The Complete Website Migration Checklist [SEO-Friendly]

Before we dive into our SEO-friendly website migration checklist, let’s screen the basics.

What Is Website Migration?

Website migration is the process of making large changes to a website’s technology, structure, design, oregon location. Usually with the extremity of improving the site’s idiosyncratic acquisition and SEO performance.

Migration is simply a challenging process. And you request a truly bully crushed to instrumentality it on. 

Some of the astir communal reasons to migrate a website include:

• Moving to a caller model oregon website platform: Moving from your existing model to a caller 1 similar WordPress oregon Wix. You mightiness bash this if you privation to amended your site’s performance, security, oregon functionality. 
• Changing your website architecture: Adopting a much organized website structure. To amended the idiosyncratic acquisition and your SEO results. 
• Moving from HTTP to HTTPS: Switching from HTTP to HTTPS helps unafraid your tract by encrypting visitors’ information. And it’s highly recommended by Google.
• Moving to a caller server: Switching to a caller big could velocity up your tract overall, particularly if it’s growing. A accelerated tract is bully for visitors and hunt engines. 
• Changing your domain name: Maybe you’re changing your domain name arsenic a portion of a rebrand. If so, you’ll privation to determination your aged contented implicit to the caller website.

Does Website Migration Affect SEO?

A website migration mostly has a antagonistic interaction connected SEO successful the abbreviated word and a affirmative interaction successful the agelong term.

That’s due to the fact that it takes clip for hunt engines to recognize the changes you’ve made to your site. But they should yet admit that your tract has changed for the better. (Assuming that it decidedly has.)

To minimize the antagonistic interaction connected your SEO, you should travel immoderate website migration champion practices. 

Let’s dive into them.

A Detailed Website Migration Checklist

Let’s spell done the website migration process measurement by step:

Part 1: Preparing for the Migration

There’s a just magnitude of preliminary enactment you’ll request to bash first—no substance what benignant of migration you’re implementing.

1. Create Your SEO Migration Plan

Careful readying volition trim the hazard of issues cropping up during the tract migration process. And afterward.

So, what are the archetypal actions to take?

• Set objectives. Define goals to assistance support your readying focused.
• Read this guide. Familiarize yourself with the full website migration process earlier you commencement taking immoderate action. To trim the chances of making mistakes.
• Collect benchmarks. Gather information from analytics tools similar Semrush, Google Search Console (GSC), and Google Analytics 4 (GA4) truthful you tin marque comparisons later. 
• Assemble your team. Assign oregon employment each the specialists you request for the project. You’ll decidedly request the assistance of a developer and idiosyncratic with method SEO expertise.
• Create a timeline. Use the proposal successful this usher to program retired a realistic and strategical timeline for the project. Think months—not days oregon weeks. 

2. Prepare for Your Migration Type

You’ll request to get a fewer things successful bid earlier you alteration immoderate code. And those actions beryllium connected the migration type:

• Domain change: Purchase the caller domain and configure its DNS settings (which are important for making your tract accessible connected the internet)
• Hosting supplier change: Select the close hosting supplier and acceptable up your account
• HTTP to HTTPS: Obtain an SSL certificate from your hosting supplier oregon a reputable third-party vendor to alteration a unafraid (encrypted) transportation connected your site
• Platform change: Choose your caller website level and acceptable up your account

Whatever benignant of website migration you’re planning, inquire a developer to make a backup of your site. Just successful lawsuit thing goes incorrect connected your accumulation site.

It’s besides a bully thought to tally a technical SEO audit astatine this stage.

With Semrush’s Site Audit tool, you tin rapidly place issues relating to your site’s security, crawlability, interior linking, tract speed, and more. 

This accusation tin assistance you marque much strategical decisions astir your SEO website migration.

3. Make a Copy of Your Site

Next, marque a transcript of your site. To enactment arsenic the harmless investigating situation (also known arsenic a improvement oregon staging environment) wherever you tin use changes without affecting your unrecorded site.

