Moving to a new website is exciting. A fresh design, a faster platform and better tools can do a lot for your business. But a rushed move can also wipe out years of search rankings overnight. A clear website migration checklist is the simplest way to avoid that. It keeps your traffic, your leads and your Google visibility safe while everything changes behind the scenes.
In this guide, we walk through the steps we follow when moving sites for Australian startups, small and medium businesses and agencies. Whether you are changing platforms, redesigning, moving to a new domain or just switching hosts, these steps will help you launch with confidence.
What Is a Website Migration?
A website migration is any big change that affects how search engines find, crawl and understand your site. Common examples include:
- Platform change: moving from one CMS to another, such as Wix to WordPress or WordPress to Webflow.
- Domain change: moving from an old brand name to a new one, or from .com to .com.au.
- Redesign or restructure: new page layouts, new menus or new URL paths.
- Protocol change: moving from HTTP to HTTPS.
- Hosting change: moving to a new server or hosting provider.
Some migrations are low risk, like a simple hosting move. Others, like a domain and platform change at the same time, carry much more risk. The more you change at once, the more carefully you need to plan.
Why Migrations Can Hurt Your SEO
Google has learned where your pages live and what they are about. When URLs change, content disappears or pages load differently, Google has to work all of that out again. If old pages return errors instead of pointing to their new home, the links and authority they built up can be lost.
The most common causes of traffic drops after a migration are:
- Missing or incorrect 301 redirects
- Pages or content left out of the new site
- The staging site’s “noindex” setting left switched on at launch
- Lost page titles, meta descriptions and headings
- Broken internal links and images
- A slower site on the new platform
The good news is that almost all of these problems can be prevented with planning and testing.
Before the Migration: Planning Checklist
1. Set clear goals and a realistic timeline
Write down why you are moving and what success looks like. Pick a launch date that avoids your busiest sales period. For many Australian retailers, that means steering clear of the lead-up to Black Friday and Christmas.
2. Benchmark your current performance
Before you change anything, record how the current site performs. Export data from Google Search Console and Google Analytics, including your top pages, top keywords, organic traffic and conversions. This gives you a baseline to compare against after launch.
3. Crawl and list every URL
Use a crawling tool to collect every page, image, PDF and blog post on the old site. Add URLs from your XML sitemap and from Search Console as well, as crawlers can miss orphan pages. This full list is the foundation of your redirect plan.
4. Back up everything
Take a full backup of your files, database, emails and DNS settings. Store it somewhere safe that is separate from your hosting account. If something goes wrong, you can roll back quickly.
5. Build a redirect map
This is the most important step. Create a spreadsheet that matches every old URL to the most relevant new URL. Follow these rules:
- Use permanent 301 redirects, not temporary 302s.
- Redirect each old page to its closest match, not everything to the home page.
- Avoid redirect chains (A to B to C). Point old URLs straight to their final destination.
- Keep the same URL structure where you can. Fewer changes mean less risk.
During the Build: Staging Checklist
6. Build on a protected staging site
Never build the new site on your live domain. Use a staging site that is password protected or set to “noindex” so Google does not find a duplicate copy of your content.
7. Move all content and SEO data
Make sure every important page comes across, including blog posts, service pages and product pages. Carry over the on-page SEO details too:
- Page titles and meta descriptions
- H1 and H2 headings
- Image alt text
- Schema markup and structured data
- Canonical tags
8. Check speed and mobile experience
A new site should be at least as fast as the old one. Test key pages with Google PageSpeed Insights and check them on real phones. Optimise images, limit heavy scripts and use caching. If you are moving to WordPress, our WordPress development team builds with speed and SEO in mind from day one.
9. Test forms, checkouts and tracking
Submit every contact form, test the checkout with a test order and confirm that emails arrive. Make sure Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager and any advertising pixels are installed on the new site before launch.
Launch Day Checklist
10. Go live at a quiet time
Launch when traffic is low, such as early in the week or outside business hours. Avoid Friday afternoons so your team is around to fix any issues.
11. Switch on redirects and remove “noindex”
Upload your redirect map and test a sample of old URLs straight away. Then check that the staging “noindex” setting is turned off and that your robots.txt file is not blocking search engines. This one mistake causes more post-launch traffic drops than almost anything else.
12. Update Google Search Console
Submit your new XML sitemap in Search Console. If you changed domains, verify the new domain and use the Change of Address tool. Request indexing for your most important pages.
After Launch: Monitoring Checklist
13. Crawl the new site
Run a fresh crawl to find broken links, 404 errors, redirect chains and missing titles. Fix issues as soon as you spot them.
14. Watch your rankings and traffic
Compare organic traffic, rankings and conversions against your baseline each week. Small changes in the first few weeks are normal while Google re-crawls the site. A large or ongoing drop is a sign that something needs fixing.
15. Update external links and listings
Update your Google Business Profile, social media profiles, online directories and any links you control so they point to the new URLs. If you rely on local search, our Local SEO Checklist for Australian Small Businesses covers the listings worth checking.
16. Keep old redirects in place
Leave your 301 redirects live for the long term. Removing them too early can undo the work and send visitors to error pages.
Should You Migrate Yourself or Get Help?
A simple hosting move on a small site can be done in-house if you are comfortable with backups and DNS. Larger moves are a different story. Platform changes, domain changes, ecommerce stores and sites with hundreds of pages have many moving parts. A professional team can plan redirects, protect your SEO and test everything before your customers see it.
At EMU Digital Agency, our SEO services team works alongside our developers so that your rankings are protected at every stage of the move.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does a website migration take?
It depends on the size and type of move. A small hosting move can take a day or two. A full platform or domain change for a larger site can take several weeks, including planning, building, testing and post-launch monitoring.
Will I lose my Google rankings when I migrate?
Some movement in the first few weeks is common while Google re-crawls your site. With correct 301 redirects, preserved content and on-page SEO, and good monitoring, most sites recover and often improve once the new site settles in.
What is the difference between a 301 and a 302 redirect?
A 301 redirect tells search engines a page has moved permanently, so its value should pass to the new URL. A 302 is a temporary redirect. For website migrations, you should almost always use 301 redirects.
Do I need to tell Google about a new domain?
Yes. Verify the new domain in Google Search Console, submit your new sitemap and use the Change of Address tool from the old property. This helps Google understand the move faster.
Conclusion
A website migration does not have to cost you traffic. By planning carefully, mapping every redirect, testing on staging and watching your results after launch, you can move to a better website and keep the visibility you have worked hard to build. Use this website migration checklist as your guide, and take your time with each step.
Planning a new website or moving platforms? Get a quote from EMU Digital Agency and let our team handle your migration from start to finish, with your SEO protected along the way.
