A website migration changes more than where files are stored. It can affect URLs, authentication, forms, payment callbacks and search discovery. Treat the move as a release with a checklist and a recovery plan.
Inventory before changing anything
Record important pages, existing redirects, forms and external integrations. Export the current sitemap and identify pages that receive useful traffic or inbound links. Keep a secure record of environment settings without placing secrets in the upload archive.
Decide the preferred public address, including HTTPS and www or non-www. Use that choice consistently in internal links, canonical tags and sitemaps.
Map old addresses to useful destinations
Keep working URLs wherever possible. When a URL must change, map it to the closest relevant replacement. Sending every old page to the homepage is usually unhelpful to visitors.
Google's canonicalisation guidance explains how redirects and canonical signals support a preferred URL. They are part of a consistent migration, not a substitute for checking the resulting pages.
Test complete user journeys
Check signup, confirmation links, password recovery, project submission and any payment return paths. Test both a new visitor and an existing account. Verify that Analytics receives permitted events after the visitor's consent choice.
Inspect redirects for loops and preserve relevant query parameters. Compare important page content and metadata before and after the move. Confirm robots rules do not accidentally block the public site.
Keep the previous deployment available until the new one passes its agreed checks. Ask your website migration specialist to document what changed, how to monitor it and how to restore service if necessary.