Migrating website data from server to server is an age-old nightmare for SEO marketers. They fear losing users. valuable traffic. and optimization performance. By following a proven migration process. you can complete the process safely and your site visitors won’t even know you’re doing it.
Migration process: 16 steps in 4 stages
A seamless data migration. whether when changing web hosting. domain. or content management system (CMS). consists of three basic phases: planning. pre-migration. and post-migration. These are then divided into 16 necessary steps.
Website migration. like other similarly demanding tasks. requires careful planning of all steps in terms of time and content. Proceed as follows:
Determine the scope of the operation
Before you even start planning. do a thorough research of your website and all of its pages so you can answer the following questions:
- What do I want to achieve through migration?
- How widespread an impact will it have on the web?
If you are not clear about this. it is special database better not to start the move. because it will most likely not succeed.
Will in-house SEO specialists take on the project . or would it be better to entrust it to an external agency with experience and results?
In the case of the first option. don’t forget about a clear project management framework so that everyone involved clearly knows what to do and what they are responsible for.
Involve all stakeholders
Depending on the size of the company. it is necessary to inform every department of the company that is affected by the data transfer in learn what seo is and how it works some way. These can be content managers. IT staff. marketers. designers and other teams.
Educate stakeholders about the migration process. why it’s happening. and what the benefits will be. Learn from others’ experiences and use this information when choosing a new (better) domain or CMS.
Explain to those involved and performance of the website.
Make a schedule
The best time to launch your fresh list migrated site is during off-peak hours. when you have enough capacity to immediately resolve any unexpected issues. Choose a time with the least amount of activity on your site and the least impact and influence on your business.
In the case of a large website. you can divide the migration into several parts. each with a “package” of pages.