Website Migration Checklist for Small Business Sites
Written by Kamran, Founder, 3xRevenue. Published · 9 min read.
A small business website migration checklist covers five things: redirects, email DNS records, forms, tracking and Google listings. Google says to keep 301 redirects live for at least 1 year. Skip one item and the new site can look perfect while leads quietly stop.
It is Monday morning. Your new website went live on Friday, it looks great, and the phone has not rung once. Then a customer emails you directly. The quote form "just spins." Nobody told you it still pointed at the old host.
That is the real risk of a move. The design is rarely the problem. The plumbing behind it is. We run this exact checklist on every launch of our 7-day website build service. You can run it too, whoever builds your site.
What actually moves when you switch to a new website?
A migration moves far more than pages. Your site is tied to email, forms, tracking codes and listings you set up years ago. The table below shows what usually travels with a small business site, and what breaks if you forget it.
| Item | Where it lives | What breaks if missed | Quick check after launch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Page URLs | Old site structure | Old links and bookmarks hit a 404 page | Open 10 old URLs, each should land on a live page |
| Email (MX, SPF, DKIM records) | DNS at your registrar or host | Email stops arriving or lands in spam | Send a test email in and out |
| Contact and quote forms | Form plugin or form service | Leads vanish or go to an old inbox | Submit every form once |
| Analytics and pixels | Theme header or tag manager | You lose your traffic history | Check live visitors in analytics |
| SSL certificate | New host | Browser shows "Not secure" | Load the site on https |
| Google Business Profile link | Your Google listing | Map visitors land on a dead page | Click the website link in your listing |
| robots.txt and noindex tags | New site settings | Google is told to ignore your site | View yoursite.com/robots.txt |
Source: Google Search Central, "Site moves with URL changes"; 3xRevenue launch checklist
Find broken links on your site
The rows people miss most are email and forms. Neither shows up on a design review. Both decide whether you get paid.
Which old pages need a redirect, and where should each one go?
Every old URL that ever got traffic or links needs a 301 redirect to its closest new match. A 301 tells browsers and Google the page has moved for good. Google's guide says permanent redirects "don't cause a loss in PageRank." You keep the trust the old page built.
Build a simple two-column redirect map before launch. Here is one for an example 12-page plumbing site moving to a new build. The URLs are made up for illustration.
| Old URL | New URL | Why |
|---|---|---|
| /services-1 | /services | Same content, cleaner address |
| /water-heater-repair-dallas | /services/water-heaters | Merged into one service page |
| /blog/2019/winter-pipe-tips | /blog/winter-pipe-tips | Date removed from the path |
| /contact-us | /contact | Renamed page |
| /old-coupon-2021 | (none, return 404 or 410) | Offer expired, no close match |
| /about-us.html | /about | Old file extension dropped |
Source: example redirect map for illustration; 404 and 410 guidance from Google Search Central
Three rules keep the map clean. Send each old URL straight to its final page, never through a chain. Do not dump every old page on the homepage. If a page is gone with no match, let it return a 404 or 410, as Google advises.
To list your old URLs, export the old sitemap before you cancel anything. No sitemap? Our free XML sitemap generator can crawl the old site and list every page.
The 6 checks to finish before launch day
These six checks happen while the old site is still live. Each one takes 15 to 60 minutes on a 10 to 30 page site, by our estimate.
1. Get full access to everything first
Collect logins for your domain registrar, DNS, old host, form tools and analytics. Example: the domain sits at GoDaddy under an old agency email. Quick check: you can log in to each account yourself, today, without asking anyone.
2. Copy your current DNS records
Screenshot or export every DNS record, especially MX, TXT and CNAME entries. Example: your MX records point to Google Workspace, and the new host's default DNS would wipe them. Quick check: run your domain through a free DNS record checker and save the results.
3. Lower the DNS TTL a few days ahead
TTL is how long the internet caches your DNS. Google suggests lowering it to a few hours at least a week before a host change. Example: drop it from 24 hours to 1 hour. Quick check: the new TTL shows in your DNS panel.
4. Build the redirect map
Fill in the two-column sheet above for every old URL. Example: 12 pages and 8 blog posts means about 20 rows. Quick check: no row is blank, and no new URL is the homepage by default.
5. Test forms on the staging site
Submit every form on the new site before launch. Example: the quote form should email the office and send the customer a confirmation. Quick check: both emails arrive within 2 minutes, and not in spam.
