An In-Depth Guide to Website Migration Checklist for Beginners
Are you considering moving your website to a new hosting provider or platform? The site migration process can be daunting and complex. But, it doesn't have to be. With a simple plan, migrating your website becomes much more straightforward.
In this in-depth guide, we'll explain everything you need to know about creating a comprehensive website migration checklist – from understanding work to ensuring you complete all necessary steps. So if you're looking for valuable tips on successfully migrating your site without hiccups, read on!
1. Preparation: Website Migration
Migrating your website from one platform to another can be a daunting task. It requires time, effort, and planning to ensure a successful process. To make sure you're prepared, there are several things you need to consider before embarking on the migration journey.
Understand Your Needs
Before starting the migration process, it is essential to understand your website's needs. These can include ease of use, scalability, security, and cost. Understanding these needs will help you choose the right new platform for your website and ensure it meets all your requirements.
Research Potential Platforms
Once you have identified your needs, it's time to look into potential platforms for migrating your website. First, research each option thoroughly to understand its features, benefits, and associated limitations or issues. This will help you make an informed decision about which platform is best suited for your particular website.
Test Your New Platform Before Launch
After selecting a new platform for your website, the next step is testing it before launch. This will help you identify any potential issues or problems before they become an issue during migration. Ensure all aspects of the site—including design elements, navigation menus, content management systems (CMS), and other components—are working properly before launching the site on its new platform. Testing ensures that everything is configured correctly so that users can access the site easily once they have migrated it.
Finalize Your Plan Once you have tested the new platform, finalized all its settings and configurations, and ensured everything works correctly. Then, it's time to create a plan for migrating your existing website over to this new platform.
This plan includes details, such as timeline estimates for completing each step in the process and contingency plans in case something goes wrong during the migration or after the launch. This will help ensure a smooth transition from one platform to another and minimize downtime for users accessing the site during this period.
2. Set Up a Development Environment: Website Migration
Setting up a development environment that allows you to test the migration process before launching is important during site migration. This will transfer all your pages, content, and styling elements without compromising your site's performance or security. Here's an overview of creating an effective development environment for website migration.
Choose Your Platforms and Tools
The first step in setting up a development environment is deciding which platforms and tools you will use. This includes choosing the hosting provider that will host the development site. Ideally, this should differ from the hosting provider used in your live production environment.
So any issues arising during testing don't affect the performance of your leading site. Next, select any additional software or tools required for testing and migrating your websites, such as a web server, database server, content management system (CMS), or development framework.
Set Up Your Backup System
Once you have selected all the platforms and tools, it's time to set up a backup system that can be used throughout the migration process. This includes creating backups of the source and destination databases and all other files related to your website. Multiple backups ensure that if something goes wrong with one version of your data during testing or migration, you can always revert to an earlier version quickly and easily, losing no data.
Test Your Development Site
Before testing begins on your actual development site, it is critical to double-check all settings and configurations to ensure that everything works correctly. It would be best to run basic tests such as checking page loading times or running automated tests using third-party tools like Selenium WebDriver or Sauce Labs. Doing this will help identify any potential issues before they cause problems in production. Once everything looks good in your local environment, you can begin testing on the actual development site by running more complex tests, such as usability or integration tests with external APIs or services.
3. Prepare Content for Website Migration
Preparing your content for the move is one of the most essential steps in any site migration process. This is a critical step to ensure the process runs smoothly and that you've correctly transferred your content to the new site.
Backup Your Existing Content
Before you prepare your content for migration, ensure you have a backup of all existing files on your current website. That includes text, images, videos, PDFs, and any other files currently hosted on your site. Backing up these files will not only help protect them from being lost during the migration process. It will also give you access to the data if something goes wrong. It's always better to be safe than sorry!
If you're moving from one domain name to another—from "exampleolddomain.com" to "examplenewdomain.com"—then updating all URLs on your existing content before migrating them over is essential. However, this may sound like an overwhelming task. Luckily, tools are available that can quickly search through your existing content and update all URLs automatically with just a few clicks.
Remove Unused Content
When migrating websites, taking stock of what content needs to be moved over and what we can leave behind is essential. For example, if there is any outdated or irrelevant content on your current site (such as blog posts or images), now is the time to delete it before transferring it to the new site. This will help reduce unnecessary bloat and ensure that only relevant content becomes the new platform.
Check Accessibility Issues
It's also essential to check for accessibility issues before migrating any content. For example, suppose some of your pages don't meet WCAG 2 standards or require extra steps for users with disabilities to access them (such as using a keyboard instead of a mouse). In that case, address the accessibility issues before transferring them, making them accessible on the new platform.
Preparing content for migration is essential to any website move and should not be overlooked! However, by taking some extra time upfront—backing up existing files, updating URLs, removing unused content, and checking accessibility issues—you can ensure that everything goes smoothly when transferring your existing data onto a new platform or domain name. Good luck!
4. Identify Issues with the Existing Site - Website Migration
If the website migration does not go as planned, it can lead to several issues, from technical glitches to SEO problems. Fortunately, there are ways to identify issues with the existing website before any site migration occurs. Here are some tips to help you identify potential website migration issues.