You should inquire a developer for help, but the process typically involves:

• Copying your website's files to a caller subdomain (e.g., staging.example.com)
• Duplicating your database and connecting this transcript to the duplicated website files
• Updating the configuration of the copied tract to guarantee it points to the caller database and set immoderate indispensable settings (like URLs)

If your unrecorded website uses a content transportation web (CDN) (a postulation of servers astir the satellite that delivers contented to users based connected their location) marque definite to acceptable it up connected your staging site, too. That way, you tin guarantee it works good alongside your caller site.

4. Block Access to Your Staging Site

You request to artifact hunt engines from accessing your trial site. Otherwise, it could look successful hunt results earlier it’s ready.

First, we urge that you adhd password extortion to support some users and website crawlers out. Many hosting providers let you to bash this done the hosting power panel.

Then, adhd a noindex tag to each leafage connected your staging site.

This is simply a meta robots tag that tells crawlers not to see the leafage successful hunt results. And it looks similar this:

<meta name="robots" content="noindex">

In a fewer steps, we’ll screen moving a trial to guarantee hunt engines tin decently crawl your staging tract anterior to pushing it live. So having noindex tags successful spot volition support your pages from showing successful hunt results portion you're inactive experimenting.

You tin alteration SemrushBot to bypass these directives erstwhile you acceptable up a method audit later.

5. Prepare the New Site

Now, it’s clip to marque changes that align with your website migration goals. Perhaps that means adopting a caller plan layout oregon changing your tract structure.

Note that it’s champion to avoid making tons of large changes astatine once. For example, don’t alteration your domain and marque large structural changes successful the aforesaid migration.

Doing multiple, smaller migrations tends to beryllium much manageable than doing a single, large one.

It besides allows hunt engines and users to set to the changes measurement by step. So you tin minimize disruption to your traffic. And isolate immoderate changes that origin issues.

6. Set Up Google Analytics 4 connected Your Staging Site

Create a caller GA4 spot oregon information watercourse for your staging site. Then instal the tracking code.

This allows you to hole the events (user interactions) you privation to way and guarantee information is collected properly. So you don’t miss thing important erstwhile the tract goes live.

7. Run a Technical SEO Audit connected Your Staging Site

Running a method SEO audit connected your staging tract lets you hole perchance harmful errors earlier they’re migrated to your unrecorded environment.

Semrush’s Site Audit instrumentality makes it easy.

Enter your staging domain and click “Start Audit” to begin.

Then, you’ll request to configure the basal settings:

• Crawl scope: If you’re utilizing a staging subdomain, click the pencil icon to specify it
• Limit of checked pages: Make definite this fig is precocious capable to screen each the pages connected your staging site
• Crawl source: Leave this arsenic “Website” for now

Follow the instructions provided to configure your different settings.

In the 5th step, marque definite to cheque the container adjacent to “Bypass disallow successful robots.txt and by robots meta tag.” So that SemrushBot ignores your disallow directive and noindex tags.

And supply your site’s login details successful “Crawling with your credentials.” 

When you’re finished, click “Start Site Audit.”

The instrumentality volition past execute implicit 140 checks connected your staging site. 

When your audit is ready, instrumentality a look astatine your Site Health people to get a wide consciousness of however your caller tract mightiness perform. 

Then, absorption connected the “Errors.” These are terrible issues that could earnestly interaction your SEO tract migration.

But it’s worthy checking your “Warnings” and “Notices,” too.

You tin click done to presumption a implicit database of issues. With proposal connected however and wherefore to hole them.

After implementing immoderate fixes, rerun the audit to cheque that everything’s moving correctly.

You should spot your wide Site Health people improve.

8. Give Googlebot Temporary Access to Your Staging Site

When you’re blessed with your staging site, springiness Google’s website crawler (Googlebot) impermanent access. To marque definite that Google tin crawl and index (find and store your webpages) the tract properly. 

You’ll request to region password protection. 

Then, add and verify your tract successful Google Search Console (GSC). And spell to “Indexing” > “Pages.”

After immoderate clip has passed, you should find that each your pages are “Not indexed.” Which means that Googlebot tin crawl the pages and the noindex tags are moving properly.

