A website migration checklist is useful when a redesign changes existing addresses, moves content or changes the system behind a site. Start by identifying what is actually changing. Moving hosting while keeping the same URLs is a different project from replacing a domain and reorganising every service page.
For a UK small business, the immediate priority is preserving useful visitor journeys: old bookmarks should still lead somewhere relevant, enquiry routes must work, and staff need to know where the current content lives.
Build an inventory before changing anything
List existing pages, downloads and important campaign landing pages. Add the current address, purpose, owner and proposed action. Mark whether each item will stay, move, merge or be retired. Keep the inventory with the design brief so content decisions are visible to both business and agency.
Do not use a menu alone as the inventory. Useful pages may be reached through search, old emails or links from other websites. Ask your agency to combine an appropriate crawl with available analytics and Search Console information.
Create an old-to-new URL map
Google Search Central’s site-move guidance describes preparing the new site, mapping old URLs to their replacements, configuring redirects and monitoring the result. It also distinguishes a move with URL changes from a hosting-only change.
Use one row per old address. Write the actual destination, rather than a vague instruction such as “redirect services”. Where content is being merged, confirm that the destination still answers the visitor’s original need. Flag unclear cases for a decision before launch.
| Inventory field | What to record |
|---|---|
| Old URL | The exact public address |
| Decision | Keep, move, merge or retire |
| New destination | The agreed replacement, where applicable |
| Owner | Who approves the content decision |
| Test result | What happened when the old address was opened |
Prepare content and records together
Confirm which images, files, titles and descriptions need to move with each page. Ask who will check internal links after migration. Content copied successfully can still contain links to retired addresses or documents that were never transferred.
Keep a version of the inventory that reflects the final release. If a destination changes late, update the map and retest affected links. Otherwise, the handover record will describe an earlier plan rather than the site customers actually use.
Rehearse and test
Agree how the team will test the new site before release. Include priority enquiry journeys, representative content pages and important old URLs. Ask the agency how temporary restrictions on the test site will be handled at launch; this needs a specific check, not an assumption.
Record the expected result for every test. An old service address opening a new page is only a pass if it reaches the intended service and the visitor can still complete the relevant task.
Monitor after the move
Assign someone to review errors and enquiries after release. Ask your agency to explain changes in search reporting in context rather than promising rankings will remain identical. Keep a route for reporting broken links and a record of fixes.
Migration is complete when the new site works, the agreed old journeys have been checked and the people maintaining it have the records they need.
Related project guides
Start with our website design brief and guide to choosing web-design services. Then use the launch checklist, migration checklist and maintenance checklist for the relevant stage of your project.
