A new site can look better and still lose visits if the old addresses stop working. This checklist avoids that mistake.
Before migrating
- Take an inventory of all current URLs and the ones that get the most visits.
- Back up the complete files and database.
- Prepare a staging environment, protected so Google does not index it.
During the migration
- Create 301 redirects from each old URL to its new equivalent.
- Keep the titles and descriptions of pages that already rank.
- Set the canonical URL and, with several languages, hreflang tags.
- Generate an updated sitemap and review robots.txt.
After going live
- Submit the sitemap in Google Search Console.
- Watch 404 errors and coverage during the first weeks.
- Check speed and accessibility with Lighthouse.
It is exactly the process we applied when migrating our own site.