§ 01Start with an inventory
Export all indexed URLs, landing pages, traffic pages, backlinks, templates, forms and integrations. The migration plan starts from what already works.
Do not rely only on the CMS list of pages. Crawlers, analytics and search console data often reveal old URLs that still bring traffic.
§ 02Redirects and canonicals
Every valuable old URL needs a matching destination and a 301 redirect. Chains and soft 404 pages should be avoided.
Canonical tags must match the new primary URLs. During launch, check the live HTML, not only template settings.
§ 03Content and templates
Preserve headings, internal links, structured data and important copy unless there is a clear reason to change them. Redesign can happen without erasing ranking signals.
If content is rewritten, compare intent and coverage before launch.
§ 04Launch window
Deploy when the team can monitor logs, forms, analytics, indexation and redirects for several days. Migration issues are easiest to fix in the first 48 hours.
Keep a rollback plan, but prefer fixing forward when redirects and content are already visible to crawlers.
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