Website Migration Checklist: Moving Without Losing Traffic or Rankings

Website migration -- whether changing hosts, platforms, or domains -- is one of the highest-risk operations for your online presence. Done right, visitors never notice. Done wrong, you lose traffic, rankings, and revenue.

Pre-Migration Checklist

1. Full backup of current website (files + database)
2. Document all current DNS records (screenshot everything)
3. Crawl current site to map all URLs (use Screaming Frog or similar)
4. Note current search rankings for key terms
5. Set up new hosting environment and test thoroughly
6. Create 301 redirect map for any URL changes
7. Lower DNS TTL to 300 seconds (48 hours before migration)
8. Notify stakeholders about planned downtime window

Migration Day Checklist

1. Final backup of source site
2. Copy files and database to new server
3. Update database connection settings
4. Test everything on new server using hosts file or temporary URL
5. Update DNS records to point to new server
6. Verify SSL certificate works on new server
7. Test all forms, payments, and interactive features
8. Verify email still works (MX records intact)

Post-Migration Checklist

1. Monitor for 404 errors (check server logs and Search Console)
2. Verify all 301 redirects are working
3. Submit updated XML sitemap to Google Search Console
4. Test on multiple devices and browsers
5. Monitor search rankings for 2-4 weeks
6. Check page speed on new hosting
7. Restore DNS TTL to normal values

Need help with website migration? Contact us -- we have migrated hundreds of sites without SEO loss.