Redesigning your website or switching CMS platforms?

This step-by-step SEO migration checklist will help you maintain — and potentially grow — your search rankings during the transition.

Whether you’re moving from WordPress to a headless CMS, changing domains, or launching a brand-new design, this guide covers everything: from pre-migration prep to post-launch checks and beyond.

Phase 1: Pre-Migration Planning & Analysis

Before anyone touches your code or content, get your plan rock solid.

1. Assemble Your Migration Team

  • Include developers, SEOs, content editors, and key stakeholders.
  • Define goals (e.g. preserve rankings, improve site speed, streamline navigation).
  • Choose a low-traffic weekday for launch — avoid weekends.

2. Benchmark Your Current SEO

  • Capture at least 6–12 months of data:
    • Organic traffic
    • Top-performing pages
    • Keyword rankings
    • Core Web Vitals & page load speed

This gives you something to measure success (or recovery) against.

3. Audit Your Existing Content

Decide what to keep, improve, remove, or redirect:

  • Keep & migrate: High-performing or evergreen pages.
  • Improve: Pages with ranking potential or out-of-date content.
  • Remove: Duplicate, thin, or irrelevant content (use 410 status if removing without replacing).
  • Redirect: For anything being deleted but still valuable (e.g. with backlinks), redirect to the most relevant new URL.

4. Inventory All Current URLs

  • Use a crawler to extract all live URLs.
  • Include blogs, landing pages, PDFs, media, subdomains.
  • Identify broken links, duplicate content, and orphaned pages.
  • Use this to inform your redirect map and URL planning.

5. Plan Your URL Structure & Redirects

  • Keep existing URLs where possible to minimise disruption.
  • If you must change URL paths, map every old URL to its closest new counterpart.
  • Ensure you’re capturing all:
    • Dynamic URLs
    • Parameterised links
    • Image and document paths
  • Prepare 301 redirects for every changed or removed URL.

6. Back Up Everything

  • Content, databases, media files, site architecture, and SEO data.
  • Keep multiple copies — just in case.

7. Choose an SEO-Friendly CMS or Front-End

  • Your new platform must support:
    • Editable meta tags and titles
    • Clean URL structure
    • Structured data
    • Canonical tags
    • SEO modules or plug-ins
  • If headless, ensure the front end supports server-side rendering (SSR) or pre-rendering.

8. Plan Your Analytics & Tagging

  • Inventory all current tracking tools:
    • Google Analytics (GA4)
    • Google Tag Manager
    • Advertising pixels
    • Conversion scripts
  • Plan to reimplement or upgrade during development.

9. Search Console Preparation

  • Verify your site(s) in Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools.
  • Export indexed URLs from GSC for backup.

10. Communicate Internally

  • Let all departments know about the migration timeline and potential for short-term traffic dips.
  • This reduces unnecessary panic or finger-pointing post-launch.

11. Create a Staging Environment

  • Set up a fully functional staging site.
  • Block search engines with noindex tags or password protection.
  • Begin testing site functionality, layout, and SEO settings.

12. Initial Technical SEO Audit

  • Run a crawl of the current and staging sites.
  • Identify anything that should not be carried over (e.g. duplicate titles, dead pages).
  • Fix issues before they become part of your new foundation.

Phase 2: SEO During Site Build & Development

As your new site takes shape, make sure SEO is baked into every element — not bolted on later.

13. URL Structure & Navigation

  • Mirror the old site’s URL structure wherever possible.
  • Use short, readable, keyword-relevant URLs.
  • Ensure important pages are no more than 3 clicks deep.

14. Content Migration

  • Copy over everything: page text, images, videos, links.
  • Keep HTML formatting intact (H1–H3 hierarchy, lists, tables).
  • Only one H1 per page.
  • Compare migrated pages to the original version for accuracy.

15. Media & Image Optimisation

  • Retain original file names where possible.
  • Add descriptive ALT text for accessibility and SEO.
  • If image URLs change, update all internal references or ensure redirects are in place.

16. On-Page SEO Elements

  • Title Tags & Meta Descriptions: Reuse existing ones if they’re well-optimised. Avoid defaults like “Home” or “Test Page”.
  • Headers & Content: Use keyword-rich headings, natural keyword placement, and maintain semantic structure.
  • Canonical Tags: Ensure each page has a self-referencing canonical tag unless variations are handled explicitly.
  • Meta Robots: Use “index, follow” on most pages; add “noindex” to thank-you or internal search result pages.

17. Structured Data (Schema)

  • Reapply structured data (JSON-LD or microdata).
  • Common examples: FAQPage, Article, Product, Breadcrumb.
  • Use schema testing tools to validate implementation.

18. JavaScript SEO (for headless or JS-heavy sites)

  • Enable server-side rendering (SSR) or use prerendering services.
  • Ensure content appears in raw HTML on page load.
  • Avoid relying on hash (#) navigation or hidden content that loads after interaction.

19. Internal Linking & Anchor Text

  • Update internal links to point to correct new URLs.
  • Fix hardcoded links that might now redirect.
  • Use descriptive, keyword-informed anchor text.
  • Remove or reroute links to pages that no longer exist.

