Google Analytics

Verify tracking is working — confirm Google Analytics is recording sessions on the new site.
Update the property URL in Google Analytics if the domain changed.

Update Internal Links

Check for hardcoded URLs — search your content for any hardcoded links to the old domain or old URLs and update them.
Update your sitemap — regenerate and submit your XML sitemap.

Monitor Performance

For the first 30 days after migration:

Monitor rankings — check your key pages in Google Search Console weekly.
Monitor traffic — compare traffic to the pre-migration baseline.
Monitor crawl errors — check Search Console for any new 404 errors.
Monitor page speed — run PageSpeed Insights on key pages and compare to pre-migration scores.

Common Migration Mistakes

Not backing up before starting. If something goes wrong and you do not have a backup, you may lose data permanently.

Changing DNS before testing. Always test the migrated site on the new server before pointing DNS to it.

Forgetting to set up redirects. Every URL that changes needs a 301 redirect. Missing redirects mean broken links and lost SEO value.

Not lowering TTL before the cutover. High TTL values mean DNS changes take longer to propagate. Lower TTL to 300 seconds at least 24 hours before the migration.

Deleting the old server too quickly. Keep the old server running for at least 72 hours after the cutover. Some visitors and search engine bots may still be hitting the old server.

Not updating Search Console. After a domain migration, use the Change of Address tool in Google Search Console. Without it, Google may take much longer to recognize the migration.

When to Get Professional Help

Website migrations are high-stakes. If your site generates significant revenue or leads, the cost of a failed migration — in lost traffic, lost rankings, and emergency recovery work — far exceeds the cost of professional migration services.

VSF Technology handles website migrations for businesses across Tampa Bay and the United States. We manage the entire process — from pre-migration audit to post-migration monitoring.

Contact VSF Technology or learn more about our website migration services.