Website migration checklist

Work through the phases in order. Items that do not apply to your site, such as email on a site without mail, can be crossed out. Use the print button or your browser’s print command to get a clean paper copy with tick boxes; the navigation and footer are left out of the printout.

Each phase links to a guide with the details. For the platform-specific parts, see WordPress migration without downtime, the cPanel to cPanel checklist or migrating to a VPS.

• Migration date and time chosen, outside peak traffic
• Access confirmed: old host, new host, DNS provider, registrar, CDN
• Inventory written: domains, subdomains, databases, mailboxes, cron jobs, integrations
• Email hosting location known (same host, separate provider, or none)
• Who approves the launch, and who is on call during the switch
• Rollback plan: how to point DNS back to the old server
• Current TTLs noted for every record that will change

Check TTLs with the TTL checker and see who hosts the domain, its DNS and email today with Who is hosting.

• Full backup of the old site downloaded and stored off the old server
• New server matches the old runtime: PHP or Node version, extensions, database version
• Files copied and permissions set
• Database imported; application configuration updated with new credentials
• Virtual host or site configured for the domain and www
• Server-level rules recreated: redirects, rewrite rules, PHP limits
• Cron jobs prepared (not yet duplicated with the old server)
• TTL lowered to 300 seconds, one old TTL before the switch

Why the TTL matters: Lower your TTL before a migration.

• Site opens on the new IP under its real domain (preview link or hosts file)
• Home page and key pages checked on desktop and phone
• Forms submitted; notification emails arrive
• CMS or admin login works; a media upload works
• Checkout or sign-in tested with test accounts
• QA crawl run; critical findings fixed and re-run
• Old and new site compared side by side
• No staging leftovers: noindex, robots.txt blocks, temporary URLs
• Certificate plan: valid now, or issued right after the switch
• Client or owner approval recorded

A DNSPeek preview link covers the first items on any device and can be shared for approval; a QA report and live compare cover the crawl and the comparison. Method trade-offs: hosts file vs a preview link. Approvals: client sign-off before launch.

• Content freeze on the old site (orders, comments, posts)
• Final sync of database and new uploads
• A record of the domain changed to the new IP
• www and other hostnames changed
• Old AAAA record updated or removed
• MX and mail records changed, only if email moves too
• CDN origin updated, if a CDN proxies the site

• Public resolvers return the new IP
• Site answers from the new server
• Valid certificate for every hostname
• Redirects: http to https and www handling in one or two hops
• Security headers present as before
• MX, SPF, DKIM and DMARC correct; test email sent and received
• Forms and transactional emails delivered
• Cron jobs running on the new server only
• Analytics firing; sitemap reachable

Tools for this phase: DNS propagation checker, Is my domain switched?, SSL checker, redirect checker, security headers check, MX lookup, SPF checker and DMARC checker. The full list of what to look at: what to check after moving hosting.

• Old server’s access logs show no more real visitors
• No new mail arriving on the old server
• Final backup of the old account kept
• TTL raised back to 3600 seconds or more
• Hosts file entries removed; preview links disabled
• Backups and monitoring configured on the new host
• Old hosting cancelled

How long to wait: How long DNS propagation takes.

A rollback is only easy if you planned for it. Because the old server keeps running and the TTL is short, undoing a switch is the same operation in reverse: point the records back at the old IP, and visitors return within minutes. Decide in advance what would make you roll back, such as checkout failing or the site returning errors, and who makes that call.

Data written on the new server after the switch, such as orders, sign-ups or comments, does not flow back on its own. Note the time of the switch so you can find and copy those records if you have to return to the old server for a while.

1. 1

   Step 1: Plan

   Inventory domains, data, email and integrations, confirm access everywhere and agree a rollback plan.

2. 2

   Step 2: Lower the TTL

   Set the records you will change to 300 seconds, at least one old TTL before the switch.

3. 3

   Step 3: Prepare the new server

   Copy files and database, match the runtime versions and recreate server-level rules.

4. 4

   Step 4: Test before DNS

   Open the site on the new IP under its real domain, run a QA crawl, compare with the old site and get approval.

5. 5

   Step 5: Switch

   Freeze content, do a final sync and update the A, AAAA and other records.

6. 6

   Step 6: Verify

   Check propagation, the certificate, redirects, email and forms.

7. 7

   Step 7: Clean up

   When traffic has stopped on the old server, take a final backup, raise the TTL and cancel the old hosting.