SEO Migration Checklist
Move a website to a new platform, or redesign it, without losing the rankings you already earned.
Here is a comprehensive document that can be used to ensure that your SEO is not impacted during the migration of your website from one platform to another or just redesigning your website. Here are the steps that need to be followed:
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Backup of the existing website: Before migrating to the website, it's important to create a backup of the existing website. This will ensure that if anything goes wrong during the migration process, the website can be restored to its previous state.
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Create a new website: Once the backup is complete, create a new website. You can use the same domain name as the existing website or choose a new one. Make sure that the website design and structure are similar to the old website.
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Import content from old website: Many platforms allow you to import content from your existing website platform. Use the required app to transfer all the content to the new website. This will include pages, posts, images, and videos.
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Redirect old URLs: The URLs of the old website will be different from the URLs of the new website. This means that all the old URLs will result in a 404 error when accessed from search engines or other websites. Use 301 redirects to redirect all the old URLs to the corresponding pages on the new website. This will ensure that the traffic from the old URLs is redirected to the new website, and search engine rankings are not impacted.
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Slugs: it's important not to change the slugs (URLs) of the pages and posts on the new website. The slugs are an important part of the URL structure of a website and changing them can hurt the SEO. When migrating the website to another platform, make sure to keep the same slugs as the old website. This will ensure that the URLs of the pages and posts remain the same and the backlinks to those pages and posts continue to point to the correct URLs.If for any reason the slugs need to be changed, use 301 redirects to redirect the old URLs to the new URLs. This will ensure that the traffic from the old URLs is redirected to the new URLs and search engine rankings are not impacted.
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Meta titles and Meta Description Migration: When migrating to another platform, make sure to keep the same meta titles and descriptions as the old website. This will ensure that the search engine rankings are not impacted. You can find the meta titles and descriptions of the old website in the HTML code of each page.
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Alt Tags migration: To migrate the alt tags for images, make sure to add them to the images on the new website. Alt tags are important for SEO because they provide information to search engines about the content of an image. Use the same alt tags as the old website, if possible. Alt tags can be added to images in the website editor by selecting the image and clicking on the “Settings” button. Then, select “Change image” and add the alt text in the “Alt Text” field.
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Submit the new sitemap to Google Search Console: Once the new website is live, create a sitemap of the new website and submit it to Google Search Console. This will help Google to discover all the pages on the new website and index them.
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Check all the backlinks: Use a backlink checker tool to check all the backlinks to the old website. Identify all the high-quality backlinks and contact the website owners to request them to update the backlinks with the new URLs. This will ensure that the backlinks continue to point to the new website and the SEO is not impacted.
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Monitor the search engine rankings: After the migration is complete, monitor the search engine rankings of the website for a few weeks. If there are any drops in the rankings, identify the cause and take corrective action.
Questions About the SEO Migration Checklist
It's a step-by-step guide to ensure your SEO isn't damaged when migrating a website to a new platform or doing a full redesign — covering backups, content transfer, URLs, metadata, and post-migration monitoring.
A backup ensures that if anything goes wrong during migration, the website can be restored to its previous state — it's the safety net for the entire process.
You can use the same domain or choose a new one, but the design and structure of the new site should stay similar to the old one to keep the transition smooth for both users and search engines.
Many platforms support importing content directly from your existing site — pages, posts, images, and videos can typically be transferred using the platform's import tool.
Since the new website's URLs will differ from the old ones, visiting an old URL without a redirect results in a 404 error. Setting up 301 redirects from every old URL to its corresponding new page preserves traffic and prevents search engine rankings from being impacted.
No — keep the same slugs as the old website whenever possible, since changing them can hurt SEO and break existing backlinks. If slugs must change, set up 301 redirects from the old URLs to the new ones so traffic and rankings aren't lost.
Yes. Keep the same meta titles and descriptions as the old site to avoid impacting search rankings. You can find the existing ones in the HTML code of each page on the old site before migrating.
Alt tags need to be manually added to images on the new website, ideally matching the old site's alt text, since they provide search engines with important context about image content. Most website editors let you add alt text through the image settings.
Create a sitemap for the new website and submit it to Google Search Console so Google can discover and index all the pages on the new site.
Use a backlink checker tool to find all backlinks pointing to the old website, identify the high-quality ones, and reach out to those site owners asking them to update the links to the new URLs — this preserves the SEO value those backlinks provide.
Monitor search engine rankings for a few weeks after the migration is complete. If you notice ranking drops, investigate the cause and take corrective action promptly.
Broken URLs and lost redirects are the most common cause of ranking drops — if old URLs aren't properly redirected with 301s, both search engines and backlinks pointing to those pages will hit dead ends, which can cause significant traffic and ranking loss.
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