Check Server Logs and Error Messages
The server logs and error messages can provide helpful information about your website's performance. In addition, checking these logs and messages can reveal any potential problems that may arise during the site migration process. This can help you expect potential issues before they become more significant problems.
Run Tests on All Pages
It is essential to test all pages on the existing website before any website migration occurs. This will allow you to check for any potential errors during the process, such as broken links or missing images. Running tests on all pages can also give you an idea of how long it will take for each page to be migrated over to the new site.
Create Redirect Maps for Existing Content
Creating redirect maps for existing content is essential for successful website migrations. This allows you to map out which URLs should redirect where after the migration is complete. This ensures that users can still access old content even if it has been moved or deleted. It also helps keep your SEO rankings intact by avoiding 404 errors when users try to access old content after you've migrated the site. By creating redirect maps, you can ensure your content remains accessible even after a successful website migration.
Identifying potential issues with your site before a site migration is essential to ensure success. Checking server logs and error messages, running tests on all pages, and creating redirect maps for existing content are crucial steps in identifying issues before they become more significant problems during migration. Taking this extra step before migrating your site will save you time, money, and headaches down the road!
5. Perform an SEO Audit of the Existing Site: Website Migration
Website migration is a tricky process. If done incorrectly, it can cause a loss of organic search visibility and hurt your website's rankings on search engines. That is why performing an SEO audit of your existing site is essential before migrating to a new platform. Here's what you need to know about why an SEO audit is necessary before website migration.
What Is an SEO Audit?
An SEO audit assesses how well your website performs regarding its visibility on search engine results pages (SERPs). It evaluates all the major components that affect your website's ranking, including content quality, keyword optimization, backlinks, page speed, technical errors, and more.
An SEO audit aims to identify any potential problems that could affect your website's performance and provide recommendations for improvement. It also serves as a baseline for tracking progress.
Performing an SEO audit before site migration helps ensure you maintain the same level of organic traffic and SERP ranking after the move. It also gives you insight into which areas may need improvement or additional attention once you have moved your website.
It can help you identify any potential issues that could arise during the migration process so you can proactively address them before becoming more significant problems later. Finally, if done correctly, it will provide valuable data that can measure the success or failure of the migration from one platform to another.
How To Perform An SEO Audit?
- The first step in performing an SEO audit is gathering data about your site, such as Google Analytics reports and other web analytics tools like Keyword Planner and Search Console.
- Next, analyze this data by looking at page titles, meta descriptions, content quality/length/focus keywords/headings, etc., and technical factors like page speed and crawling issues.
- Finally, create a report with all findings and recommended improvements that should be implemented before the move to maximize visibility post-migration.
This report should include actionable items, such as specific changes needed for each page or overall site architecture changes that must be made before the migration occurs for optimal performance afterward.
6. Create 301 Redirects from Old URLs to New URLs: Website Migration
Moving a website from one domain to another can be intimidating, especially if you're worried about potentially losing traffic and rankings because of the change. While it's essential to ensure you optimize your site correctly for search engine performance, there is one crucial step you should take before site migration - creating 301 redirects from old URLs to new ones. Let's dive in and look at what a 301 redirect is and why it's so important when moving your website.
What Is A 301 Redirect?
A 301 redirect tells search engines that a page has been permanently moved or removed. Whenever someone searches for the old URL, they will be redirected to the new URL with no service disruption. This helps maintain traffic to your site since users won't get an error message when looking for content that has been moved or removed. By using a 301 redirect, you are helping Google crawl your website more effectively and retain existing rankings for individual pages on your website. So how do you create a 301 redirect?
Creating A 301 Redirect
Creating a 301 redirect can vary depending on which web hosting service you use and the type of server that you have. If your site runs on WordPress, there are several plugins available that will simplify the process for you.
However, suppose you prefer not to install additional software on your server. In that case, it's best to consult an experienced web developer who can help set up your server's code to create the redirects properly. Once all the required code has been added, test each URL individually before migrating your entire website to ensure everything works correctly.
Although setting up a few individual 301 redirects sounds straightforward, it can quickly become overwhelming if hundreds or thousands of URLs need to be redirected. Therefore, it's essential not to overlook this critical step as part of your pre-migration checklist. Otherwise, you risk negatively affecting the user experience and losing valuable search engine rankings once the migration is complete.
7. Establish Google Analytics and Search Console Accounts
One of the most critical steps when migrating your website is setting up your Google Analytics and Search Console accounts. These accounts will provide valuable insights into your site's performance, which can help you identify any issues and make improvements after the migration.
What Is Google Analytics?
Google Analytics is a web analytics platform that provides insights into website performance, user behavior, conversions, and more. It allows website owners to track data from various sources, such as organic traffic from search engines and paid campaigns from social media platforms like Facebook or Twitter.
With Google Analytics, you can also set goals for specific activities on your site to measure success. For example, if you want to measure the success of a newsletter signup form on your homepage, you can set a goal in Google Analytics that tracks when someone completes the form.
What Is Google Search Console?
Google Search Console is a tool that helps web admins understand how their websites appear in search results. With it, website owners can track how often their pages appear in search engine results pages (SERPs) and analyze click-through rates and other data points related to organic traffic from search engines like Google and Bing. In addition, it allows site owners to submit their sitemaps directly to search engines so they can be indexed quickly after any changes have been made or new content has been added to the site.