20. 404 Page Design

  • Create a branded 404 page with:
    • Friendly messaging
    • Navigation back to key sections
    • A search bar

21. Robots.txt Setup

  • Allow crawling of all public pages.
  • Disallow irrelevant areas like /wp-admin/ or staging subdomains.
  • Reference your XML sitemap:
    Sitemap: https://www.example.com/sitemap.xml

22. XML Sitemap Generation

  • Include all indexable pages with canonical URLs.
  • Auto-generate with plugins or create manually.

23. hreflang (if applicable)

  • For multilingual or multiregional sites.
  • Update hreflang attributes to match the new URLs.

24. Mobile Optimisation

  • Your site must be responsive.
  • Test layout, tap targets, and font size using Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test.

25. Speed & Core Web Vitals

  • Compress images.
  • Minimise render-blocking JS/CSS.
  • Use lazy loading and caching.
  • Aim for a PageSpeed score of 70+ and “Good” Core Web Vitals across templates.

26. Optional Content Improvements

  • Refresh outdated content.
  • Add FAQs, examples, or visuals.
  • Enhance pages where possible without disrupting ranking keywords.

27. Analytics & Tagging Setup

  • Add GA4 tracking and GTM containers to the staging environment.
  • Test data flow using real-time reports.
  • Set annotations for launch day.

28. Third-Party Integrations

  • Test form submissions, e-commerce tracking, CRM integrations, and chat widgets.

Phase 3: Pre-Launch SEO Checks

With launch day approaching, it’s time to stress-test every detail before going live.

29. Content Accuracy

  • Review every high-value page.
  • Double-check text, media, and formatting.
  • Compare live and staging versions side-by-side.

30. Meta Data Verification

  • No missing, duplicated, or placeholder titles and descriptions.
  • Check that canonical tags point to the correct URLs.

31. Redirect Testing

  • Test 301 redirects using browser and tools.
  • Check high-priority pages manually.

32. Crawl the Staging Site

  • Look for:
    • Broken links
    • Orphaned pages
    • Duplicate content
    • Noindex tags
  • Fix anything flagged.

33. Disable Staging Blocks

  • Remove:
    • Noindex tags
    • Password protection
    • Robots.txt disallow rules from staging

34. Performance Checks

  • Run PageSpeed Insights and Lighthouse on key templates.

35. Cross-Device & Browser Testing

  • Ensure layout, menus, and interactivity work as expected.

36. Analytics Testing

  • Fire test events in GA4 or Tag Manager.
  • Ensure conversions are tracked correctly.

37. Final Approval

  • Stakeholders sign off on all content, pages, and functionality.

38. Launch Plan

  • Lower DNS TTL.
  • Keep old server or backup available.
  • Have redirect rules ready for deployment.

Phase 4: Launch Day & Post-Launch SEO

Going live is just the beginning — now you need to monitor, fix fast, and protect your rankings.

39. Activate Redirects

  • Immediately test live 301s.
  • Fix any broken or misdirected links.

40. Verify Robots.txt & Meta Robots

  • Ensure robots.txt is crawl-friendly.
  • Use Search Console to verify pages are being indexed.

41. Submit XML Sitemaps

  • In Google and Bing Webmaster Tools.
  • Check that all key pages are being discovered.

42. Use the Change of Address Tool (If Applicable)

  • Only for domain migrations (not platform-only moves).

43. Crawl Error Monitoring

  • Use GSC’s Pages and Coverage report.
  • Check for 404s, noindex pages, or crawl blocks.

44. Check Analytics

  • Verify real-time and daily tracking in GA4.
  • Monitor for traffic dips or spikes.

45. Rankings Watch

  • Use your rank tracker to monitor keywords.
  • Investigate significant drops immediately.

46. Post-Launch Crawl

  • Look for:
    • Broken links
    • Redirect chains
    • Missing meta data
    • Incorrect canonicals
    • Broken schema

47. Fix Errors Fast

  • Quick fixes prevent long-term damage to rankings.

48. Update External Links (Optional)

  • Reach out to sites that link to your old URLs and request an update.

49. Update Business Listings

  • Google Business Profile, Yelp, social media bios, partner sites.

50. Keep the Old Domain Active

  • Continue redirecting from old URLs indefinitely.
  • Prevents link equity loss and hijacking.

51. Prevent Duplicate Indexing

  • Ensure no test or staging sites are indexable.

52. Ongoing Monitoring

  • Use GSC, GA4, and rank tracking tools.
  • Check Core Web Vitals and mobile usability reports regularly.

53. Measure Success

  • Compare post-launch data to benchmarks.
  • Look at traffic, conversions, page speed, and ranking changes.

54. Plan Your Next SEO Improvements

  • Create new content based on gaps.
  • Continue link building.
  • Review and enhance structured data.

55. Quarterly SEO Audits

  • Keep everything running smoothly over time.

Final Thoughts: Migration Success Is in the Planning

Website migrations are risky. But with the right checklist, you’ll protect your SEO performance — and potentially come out stronger.

Want a printable or shareable version? Download our SEO Migration Checklist as a PDF.