6. Record a "before" snapshot
Note last month's visits, form fills and calls from the site. Example: 900 visits, 22 form fills, 15 calls. Quick check: you have these numbers written down, so you can spot a drop later.
Launch day: the order that avoids downtime
The order matters more than the speed. Do these steps in sequence, ideally on your quietest day of the week.
- Put the new site live on the new host and confirm SSL loads on https.
- Switch DNS to the new host, then re-add your saved MX and TXT records.
- Turn on the redirects and test 10 old URLs in a private browser window.
- Remove any "noindex" tag or staging block from robots.txt.
- Submit the new sitemap in Google Search Console.
- Update the website link in Google Business Profile and other listings.
- Send a test email in, send one out, and submit every form again.
If you are changing your domain name, not just the design, there is one more step. Use the Change of Address tool in Search Console after the redirects are live. Google says it forwards signals for 180 days. Keep paying for the old domain for at least a year.
How long until Google and your leads catch up?
Expect a few weeks of wobble, not a few days. Google's site move guide says a medium-sized site can take "a few weeks or more" for new URLs to appear. It also warns that rankings can fluctuate during the move.
Your leads should not wait that long, though. Forms, email and phone links work the minute DNS settles. So a drop in form fills on day 2 is an alarm. A small dip in search visits in week 2 is normal.
| When | What to check | What counts as a problem |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Forms, email, SSL, 10 old URLs | Any form or test email fails |
| Days 2 to 7 | 404 errors in Search Console, live analytics | 404s on pages that had traffic |
| Weeks 2 to 4 | Indexed pages, search clicks vs your snapshot | Clicks still falling after week 3 |
| Months 2 to 12 | Redirects still live, old domain renewed | Anyone suggests removing redirects |
Source: Google Search Central, "Site moves with URL changes"; monitoring windows are 3xRevenue estimates
Run a quick website health check at the end of week 1. It flags slow pages, missing tags and broken links in one pass.
Mistakes that quietly cost small sites their leads
Most failed moves come from small, boring misses. Here are the ones to avoid.
- Redirecting everything to the homepage. Visitors looking for a service page land somewhere vague and leave. Map each page to its closest match instead.
- Forgetting the MX records. Email bounces for days, and you only notice when a customer calls to complain.
- Leaving the staging block on. A leftover noindex tag tells Google to drop the whole site.
- Cancelling the old host too early. Keep it for at least 30 days, by our estimate. Then you can recover any missed file.
- Changing the domain, design and URLs at once. Google advises changing one thing at a time where you can, so problems are easy to trace.
- Letting the old domain lapse. Someone else can buy it and inherit links that pointed to you.
Your printable migration checklist
Copy this list into your project notes and tick each item.
- ☐ Logins for registrar, DNS, host, forms and analytics in your own name
- ☐ Every DNS record exported, MX and TXT included
- ☐ DNS TTL lowered at least a week before a host change
- ☐ Redirect map finished, one row per old URL
- ☐ All forms tested on staging, emails arriving
- ☐ Before snapshot of visits, form fills and calls saved
- ☐ SSL live, redirects tested, noindex removed
- ☐ New sitemap submitted in Search Console
- ☐ Google Business Profile and listings updated
- ☐ Old domain renewed for at least 1 more year
FAQ
How long does it take to migrate a small business website?
The switch itself can happen in a few hours for a 10 to 30 page site, by our estimate. The prep takes longer, usually a few days to gather logins, map redirects and test forms. Google says search results can take a few weeks or more to fully update.
Will I lose traffic when I redesign my website?
A small, short dip is common, and Google warns rankings can fluctuate during a move. Clean 301 redirects and unchanged content keep most of it. Big, lasting drops usually come from missing redirects or a leftover noindex tag.
How long should I keep 301 redirects after a migration?
Google recommends at least 1 year, and says keeping them indefinitely is best for users. They cost almost nothing to leave in place. Removing them early breaks old links and bookmarks.
Will moving my website break my email?
It can, if your MX records are lost when DNS moves. Export every DNS record before you switch, then re-add them on the new DNS. Send a test email in and out on launch day to confirm.
Do I need a new domain to get a new website?
No. Most redesigns keep the same domain, which is the simpler and safer move. Change the domain only if you have a strong business reason, such as a rebrand.
Planning a rebuild in the next 90 days?
A website move goes wrong in the boring parts, not the pretty ones. Want the site built, the redirects mapped and the email checked for you? Our team runs this list on every launch. See how a new business website goes live in 7 days, with the migration included.