8. Set Up a Test Domain to Check Migration Progress
It's essential to ensure that everything will work properly once the site migration is complete. One of the best ways to do this is by setting up a test domain. A test domain lets you check and ensure all components work correctly before the website goes live on its new platform.
What is a Test Domain?
A test domain replicates your existing website but in a different location on the web. This allows you to check for issues with the new platform before making it live. Think of it as a "safety net" for your site migration process. You can use this time to ensure that everything works as expected and that there aren't any significant issues with the transfer process before going live.
Benefits of Setting Up a Test Domain
Setting up a test domain has several benefits, including:
1. Ensuring accuracy: By testing out all aspects of your new website, you can ensure everything works correctly before making the switch official. This helps improve accuracy throughout the entire process and ensures that nothing gets lost in translation during the transition.
2. Avoid downtime: If something isn't working correctly after migrating, setting up a test domain beforehand can help you identify and fix any issues before they become widespread on your website. This helps avoid costly downtime and keeps users engaged without interruption.
3. Improving user experience: Testing out a new platform before launch allows you to ensure that everything works smoothly from a user experience perspective. This makes for a better overall experience for visitors when they visit after the switch is official.
4. Reducing stress: Finally, having a test domain set up before migrating reduces stress because it gives you peace of mind knowing that everything should go smoothly once it goes live in its new home! No matter what type of website migration you're doing, having an extra layer of security like this is always beneficial!
Site migrations have unique challenges. One way to minimize them is by setting up a test domain beforehand. Having a replica of your current site allows you to check for any potential issues with the new platform before making it live - reducing downtime, improving user experience, and giving yourself peace of mind throughout the process! So take some time to explore how setting up a test domain could benefit your business's next site migration project!
9. Create a Backup of the Existing Site
When migrating your website to a new web host, it is essential to create a backup of the existing site first. This helps ensure that all your data is secure and transitions are more manageable and smoother. Let's explore why you should back up your site before migration and how to proceed.
Why You Need To Backup Your Site Before Migration?
Creating a website backup before migration is essential because it helps protect against potential risks or issues during the process. By storing a copy of your current website, you can quickly restore your entire site if something goes wrong during the transfer. This will save you time, money, and energy in the long run. In addition, backing up your website before migration provides peace of mind that you won't lose any valuable data.
How To Create a Backup?
Before creating a backup, you must ensure all your files are updated with the most recent information. Then, once they are ready to be backed up, manual and automated backups are two significant ways.
Manual backups require you to download all files from your server individually and store them on an external hard drive or cloud-based storage solution like Dropbox or Google Drive. Automated backups are more efficient as they allow for all files to be saved at once with minimal effort on your part. There are several tools available that can help automate this process for you.
For most people, manual backups provide an adequate level of protection. Still, automated solutions can offer additional security benefits, such as real-time updates and sophisticated encryption technology, which helps protect against cyberattacks and other data breaches. Ultimately, your chosen method will depend on your particular needs and budget.
10. Set Up Database Connections on the New Server
Migrating your website to a new server is an essential step in ensuring that your website runs smoothly and efficiently. One of the most critical elements of this process is setting up database connections. This ensures that all the information from your current website is accessible to the new server and can be easily transferred over. Let's look at how to set up database connections on the new server for website migration.
Creating Database Connections On The New Server
The first step in setting up database connections on the new server is to create a connection between the two servers. Next, you will need an FTP client, such as FileZilla, and access credentials for the current and new servers. Once you have those items, you can log in to both servers using the FTP client and upload any necessary files from one to another.
The next step is to connect your databases to the old and new servers. This requires creating a specific type of data connection, commonly known as "data linking" or "connecting data sources." Depending on which kind of data source you use, there may be different methods for establishing such connections. So it's essential to research the exact steps for your particular case.
It might also be helpful to back up all relevant data before beginning the migration process if something goes wrong during the transfer. Backing up all relevant data can help ensure you don't lose critical information during the transition period.
11. Move Your Content Over to the New Server
Suppose you're migrating your website from an old server to a new one. Then you know that some necessary steps must be taken. One of those steps is moving your content over to the new server. This is an important step that needs to be done correctly for your migration to go smoothly. So let's discuss the steps necessary for successful content migration during a website migration.
Before You Begin Moving Content
Before moving any content, you must create a backup of your current website. You can always revert to the original version without losing data if something goes wrong during migration. It's also wise to test your new server before making significant changes. Ensure everything functions properly and all pages load correctly on the new server. Once you're confident everything looks good, you can begin moving content over.
Moving Content Over Step-by-Step
Once you've created a backup and tested out your new server, it's time to move content over step-by-step:
- Upload all files associated with the website onto the new server — this includes images, videos, PDFs, and any other files related to the site
- Ensure all links within pages have been updated with the correct URLs
- Use 301 redirects for old URLs so users will be automatically redirected from their current page on the old server to its corresponding page on the new server.
- Test out every page on both servers and compare them side by side — if anything looks off or doesn't seem right between both versions of the same page, fix it immediately.
