If you’re switching web hosts, changing domains, or moving to a new CMS, you might need to migrate your website. However, without following a website migration checklist, you can run into trouble. For instance, you might lose your search engine rankings or disrupt your user experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
That’s why it’s super important to follow a good checklist to make the process as smooth as possible. In this post, we’ll give you just that and discuss some key steps to ensure a successful website migration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Let’s get to it! \u2705<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
If you need to migrate your website, it’s best to choose your timing carefully. This way, you can ensure that your site’s migration has the least effect on your visitors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Of course, while you migrate your site, your content will be unavailable for a short time, so you’re bound to witness a small drop in traffic. However, you can minimize this effect by avoiding peak times to migrate your website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Instead, opt for quieter periods such as very early in the morning or late at night. Obviously, this depends on where your servers are based, and where the majority of your traffic comes from<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you serve a global audience, it can be difficult to pin down a time when all of your visitors are sleeping. However, for small businesses that serve a more local audience, it may be easier to migrate your site at a time that causes minimal disruption to your users.<\/p>\n\n\n No website migration checklist is complete without informing your customers. Although you may be able to time your migration so that it’s more convenient for your visitors, it’s still important to alert them of the process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For example, you might display a notice on your website, or email your subscribers directly. This way, customers know to avoid your website while the work is being undertaken.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is especially key for an ecommerce store since it enables shoppers to get their orders in before your site becomes unavailable. As a result, you can reduce the revenue hit that your website migration may cause.<\/p>\n\n\n Another important part of our checklist is to put your site in maintenance mode<\/a> before you get started. This is especially relevant if you run a multi-author website<\/a>, like a news website or a blog.<\/p>\n\n\n\n By putting your site into maintenance mode, you can ensure that users can’t make any changes to your content during the migration. For example, writers won’t be able to edit or publish posts during this period. Meanwhile, visitors won’t be able to view or engage with your site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n WP Maintenance Mode<\/strong> is a completely free plugin that makes it simple to enable maintenance mode in WordPress:<\/p>\n\n\n2. Inform your customers \ud83e\udd33<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
3. Put your site in maintenance mode \ud83d\udea7<\/h3>\n\n\n\n