The Complete Website Migration Checklist [SEO-Friendly]

Website migration can be a daunting task for any business. Whether you are moving to a new domain, redesigning your website, or switching to a new platform, there are many factors to consider to ensure a smooth transition without harming your SEO efforts. Follow our website migration checklist to reduce the risk of major website changes harming your SEO.

1. Plan Your Migration Strategy

Before you start the migration process, it is essential to have a clear plan in place. Define your goals for the migration, set a timeline, and allocate resources accordingly. Consider factors such as the impact on SEO, user experience, and website performance.

2. Conduct a Website Audit

Before making any changes, conduct a comprehensive audit of your current website. Identify any technical issues, broken links, duplicate content, or other SEO issues that need to be addressed before the migration.

3. Backup Your Website

Prior to making any changes, it is crucial to backup your website to ensure that you have a copy of all your files and data in case anything goes wrong during the migration process.

4. Inform Search Engines

Notify search engines about the upcoming changes to your website by submitting an updated sitemap and using tools like Google Search Console to inform them about the migration. This will help search engines understand the changes and update their index accordingly.

5. Redirect Old URLs

If you are changing your domain or restructuring your website, make sure to set up 301 redirects from old URLs to new ones. This will ensure that users and search engines are directed to the correct pages and prevent any loss of traffic or rankings.

6. Update Internal Links

Review all internal links on your website and update them to point to the new URLs. This will help maintain the integrity of your website’s structure and ensure that users can navigate your site easily after the migration.

7. Test Your Website

Before making your new website live, thoroughly test all its functionalities, including links, forms, images, and other elements. Check for any errors or issues that may affect user experience or SEO performance.

8. Monitor Traffic and Rankings

After the migration is complete, monitor your website’s traffic and rankings closely to identify any fluctuations or issues that may arise. Keep an eye on key metrics such as organic traffic, keyword rankings, and conversion rates to ensure that the migration has been successful.

9. Update External Links

If you have backlinks pointing to your website from external sources, reach out to those websites and request them to update the links to your new URLs. This will help maintain the authority of your website and prevent any loss of link equity.

10. Submit a New Sitemap

Once the migration is complete, submit a new sitemap to search engines to help them discover and index your new pages. This will ensure that your website is properly crawled and ranked in search results.

By following this website migration checklist, you can minimize the risk of major website changes harming your SEO efforts. Proper planning, execution, and monitoring are key to ensuring a successful migration that maintains or improves your website’s visibility and performance in search engines.