- Update internal links between different pages within each site
- Test out all forms and contact information – make sure they are working properly
- Update any external links pointing back to your site (such as social media accounts)
- Double-check metadata tags (title tags and meta descriptions)
- Finally, update sitemaps so search engines know where every page is on each site.
Moving content over during a site migration can seem overwhelming. However, following these simple steps will help ensure success! Remember: always create a backup before beginning any significant changes and test your website on both servers before making any last changes. If done correctly, migrating content should not take long at all!
12. Perform Quality Assurance Checks for Content Accuracy
Are you considering migrating your website to a new platform? If so, you must create a quality assurance plan to ensure the accuracy of your content during the process. This is especially important since website migration often involves changing domain names, redirecting old URLs to new ones, and switching hosting services. A quality assurance plan will help ensure your content remains accurate and accessible throughout the transition.
Planning for Quality Assurance During Migration
The first step in creating a quality assurance plan for website migration is to evaluate what content needs to be tested. This includes ensuring you've migrated all your pages correctly and checking for broken links or images.
It is essential to ensure that all of your forms are working correctly and that any third-party integrations are functioning properly. You should also pay close attention to any security protocols needing updating during the migration process.
To perform quality assurance checks effectively, it is best to create a checklist of tasks and assign them to specific team members. This can help ensure that no step gets overlooked during the migration process. In addition, it's helpful to set up automated tests or use tools like Google Analytics or Ahrefs' Site Audit and Backlink Checker to identify potential issues with your website's performance and security protocols.
Once you have identified any issues with the accuracy of your content, you will need to fix them. This could involve manually correcting errors or using software tools such as Screaming Frog SEO Spider or Moz Pro Tools to automate specific processes. In addition, it may be necessary to perform additional tests after implementing changes to verify their efficacy before launching the new site.
13. Update Your URLs and Links
Ensuring all URLs and links are appropriately updated with any website migration is essential. This is especially true if you're migrating from an old website to a new one. Your visitors will expect the same content regardless of the change in URL structure or page location. To ensure that your migration goes smoothly, it's essential to take the time to update all of your URLs and links before you begin the process.
Updating Your Links
With updating your links, there are two key components you need to focus on: internal links (links between pages on your website) and external links (links between your website and other websites). Interior link updates should be done first since they involve pages within your domain. Ensure each page points to the correct page or resource in its new location.
If you're using a content management system (CMS), you can use relative paths instead of absolute paths when linking internally, as this will make future link updates easier. Once you've updated your internal links, move on to external links.
External link updates are more complicated because they involve other websites you cannot control. Therefore, it's always best practice to contact web admins directly before making any changes, as some sites may not want their inbound links changed without their knowledge or permission. It's also important to note that external link updates can take several weeks or months, depending on how quickly webmasters respond. So start early!
Updating Your URLs
Once all your external and internal links have been updated, it's time to move on to URL updates. The goal here is twofold.
- First, ensure that all incoming traffic lands at the right place by redirecting them from their old URL locations on the senior site.
- Second, update any hard-coded URLs found within content directly so they don't point back to the old site after launch.
- Redirects are pretty straightforward with most CMSs.
- Ensure you're using 301 permanent redirects rather than 302 temporary redirects, as these will send search engine crawlers back to index your new site with more ease post-launch!
Hard-coded URLs within the content may require manual editing depending on the CMS used. So make sure this step isn't overlooked!
14. Check for Broken Links: Website Migration
Another essential task to complete before you migrate your website is checking for broken links. Broken links can lead to a poor user experience and reduced SEO rankings. So it's essential to take the time to check them before you make any changes properly. Let's break down why it's so important.
What are Broken Links?
Broken links are hyperlinks on a web page that no longer lead to an active runner or link. Sometimes this happens when someone forgets to update a link after moving or deleting content or if a third party shuts down their site without warning. These scenarios can cause broken links that must be addressed before website migration occurs.
Why Should You Check for Broken Links?
Checking for broken links before website migration is essential because it helps ensure that users don't encounter any issues when visiting your site. If they click on a broken link, they will be taken to an error page instead of the expected content—which can be incredibly frustrating! In addition, too many broken links will cause your site's search engine rankings (SERPs) to drop significantly, meaning fewer people see your content online.
How To Check For Broken Links?
Accurately checking for broken links can be done manually or using a tool like Ahrefs or SEMrush. If you choose manual inspection, start by creating an inventory list of all the internal pages on your website and use a link checker tool like Dead Link Checker or W3C Link Checker to scan each one for errors. This process can be time-consuming. Automated tools won't always catch every mistake, allowing you more control over what gets checked.
Broken links are one of the most common problems websites face today and should not be ignored during website migration! Checking for them beforehand ensures that none of your content is lost during the transition and prevents any potential SERP drops because of poor user experience on your new website. Whether you choose manual inspection or automated tools, ensuring all the hyperlinks on your site work correctly should always be a part of your pre-migration checklist!
15. Test Site Performance on the New Server
When switching to a new server, ensuring your site performs as expected is essential. This means testing the website's functionality on the new server before officially migrating it. Doing this will ensure that everything works correctly and that visitors to the website have a wonderful experience.
