Website Migration Checklist

Before migrating, understand the reason. It may be because the current hosting is slow, the old developer is no longer available, the business wants better control, or the website needs a cleaner setup.

Prepare hosting login, domain login, website admin login, database access if needed, email control panel access, and any third-party service access. Missing access is one of the most common migration delays.

A backup should include website files, database, uploaded images, configuration files, and any important documents. Migration should never start without a safe rollback option.

Old websites can contain unused backups, test folders, temporary files, or outdated assets. Migration is a good time to identify what is necessary and what should not be moved blindly.

If the website uses a database, it must be exported properly and imported into the new setup without missing tables or encoding issues. A broken database can make the site load incorrectly or fail completely.

Images, documents, downloads, and media files may depend on specific folder paths. After migration, these paths should be checked so visitors do not see broken images or missing files.

The domain may be managed separately from hosting. Before changing anything, confirm where DNS records are controlled and who has permission to update them.

Changing DNS without checking email records can accidentally break business email. MX, SPF, DKIM, and related records should be reviewed before switching the website to a new server.

DNS changes can take time to update across the internet. It is safer to migrate during a lower-traffic period and keep the old setup available temporarily if possible.

After migration, check the homepage, service pages, blog pages, contact page, privacy policy, and any payment or enquiry pages. Do not assume everything works just because the homepage loads.

Contact forms, WhatsApp buttons, email links, download links, internal links, and payment links should be tested carefully. These are the parts that directly affect enquiries and sales.

Migration can sometimes expose missing files, CSS issues, or caching problems. Always check the website on mobile after migration, not only on desktop.

If page URLs change, visitors and search engines may land on broken pages. Important old URLs should be redirected properly where needed, especially for service pages and blog articles.

After migration, sitemap.xml and robots.txt should still be accessible and point to the correct live domain. This helps search engines understand the public pages that should be indexed.

The website should load securely using HTTPS. Mixed content, expired certificates, or wrong redirects can make visitors feel unsafe and may cause browser warnings.

You can migrate a simple website yourself if you understand hosting, files, database, DNS, email records, and backups. If the website is important for business enquiries, it is safer to plan the migration carefully.

Common problems include broken forms, missing images, wrong redirects, database errors, email failure, SSL issues, DNS delays, missing files, and pages that work locally but not on the server.

Start with an audit and backup. Confirm what needs to move, what should stay, what access is available, and how the website will be tested before and after the migration.