If immoderate pages are missing oregon determination are indexing errors unrelated to the noindex tags, determination could beryllium a occupation that volition impact your SEO post-migration.

Make definite to analyse and resoluteness these crawlability issues.

You tin past re-add password protection. And determination connected to the adjacent step.

10. Update Your DNS TTL Value 

If you're migrating to a caller hosting provider, your IP code (the code that computers usage to find your website) volition change.

To guarantee that different computers rapidly re-locate your website aft it moves (and truthful nonstop visitors to the close location), update your DNS TTL worth with your existent provider.

TTL stands for “time to live.” The TTL worth tells computers erstwhile to cheque backmost for a imaginable alteration to your DNS record.

So, lowering your TTL worth helps your caller IP code dispersed crossed the net faster.

Just marque definite the alteration is temporary. Because debased TTL values tin pb to show issues.

Part 2: Mapping Old URLs to New URLs

If you’re changing your domain oregon URL structure, you’ll request to representation aged URLs to caller URLs. So you tin acceptable up the indispensable redirects and update links.

Otherwise, you tin skip to portion three.

11. Create a List of Your Current URLs

First, you’ll request to instrumentality an inventory of each the contented connected your site.

To constitute the astir close database and guarantee you don’t miss thing important, compile information from aggregate sources. Including: 

• Site Audit: Export URLs that SemrushBot has crawled
• GSC: Export URLs that Googlebot has crawled and indexed
• GA4: Export URLs that users person visited
• Backlink Analytics: Discover pages connected your tract that person backlinks
• XML Sitemap: This is the record that contains the URLs you privation to beryllium indexed

Make definite to delete immoderate duplicate URLs. 

Otherwise, your contented absorption strategy (CMS) mightiness person a instrumentality oregon plugin that allows you to make a database of your site’s URLs.

12. Plan Which Pages to Redirect and Which to Delete

Now, your squad needs to program what volition hap with your aged URLs.

If the contented is moving to a caller location, you should adhd a server-side 301 redirect from the aged URL to its caller counterpart. 

(E.g., from http://www.example.com/ to https://www.example.com/.)

A 301 redirect ensures that visitors who usage the aged URL scope the caller destination.

But it besides tells hunt engines that the assets has permanently moved. And that immoderate existing SEO authorization should transportation to the caller URL.

This tin assistance sphere rankings and traffic.

You should not redirect contented if there’s nary equivalent URL for it connected the caller site.

Say determination are outdated blog posts you don’t privation to transportation to your caller site. You mightiness deliberation it’s a bully thought to redirect these URLs to your caller blog homepage. But this tin origin disorder for users. 

That’s wherefore it’s discouraged by hunt engines and atrocious for SEO.

Instead, these aged URLs should beryllium acceptable to service a 410 presumption code. To archer hunt engines (and users) that the assets has been permanently removed.

In the end, you should person a URL representation that looks thing similar this:

13. Update URLs connected Your Staging Site

You’re present acceptable to regenerate oregon region instances of the aged URLs connected your staging site. 

This volition guarantee determination are nary links to deleted pages. And nary links going done unnecessary redirects, which tin dilatory down your tract and harm SEO.

You’ll request to cheque URLs utilized in:

• A href links: Standard, clickable hyperlinks. These volition look successful your main navigation, footer, assemblage content, etc.
• The XML sitemap: The record that defines each the URLs you privation hunt engines to index. 
• Robots.txt: The record that defines URLs you privation to block. It should besides incorporate the URL for your XML sitemap.
• Canonical tags: Code utilized to specify the preferred mentation of a page. If the leafage has nary duplicates, the canonical should beryllium self-referencing.
• Hreflang tags: Code utilized to specify each the translated versions of a page. (They’re not needed if you don’t service your contented successful antithetic languages.)

And immoderate different cardinal locations connected your website.

14. Perform Final Checks connected Your Staging Site

Perform a last overview of your staging tract to guarantee everything looks bully earlier you migrate.