Once you are on the new server, take some time to check all of your URL structure and link paths. Make sure that they match with what is in your source code and adjust accordingly if needed. You should also check for broken links or dead pages since these can cause confusion and frustration for users who come across them when visiting your site.
Evaluate Page Speed
Page speed is an essential factor in SEO rankings. So you'll want to ensure it's up to par once you switch servers. Run a speed test on old and new servers using a tool like GTMetrix or Pingdom Tools to test page speed. Be sure to compare the results side by side to determine if there is any improvement or degradation in loading times after making the switch.
Test Security Settings
When moving from one server to another, you may need to adjust your security settings for certain website features to work correctly. Ensure all your security settings (SSL certificates, password protection, etc.) are configured correctly before migrating over completely. It's also essential to update any login credentials associated with the website to remain secure once transferred onto a new server.
Website migration can be tricky. However, with proper preparation, it doesn't have to be overwhelming! Testing site performance on the new server before officially transferring over is essential in ensuring everything works appropriately once switched over entirely. By checking URLs & links, evaluating page speed, and testing security settings, you can save yourself time and headaches down the road when it comes time for complete website migration!
16. Secure Your Website with HTTPS
With website migration, security is always a top priority. That's why securing your website with HTTPS is essential when moving from one domain to another.
What is HTTPS?
HTTPS stands for Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure. It is a protocol website to securely communicate between the user's browser and the hosting server. This protocol ensures that all data transmitted between these two points remains confidential and secure, making it essential to protect sensitive information like credit card numbers or personal details.
Securing your website with HTTPS during a website migration is essential because it helps protect your users' data from being intercepted or stolen by malicious actors. It also helps improve search engine rankings since Google prefers websites secured with HTTPS over those that are not. Finally, securing your site with HTTPS can help boost your brand's credibility since visitors are more likely to trust websites that use this protocol than those that don't.
How Do You Secure Your Website With It?
The first step in securing your website with HTTPS is obtaining an SSL certificate from a trusted Certificate Authority (CA). This certificate will authenticate the identity of your domain and encrypt any data sent between the user's browser and your server hosting the site. After obtaining an SSL certificate, you must install it on your web server. It can use https:// instead of http:// when communicating with browsers. Once installed, you can access your new HTTP-based URL structure without issues.
Securing your website with http to https during a website migration is essential to protect sensitive data and improve search engine rankings. Obtaining an SSL certificate from a trusted CA is the first step in securing your site with this protocol, followed by installing the certificate on the web server so that browsers can access it via https:// instead of http://. Following these steps will help ensure that user data and SEO rankings remain safe during the transition process.
17. Set up a Maintenance Page for the Old Site and Redirect Visitors to the New One
When you are preparing to migrate your website, setting up a maintenance page on your old site is essential so visitors know what's happening. This page should be simple but informative, letting visitors see the site is temporarily unavailable as it goes through an upgrade or migration process. The maintenance page should also include information about when they can expect to see the new site live and contact info if they have questions.
Redirecting Visitors
Once you have set up your maintenance page, it's time to redirect visitors from your old domain to your new one. First, make sure that all of your existing links point to the new domain name instead of the old one by updating any necessary URLs in your content management system or other web pages where links exist.
Then, use 301 redirects (permanent redirects) so that users who visit your old domain will automatically be taken to the corresponding pages on your new domain. This ensures users won't encounter dead ends during their visit and allows a seamless transition between environments.
Migrating a website may seem like an intimidating process. However, with careful planning and execution, you can ensure it goes off without a hitch for you and your visitors! Setting up a maintenance page and using 301 redirects will help create a simple transition from the old site to the new one while keeping users informed.
18. Migrate DNS Settings from Old Host to New Host
For website owners, migrating to a new host can be exciting. But it also requires technical know-how to ensure your website is moved over successfully. This includes changing the DNS settings of your domain name from the old host to the new one. Let's break down how to do this.
Step 1 – Locate Your Domain Name Registrar
The first step in migrating your DNS settings is to locate your domain name registrar (i.e., the company where you registered your domain name). You should be able to find this information on their website or by contacting them directly via email or phone. Once you have located them, you can move on to step two.
Step 2 – Login To Your Domain Name Registrar Account
Once you have found the registrar, you must log in to your account and locate the control panel for managing your domain name settings. This may vary depending on which company you are using. Typically they will have a web interface where you can make all the changes.
Step 3 – Change The DNS Nameservers To Point To The New Hosting Provider
Once you are logged in and have located the control panel, you must change the nameservers from pointing at the old hosting provider (e.g., GoDaddy) to the new hosting provider (e.g., SiteGround).
This process may vary slightly depending on which registrar and hosting provider you use. Typically, it just involves entering a few nameservers addresses your new hosting provider provided into a form within your domain registrar's control panel.
After saving these changes, it may take up to 48 hours to take effect and point all traffic from your domain name to the new hosting provider's servers.
However, once this has been done, visitors who visit your website will be served content from your new hosting provider instead of the previous one!
19. Update Website Content Management System (CMS)
When you want to migrate your website to a new platform, updating your content management system (CMS) is one of the most critical steps. Your CMS is the backbone of your website, and it needs to be up-to-date and functioning correctly for a successful migration. Before migrating your website, let's look at the steps necessary to ensure your CMS is updated.
