Business guide
Website migration checklist: prepare, launch and verify the business journey
A practical migration checklist covering access, backups, page mapping, DNS, email, indexing settings and tested customer enquiries.
Write down what is changing and what must keep working
A migration checklist should reflect the actual move. A hosting change with identical URLs differs from a new domain, a platform replacement or a complete content restructure. Record those choices before treating a generic list as a launch plan. Identify the person approving the switch and the person who can restore the previous setup.
List the business-critical functions: phone contact, forms, bookings, downloads, payments or staff tools linked from the site. Confirm which are in scope for testing and who will verify them. A migration is not complete merely because the replacement homepage loads on the developer’s computer.
Before launch: establish access and a baseline
Confirm domain, DNS, hosting and deployment access using named permissions where available. Record email dependencies and keep the necessary services active. Take appropriate backups or exports and establish how they would be restored. A file called backup is not enough if nobody knows whether it contains the database or current content.
Capture the old URL inventory and agree destination pages and redirects. Identify licensed assets and integrations needing their own transfer. For a hosting-only move, ask the DNS maintainer about lowering TTL in advance: Google suggests doing this at least a week before the move so caches can refresh sooner. Keep credentials out of the checklist itself.
- Name the approver, implementer and recovery contact.
- Record domain, DNS, hosting and email dependencies.
- Preserve agreed content and restorable backups.
- Map changed URLs and retain useful downloads.
- Record a search and enquiry baseline.
At launch: check the actual public configuration
Review the production domain, HTTPS, canonical addresses and sitemap. Confirm the public pages have not inherited staging restrictions that prevent indexing. Check the intended www or non-www address and important old links. Keep the switch to the planned scope instead of adding unrelated design changes while diagnosing launch issues.
If DNS changes, preserve records needed for business email and authorised senders. For hosting-only moves, observe traffic at both hosts; Google advises keeping the old host running until traffic there reaches zero. Confirm it is not also supplying DNS or mail before cancelling it. This is evidence-based retirement, not a promise that every visitor switches simultaneously.
- Ready
Access, backups, mapping and responsibilities are confirmed.
- Launch
Publish only the agreed production changes.
- Verify
Test public URLs, email and a complete enquiry journey.
- Observe
Review errors and search data before closing the old setup.
After launch: test the journey rather than the buttons
Use a phone to open a service page, follow a contact link and send a labelled enquiry. Have the receiving person confirm delivery and reply handling. Test bookings or checkout only through an agreed safe procedure appropriate to the system. Avoid accidental real charges or sending test requests to unsuspecting staff.
Check that production measurement points to the correct property and that test activity is identifiable. A tracked click, a successful form request and a received business enquiry are separate observations. Record which one you verified instead of reporting them all as sales.
Keep the checklist open for post-launch checks
Inspect representative URLs in Search Console, review reported errors and compare useful pages over time. Search changes need context: demand, new content and measurement changes can affect the numbers. Preserve the launch notes so a later drop can be checked against what actually changed.
My website design and migration scope can include these preparation and verification steps. We agree who handles each dependency before launch. The checklist creates a shared record of a controlled move; it does not guarantee rankings or remove the need to maintain the site afterwards.