Here’s a speedy checklist:

• Rerun the Site Audit to look for immoderate important issues
• Check for immoderate recommendations flagged successful GSC
• Review website functionality connected desktop and mobile devices
• Make definite there’s nary placeholder contented (e.g., lorem ipsum)
• Ensure information is being captured successful GA4
• Confirm that your tract is legally compliant (e.g., cheque your privateness policy) 

Part 3: Completing the Migration

It’s present clip for action. To modulation from your aged tract to your caller one.

15. Record the Current Site Status and Create a Content Backup

This is your past accidental to cod information for your existent tract acceptable for examination aboriginal (e.g., Site Audit results, GA4 reports).

Also marque definite to backmost up each of your content. Including meta tags, meta titles, etc.

How you’ll backmost up your tract depends connected however it’s hosted. You mightiness beryllium capable to bash it done your tract host’s power panel. If you person a CMS similar WordPress, determination whitethorn beryllium utile plugins available.

Before proceeding with the adjacent step, marque definite you person the greenish airy from everyone progressive successful the tract migration project.

16. Evaluate the Complexity and Migrate successful Chunks

Different pages of your website tin person antithetic issues erstwhile it comes to migration. Because they service antithetic purposes and person antithetic features.

The much pages you determination astatine once, the much apt it is that you’ll look mistakes. And the harder it’ll beryllium to find the cause.

So, if you person a ample website, we urge that you determination contented conception by conception (e.g., by contented type). Starting with the slightest important oregon smaller segments. 

And execute tests aft each move.

17. Update the DNS Settings

If you’re switching to a caller server, you request to alteration your DNS grounds truthful it points to the caller IP address. 

To bash this, interaction your hosting institution and petition the change.

Make definite to revert your TTL value backmost to normal, too.

18. Remove All Temporary Website Blocks

Make definite your caller website is disposable to users and hunt motor crawlers. 

That means removing: 

• Password protection
• Unnecessary noindex tags from your HTML

Afterward, re-run your Semrush Site Audit and cheque for issues successful the “Crawlability” report.

19. Enable Redirects and Removals

At this point, alteration each your redirects. And delete immoderate pages that aren’t being moved (using 410 presumption codes).

To cheque everything’s moving correctly, rerun your Site Audit run and spell to “Issues.”

In the “Errors” section, you’ll spot however galore pages instrumentality a 4XX (e.g., 410) presumption code.

In the “Notices” section, you’ll spot however galore URLs person imperishable redirects.

Click the “X URLs” links to spot each the corresponding URLs and cheque they’re correct.

20. Complete SEO-Focused Tasks successful Google Search Console

There are a fewer tasks you request to implicit successful Google Search Console.

First, spell to “Settings” > “Ownership verification” and cheque that you’re a verified proprietor connected your caller site. If not, you whitethorn request to upload the HTML record provided to your caller website.

If you’ve moved to a caller domain, spell backmost to “Settings” and click “Change of address.”

Fill retired the provided signifier to velocity up indexing for your caller pages. And minimize your ranking losses.

Next, spell to “Indexing” > “Sitemaps” and submit the XML sitemaps for your aged tract and your caller site.

This helps Google observe the redirects from the aged URLs to the caller ones. And allows you to show the indexation/removal process. 

Lastly, resubmit immoderate disavowed nexus files for your erstwhile domain. Otherwise, these perchance toxic backlinks could harm your caller site’s rankings.

21. Update External Links arsenic You’re Able To

Where possible, you should update immoderate external links (links to your tract from different domains) that constituent to your aged URLs. Because it’s amended that they don’t spell to a deleted leafage oregon done a redirect. 

Outdated links could beryllium contiguous successful properties you own, specified as:

• Social media profiles
• Online concern listings
• Digital advertizing campaigns

For links controlled by different parties, effort reaching retired and asking them to update the links.

You tin find backlinks to your aged tract utilizing Semrush’s Backlink Analytics tool.

Just participate your aged domain past spell to the “Backlinks” report.

After that, acceptable up the Backlink Audit instrumentality for your caller site. So you tin easy show the incoming links to your caller site.