Understand Your Platform Requirements
Before you start any migration project, you must understand what platform requirements are needed for the new version of your website. Ensure all elements from the existing version are compatible with the latest version before making any changes. The last thing you want is something not to work when you go live with the new site.
Upgrade Your CMS Software
Once you have determined which version of software and plugins will work best on your new platform, it's time to upgrade your CMS software. Depending on your CMS platform, additional steps, such as running database queries or installing modules and extensions, may be required.
Thoroughly read through all instructions before upgrading or updating anything related to your CMS software. Also, ensure all data is backed up before upgrading if something goes wrong during the process!
Update Content Types
When working with any content management system, updating content types based on what content will be featured on your website is essential. For example, it could be text, images, or videos. This ensures that each range is presented correctly within your new platform so visitors can easily find what they want. Also, ensure that all metadata (titles, descriptions, etc.) associated with each piece of content is updated accordingly so search engines can index and rank it accurately when needed.
20. Activate CDN and Optimize Images
A Content Delivery Network (CDN) is a network of proxy servers in different geographic regions worldwide. They are used to distribute content such as images, videos, and other web page elements across multiple servers. So you can access them from anywhere in the world with minimal latency. Using a CDN, you can ensure that your website's content loads quickly, no matter where visitors are.
Activating a CDN for Your Website Migration
When moving your website from one host to another, activating a CDN before the migration process begins is essential. This ensures that your website's content is cached on multiple servers and delivered quickly to visitors regardless of location. The best way to do this is by setting up an account with a CDN provider such as Cloudflare or Fastly and uploading your content to their servers before beginning the migration process. This will ensure that it will cache all your content on multiple servers, allowing it to load quickly, no matter where visitors are located.
Optimizing Images for Your New Website
Optimizing images for your new site is also essential when migrating your website from one host to another. Image optimization involves compressing photos so they load faster without sacrificing quality or resolution. Many online tools can help you compress images quickly and easily without manually editing them. In addition, many hosting providers offer image compression services as part of their hosting package, which can be used during migration.
21. Check Sitemap for Errors: Website Migration
Ensuring the entire process is executed correctly is essential when migrating your website. This includes checking your sitemap for errors. A sitemap is a detailed list of all the pages on your website and any changes made to them. It's essential for SEO, as it helps search engine crawlers find, crawls, and index your pages more efficiently.
Why Should You Check Your Sitemap During Website Migration?
When you migrate or redesign your website, there are usually three significant areas where errors can occur: in the URLs themselves, the page content or metadata, or how the page is structured. These three issues can result in poor user experience and decreased rankings on search engine results pages (SERPs). Checking your sitemap during website migration helps you identify these issues before they can cause any problems with user experience or SERP rankings.
How To Check Your Sitemap for Errors?
The first step to checking your sitemap for errors is creating a list of all the URLs from your old website that need to be migrated to the new one. Once you have this list, you should check each URL against its corresponding page on the new site.
This ensures that everything has been migrated correctly and that all links in the old site point to their counterparts on the new site. If URLs don't match perfectly, fix them before publishing the new site. Likewise, if any URLs have been removed from the old site but not redirected to the new one, this should also be fixed.
You should also check any metadata associated with each page—like titles and descriptions—to ensure they're optimized according to SEO best practices and contain relevant keywords related to each page's content.
Use a tool like Screaming Frog SEO Spider Tool, which will help you identify broken links and crawling errors such as canonical tags and duplicate content, which could impact how Google perceives and ranks your website when users search for related terms on Google Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs).
22. Refresh XML Sitemap and Submit to Search Engines
You've successfully migrated your website from one domain to another. So what do you do next? Refreshing your XML sitemap and submitting it to search engines is essential to website migration. This will help ensure that search engines can crawl your new site and the transition between domains is seamless. Here's a step-by-step guide on how to refresh your XML sitemap and submit it to search engines.
Create a New XML Sitemap
The first step is to create a new XML sitemap which can be done using online tools or manually. If you choose an online tool, ensure it's compatible with the latest version of Google Search Console and other popular search engine sites such as Bing and Yahoo! A manual approach requires more effort but ensures accuracy. Whichever method you choose, remember that this sitemap will be used for all the major search engines. So make sure all the URLs are updated accordingly.
Update Your Robots.txt File
Your robots .txt file needs to be updated for search engines to properly crawl your website's pages after migration. Editing this file will allow search engine bots access to your website's content, including any changes made during the migration process. It should also include any canonical tags pointing out that search engine bots (i.e., www vs. non-www) should index which version of each page.
Submit Your Sitemap To Search Engines
Once you have created and updated your robots .txt file, it's time to submit your website's new sitemap(s) to all major search engines—Google, Bing, Yahoo!, etc.—using their respective webmaster tools/search consoles. This will help ensure that they can access your website's content post-migration and index these pages to appear in relevant searches correctly.
23. Set Up 301 Redirects on the New Server
Setting up 301 redirects is essential to migrating your website because visitors who find or bookmark your old URLs can access the same content from the new URLs on the new server once the migration is complete.
