--- title: "Website Migration Checklist: Keep Your Traffic | Fernando Kylas" description: "A step-by-step checklist for moving a website to a new host or platform without losing search rankings, email or data." url: https://fkweb.dev/en/insights/website-migration-checklist/ lang: en-GB alternates: en: https://fkweb.dev/en/insights/website-migration-checklist/ fr: https://fkweb.dev/fr/articles/checklist-migration-site-web/ nl: https://fkweb.dev/nl/inzichten/checklist-website-migratie/ de: https://fkweb.dev/de/wissen/checkliste-website-umzug/ x-default: https://fkweb.dev/en/insights/website-migration-checklist/ --- 1. [Home](https://fkweb.dev/en/) 2. [Insights](https://fkweb.dev/en/insights/) 3. Website migration checklist: move your site without losing traffic # Website migration checklist: move your site without losing traffic A step-by-step checklist for moving a website to a new host or platform without losing search rankings, email or data. By [Fernando Kylas](https://fkweb.dev/en/about/)29 September 20263 min read Moving a website is one of those jobs that looks simple until something breaks. Email stops arriving, contact forms go quiet, and three weeks later traffic from Google is half what it was. Almost every one of these problems is avoidable with a plan. This is the checklist I use when I move a site to a new host or platform. It works whether you are leaving a slow shared host, moving off Wix or Squarespace, or rescuing a site from a developer who is no longer around. ## Before the move **Confirm ownership.** Make sure the domain is registered in your name and you can log in to the registrar. If you cannot, fix that first. Nothing else is safe until you control the domain. **Take full backups.** Download the files, export the database and save a copy somewhere that is not the current host. Then check the backup opens. A backup you have never tested is a hope, not a backup. **List every URL.** Crawl the current site with a tool such as Screaming Frog and export every page, image and document address. Add the URLs from Search Console that get traffic, because crawlers sometimes miss old pages that still rank. **Record your DNS.** Write down every DNS record, especially MX, SPF, DKIM and DMARC for email. Moving web hosting should never touch email, but a careless nameserver change can wipe these records. **Note what connects to the site.** Forms, payment providers, booking tools, analytics, pixels and any API keys. Each one will need testing after the move. ## Plan the redirects **Map old URLs to new ones.** If any address changes, every old URL needs a permanent (301) redirect to its closest new equivalent. Not to the homepage: to the page that answers the same question. **Keep what you can.** The safest migration keeps URLs exactly as they are. Change them only when there is a good reason, and accept that rankings may wobble for a few weeks when you do. ## Build and test on a copy **Set up the new site on a staging address.** Block it from search engines while you work so the copy does not compete with the live site. **Compare page by page.** Check titles, descriptions, headings, images and structured data against the original. Missing meta data is one of the most common causes of lost rankings. **Test the forms and integrations.** Send a real enquiry through every form and check where it lands. **Check speed.** The new host should be faster. If it is not, find out why before you switch. ## The switch **Lower the DNS TTL a day before.** This makes the change spread faster. **Pick a quiet time.** Late evening or a weekend, when few people are on the site. **Switch, then remove the staging block.** Make sure the live site can be indexed. A forgotten “noindex” setting has sunk more than one migration. **Test the redirects.** Run your URL list through a redirect checker. Every old address should land on the right new page in one hop. ## After the move **Submit the new sitemap in Search Console** and watch the coverage and performance reports for the next four to six weeks. **Keep the old host for a month** if you can, in case you need to recover something. **Check email deliverability**, including messages sent by your forms. **Write down what lives where.** A short document listing your registrar, host, DNS, logins and who has access will save the next person hours. ## When to get help If you have lost access to the site, the domain is not in your name, or the site has been hacked, start with a recovery plan rather than a move. My [website migration and rescue](https://fkweb.dev/en/services/website-migration-rescue/) service covers both: getting control back and moving the site safely. If you are on WordPress, a [care plan](https://fkweb.dev/en/services/wordpress-maintenance/) afterwards keeps it healthy. A careful migration is mostly preparation. The switch itself should be the least eventful part. ## Related services - [Website migration and rescue](https://fkweb.dev/en/services/website-migration-rescue/) - [SEO and AI search](https://fkweb.dev/en/services/seo/) [All insights](https://fkweb.dev/en/insights/) Next step ## Have a project in mind? Let us talk it through. Tell me what exists today and what needs to change. I reply within 2 business days, in English or French. [Start a project](https://fkweb.dev/en/contact/)Or email me directly [thatsme@fernandokylas.com](mailto:thatsme@fernandokylas.com)