Part 4: Monitoring the Migration

By monitoring show aft your migration, you tin spot (and resolve) issues early. And place immoderate opportunities for improvement.

Let’s proceed our SEO tract migration checklist:

22. Check for Issues Using Site Audit, GA4, and GSC

Rerun your Site Audit run aft the move. Then, spell to “Compare Crawls” to spot if the fig of issues has changed.

If determination are immoderate “New” issues, marque definite to click done to analyse them.

Also support an oculus connected the reports successful GSC.

Particularly the “Page indexing” report, which should amusement your caller pages being indexed and your aged pages being deindexed.

Last but not least, usage GA4 to way postulation and conversions. Making definite to comparison against your benchmarks.

It’s mean for results to temporarily dip aft a tract migration. But erstwhile definite pages execute worse than others, look into it. As determination whitethorn beryllium a circumstantial contented to blame.

23. Track Your Keyword Rankings

The champion mode to recognize immoderate changes successful hunt motor postulation you whitethorn person noticed is to track your Google rankings.

Semrush’s Position Tracking instrumentality provides the elaborate insights you need.

After importing the keywords you attraction about, prime a day scope spanning your website migration.

You’ll instantly spot immoderate changes to your wide visibility. Which should retrieve wrong a mates of weeks. (If not, travel the steps successful the troubleshooting conception astatine the extremity of this article.)

In the “Pages” report, you tin way your show by URL.

It’s mean to acquisition impermanent drops successful rankings aft a tract migration. But if immoderate pages are performing importantly worse than others, it’s worthy investigating.

In the “Overview” report, you tin show show for idiosyncratic keywords.

Look astatine the icons successful the “Pos.” columns to spot whether you’ve mislaid oregon gained immoderate SERP features (elements that tin assistance your effect basal retired connected hunt results pages.) 

You mightiness beryllium capable to get immoderate SERP features you don’t person by utilizing schema markup (code connected your webpages that helps hunt engines recognize what those pages are about) oregon optimizing your content.

24. Add a Semrush Note About Your Migration

Make enactment of your tract migration day successful Semrush Notes. 

Your enactment tin past look successful assorted graphs crossed the Semrush toolkit. Making it easier to comparison results earlier and aft the move.

For example, this enactment successful Site Audit makes it casual to spot if the migration correlated with an summation successful method issues.

While this enactment successful Position Tracking allows america to spot the migration’s effect connected hunt visibility.

25. Cancel Your Old Hosting

If you migrated to a caller server/hosting provider, you tin cancel your aged hosting erstwhile Google finishes indexing your caller website. 

Once again, marque definite that each your 301 redirects are acceptable up properly. And sending radical distant from the discontinued server.

Troubleshooting Your Migration

If you announcement thing incorrect with the mode your assemblage is behaving oregon you haven't regained your traffic/rankings aft a fewer months, spell implicit these steps to troubleshoot your issues:

• Find retired if a peculiar root is driving the postulation nonaccomplishment (via GA4):
  • If you’ve mislaid postulation from backlinks oregon ads, cheque the redirects
  • If you’ve mislaid organic hunt traffic, cheque your rankings successful Position Tracking
• Find retired if you’ve mislaid traffic/rankings crossed your full tract oregon circumstantial pages:
  • If the contented affects galore pages crossed the website, rerun Site Audit to find retired if method issues are causing trouble—and travel the tool’s instructions to hole them
  • If you person circumstantial pages that person mislaid positions, look astatine the backup and spot if changes to content/meta tags could beryllium responsible

You tin besides look problems adjacent if your tract doesn't person immoderate method errors. 

For example, diminishing show for conversion rates, bounce rates, and exit rates could mean that your assemblage is facing barriers successful their journey. 

Consider whether you tin marque your calls to action much prominent. Or if you request to minimize distractions similar unnecessary links and ocular effects.

Create Your Own Site Migration Checklist

We’ve created a simplified, interactive mentation of this website migration checklist successful Google Docs.

Find the checklist here and click “Use this template” to make a copy.

You tin past customize the database and cheque disconnected steps arsenic needed.