Without a proper 301 redirect setup, visitors will get an error message if they try to access an old URL, which can cause lost customers and conversions for your business. In addition, setting up these redirects helps search engines crawl and index your content correctly so that it appears in search results for relevant queries.
How To Set Up 301 Redirects?
When setting up these redirects, keeping track of all the pages that need to be redirected before starting the process is essential. Once this page list is ready, you can set up each redirect within your web hosting provider's control panel or through a third-party service such as CloudFlare or Sucuri Firewall.
Different methods exist for setting up 301 redirects depending on your platform (Apache vs. Nginx). Still, most hosting providers offer step-by-step tutorials with detailed instructions on how to create them correctly. The main thing to remember when setting up these redirects is that you need one per page—the old page must match precisely with its corresponding new page on the new server for it to work correctly.
Creating permanent redirects from one URL to another via a 301 status code is imperative when migrating your website from one server to another to ensure visitors and search engines can still access all of your content after the migration.
Setting up these redirects may seem daunting at first. Still, with research into how they work and some guidance from tutorials provided by hosting providers, anyone can learn how to do this quickly and easily! So don't delay. Start setting up your site's 301 redirects today!
24. Test Cross-Browser Compatibility
Cross-browser compatibility testing ensures your website looks and works properly on different browsers. It helps ensure that users can access your site without issues, regardless of their browser. Web browsers vary significantly in how they render websites. So it's essential to test your new location.
Why Is Cross-Browser Compatibility Important?
When you migrate a website, many potential issues could arise if cross-browser compatibility isn't tested properly. For example, certain web elements may not appear correctly or function appropriately on specific browsers, which could lead to a poor user experience. In addition, some features may not be compatible with particular browser versions, which can cause problems if those versions are still widely used by your target audience. Cross-browser compatibility testing helps identify these potential issues before they become significant problems for your website visitors.
How to Test a Site for Cross-Browser Compatibility?
Testing for cross-browser compatibility can be done manually or with automated tools such as Selenium or Applitools Eyes. Manual testing involves opening the same page in multiple browsers and verifying that everything displays correctly and functions as expected. Automated tests include running code that will automatically verify the page across multiple browsers and alert you if any issues need to be addressed.
Migrating a website requires extensive planning and preparation, especially regarding cross-browser compatibility testing. Ensuring that your new site looks good and functions properly on all major web browsers is essential for providing an optimal user experience for all visitors, no matter their device. Fortunately, with the right tools and strategies, you can quickly test and verify the functionality of your new site across multiple web browsers before launch day arrives!
25. Test Mobile-Friendliness on Different Devices
Nowadays, more than half of the web traffic comes from mobile devices. If your website isn't optimized for mobile use, you miss out on customers and potential sales. Before migrating to a new platform, you must test your site on different devices. You want to ensure that no matter what device people use, they can still find what they're looking for when they visit your site.
How to Test Mobile-Friendliness?
The best way to ensure your website migration will be mobile-friendly is by running tests across various devices and platforms. This will give you an accurate picture of how well the site works on different browsers, operating systems, and screen sizes. You can do this manually by visiting each website page with various devices or using automated tools like Google's Mobile-Friendly Test Tool or BrowserStack's Responsive Design Checker Tool.
These tools allow you to run comprehensive tests without reviewing all the pages individually. Keep in mind that any content management system (CMS) should be able to optimize images automatically so they display correctly across all devices and platforms.
26. Fine-Tune Website Performance
Are you considering migrating your website to a new platform? It's an exciting process that can open new opportunities and improve user experience. However, it's important to remember that the process isn't complete until you ensure everything runs smoothly. Here are a few tips on fine-tuning your website performance after migration.
Check Your Site Speed & Performance
Once your site has been migrated, checking its speed and performance is essential. A slow site can harm user experience and can even lead to lower search engine rankings. To test your site's speed and performance, use tools like Google PageSpeed Insights or Lighthouse. These tools will identify potential issues slowing down your website and suggest ways to fix them.
It's also essential to monitor the loading time of new pages. If page loading times start increasing dramatically, you may need to take additional steps to optimize the speed of your website. This could include updating plugins or optimizing images/files for faster loading.
Check for Broken Links & Pages
When switching platforms, some links or pages can become broken because of changes in site structure or URLs. To prevent this from happening, it's essential to check all links within your content before migration and then again post-migration. Any links broken during the post-migration checks should be fixed as soon as possible to maintain a good user experience on your website.
Update SEO Strategies & Tactics
It's also essential to update SEO strategies and tactics post-migration to maintain or improve search engine rankings for the migrated site. This could include updating keyword research, optimizing meta tags/descriptions for each page, creating an XML sitemap for better crawling by search engines, etc. Making sure these updates are done correctly can help ensure that your website is indexed by search engines so that users can easily find it when searching online.
27. Check All Forms and Other Interactivity Features
Forms and interactive elements play an essential role in website design. They allow users to submit information such as contact details, payment information, etc. If these forms are not working correctly after the website migration, it can lead to lost sales or customers because of inconvenience or frustration.
Furthermore, broken links on your website can cause search engine penalties from Google or other search engines. This will lead to reduced visibility for your website, which means fewer visitors and potential customers. Therefore, form and interactivity testing should never be overlooked when migrating a website.
How To Check Forms And Interactive Elements?
The first step in form and interactivity testing is ensuring all documents are correctly submitted after migration. You should also ensure that all required fields are present and validated (e.g., email addresses must be valid). Next, you should check that all email notifications are being sent out correctly after making submissions. Finally, test any interactive elements, such as slideshows or carousels, to ensure they function correctly.
28. Update Social Media Profiles with New URLs
When you move your website from one domain to another, you ensure that all the links, including those on your social media profiles, are updated to reflect the new domain name. Otherwise, any clicks or shares of your old link will be redirected to the unique URL, potentially confusing customers and search engines. That's why updating your social media profiles with the correct URL structure as soon as possible after the successful site migration is so important.
How To Update Social Media Profiles?
Fortunately, updating all of your social media profiles is easy. All you need to do is log in to each platform and find where to update the profile URLs. Updating the URL structure on most platforms (such as Facebook and Twitter) only takes seconds. However, other platforms may require more steps, such as verifying page ownership before allowing an update. Regardless, once you've updated each profile's URL, visitors should be able to access them without issue.
It's also worth noting that if you have multiple accounts on a platform (such as multiple Twitter accounts or pages), make sure that each version is updated individually to avoid confusion about which report goes with which URL!
After updating each profile's URL, check that visitors can access them without issue by visiting them directly or using a search engine query. If there are any issues, adjust accordingly until everything works properly!
29. Monitor & Evaluate Your Site's Performance After Migration
Moving your website from one server to another can be a daunting task. It's a process that involves meticulous planning and execution. But it doesn't end there - you must also monitor and evaluate your site's performance after the migration. This is essential to ensure that everything has gone according to plan and that any unexpected issues can be identified and rectified quickly.
Analyze Your Traffic
The first step in evaluating your site's performance post-migration is to analyze your traffic patterns. Next, you should compare the data before and after the migration to identify any changes in visits, page views, bounce rate, etc.
If you notice any significant drops or spikes in traffic, it could show an issue with the new hosting platform, which needs to be addressed immediately. In addition, if you have implemented a new design or content strategy as part of the migration process, these changes will affect your traffic patterns too. So make sure you take this into account when analyzing your data.
After migrating it to a new server, you must test your website speed and performance. Even with minor changes in hosting providers, there can be significant differences in speed and performance due to different server architectures or configurations.
Use tools such as Google PageSpeed Insights or Pingdom Website Speed Test to measure the loading times of your pages before and after the migration process. Suppose there are any issues with loading times or other performance metrics such as Time To First Byte (TTFB). In that case, take corrective action immediately to ensure optimal user experience on your website.
Monitor Uptime & Downtime
Another critical factor when evaluating your site's performance after a website migration is uptime and downtime monitoring. Uptime refers to how long a website is available without interruption, whereas downtime refers to how long a website is unavailable because of technical problems or maintenance activities. Poor uptime can decrease user satisfaction because visitors cannot access content on your website when they want it most while trying to purchase something or subscribe for updates.
Ensure you use appropriate monitoring tools such as Pingdom Uptime Monitoring Services or SolarWinds IP SLA Manager regularly track uptime/downtime metrics so that any potential issues can be quickly identified and fixed before they disrupt users of your website.
30. Celebrate Your Successful Website Migration!
After weeks of hard work, your website finally migrates to a new platform. You've backed up your content, considering all the SEO factors and testing the site for bugs or issues. Now that you have made it through the website migration process, it's time to celebrate!
Understand Your Accomplishments
Site migrations are no small task. The entire process involves moving your content from one hosting provider to another while ensuring everything is configured correctly, and nothing gets left behind. A successful website migration means you have navigated the technical aspects of transferring an entire website while mitigating potential risks. Therefore, it's essential to take a moment and understand all that went into making this transition possible before you move on with business as usual.
Share Your Success With Others
Success should be shared! Let everyone involved in the website migration know how well everything turned out and celebrate their contributions. Reach out to friends and family or colleagues who offered support throughout the process and thank them for their help so they can join in on the celebration too! You can also share your success story on social media to reach a wider audience. You don't have to brag about it, but sharing your accomplishment will show others it can be done.
Reward Yourself
It's not often that you experience pure joy when running a business. So why not reward yourself for all of your hard work? Even if it's something small like buying yourself lunch or treating yourself to a spa day, taking some time off will allow you to appreciate what you accomplished without feeling guilty about taking a break from business operations. This brief rest period will help recharge your batteries so you can return to business mode with renewed energy and enthusiasm.
The Bottom Line: Website Migration
Completing a successful website migration is no simple task. The checklist discussed in this blog outlines 30 crucial steps that any beginner should follow to ensure a smooth transition. Completing all listed tasks requires careful consideration and planning, from creating efficient processes to setting up tracking codes. At each stage, it is important to consult experienced site migration consultants who can advise on best practices. In addition, any webmaster or website owner should remember that website migration must be done right to benefit their organization. Lastly, if you want to learn more about web design and development, we recommend reading our other blogs for helpful advice and tips on optimizing your website for success.