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Website Migration and New Site Guide

| 3 minutes to read

Redesigning and restructuring a website can be a great way to freshen up your brand and help increase user conversions. This isn’t without risk though. From domain names to redirects, title tags to content, there is a multitude of things that can go wrong and damage a site, ending in lost traffic and decreased conversions. Following the website migration SEO instructions below will help sustain your rankings and maintain your current traffic levels. At Koozai, we use something similar, our own SAFE SEO Migration Method™, which is a more detailed version of this checklist. This however, will give you a good starting point.

Initial Considerations

Domain Name

We would suggest sticking to the same domain name on the new site, as well as keeping as much under one domain as possible. This is so that any historic links that have been built will still be pointing to the relevant domain.

You can check your preferred domain availability on websites such as 123-reg.com.

Domain availability example

 

Content Management System

This might be dictated by developers and/or sales methods, but there are many more options than in previous years.
Even if different departments want different CMSs, there will be options for integrations and communications between the two.

If you have tech support in-house this is less important, but ideally, your CMS should allow you to:

  • Implement and change Meta descriptions and Meta titles independently
  • Implement text and internal link changes easily
  • Implement Alt tags on images
  • Implement and change H1 and H2 tags independently
  • Place permanent 301 redirects
  • Upload/replace XML Sitemap and robots.txt

Staging Websites

If a staging website is being used for the build of the new website, make sure that it isn’t indexed to avoid duplicate content penalties.

Password Protection

Blocking crawlers and users from getting to the site through a login is the most effective way. Password protection prompt

Robots.txt

Putting a directive in your robots.txt file can block crawlers from accessing the staging site.
This is not 100% guaranteed and users can still see the pages. Robots.txt example

NoIndex Tags

These are page-level tags and should be used as a last resort if needed.

Site Build

Your site should be built in a language easily read and crawled, ideally with HTML alternatives.
JavaScript and iFrames can be read, but less effectively.

Redirects & Structure

301 Redirects

301 redirects should ensure that users and crawlers can find new equivalents for old pages.
Map redirects so each old URL goes to the most appropriate new URL.

URL Structure

Ensure concise, informative URLs like /services/ rather than /our-service-offering/.

Canonicals

Canonicals prevent duplicate content issues, especially on category pages with filters or sorting.

Canonical URL example

On-Page Optimisations

Page Titles

Move existing titles across where relevant or optimise them based on traffic and search terms.

Meta Descriptions

Update or move meta descriptions and ensure branding and contact info is current.

Meta description example

Header Tags

Maintain a logical hierarchy for H1, H2, etc., and ensure they remain descriptive.

Content & Design

Menus

Keep internal linking strong with accessible top menus for key pages.

Footer Links

Include useful links like contact, delivery info, and terms in the footer.

Sharing & Social

Add social sharing icons, especially on product or informational pages.

Sitemaps

HTML sitemaps can aid accessibility and prevent orphaned pages.

File/Code Upload

XML Sitemaps

Ensure your sitemap.xml is current, and submit it in Google Search Console for faster crawling.

Search Console Verification

Validate your domain property in Google Search Console and ensure it’s ready post-migration.Search Console verification

Google Analytics Codes

Prepare analytics or Tag Manager codes to track data with minimal interruptions at launch.

Robots.txt

Switch from staging to live robots.txt to allow crawler access.

Technical Considerations

Image Tags

Retain or create Alt Tag descriptions for all images.

Site Speeds

  • Use Gzip compression
  • Use modern web formats and compress files before upload
  • Minify code and update server cache settings

Custom 404 Pages

Create a custom 404 page with helpful navigation or automatic redirection to relevant content.

Summary

Following this whitepaper will help you plan a migration, maintain rankings, and ensure a smooth transition. You’ve got this!

However, should you find something does go wrong, you can chat to our SEO Migration Paramedics or request a Rescue Review. If you’d rather not navigate this alone, our technical SEO services are built to manage exactly this kind of project from start to finish.

Request a Rescue Review

If your rankings or traffic have dropped since your website launch, don’t wait. Book a free Rescue Review and let our SEO Migration Paramedics take a look.

Request a Rescue Review

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Sophie Roberts

Managing Director

Sophie Roberts is Managing Director and owner of Koozai, one of the UK’s longest-established digital marketing agencies. Having joined the business in 2016, she became Managing Director in February 2018 before leading a successful management buyout in 2021. With more than 30 years of marketing experience, Sophie specialises in AI Search, Digital PR, marketing strategy, agency leadership and helping businesses adapt to the changing search landscape. She works closely with clients and Koozai’s specialist teams to develop commercially focused digital strategies that improve visibility, strengthen brand authority and deliver measurable business growth. Over the course of her career, Sophie has worked with more than 200 organisations, ranging from ambitious SMEs to household brands including Golden Wonder, Airfix & Humbrol and Victorinox Swiss Army Knives. Since joining Koozai she has helped shape digital strategies for clients including Travelbag, Trevor Sorbie, Red Funnel and Côte Brasserie, building long-term partnerships that often span many years. Although clients often approach Koozai for Technical SEO, PPC, Digital PR or AI Search support, Sophie’s approach has always been to understand the wider business challenge rather than simply deliver a marketing service. She believes the best client relationships come from treating every client’s business as if it were your own, combining commercial thinking with honest advice and a genuine investment in long-term success. Sophie’s career began in public relations, where she led award-winning campaigns before moving into digital marketing. One of her earliest successes was the BBC’s Service! campaign, which won the Catey Award for Best Independent Marketing Campaign and helped raise the profile of front-of-house hospitality careers across the UK. Since then, she has developed marketing strategies for organisations across hospitality, construction, travel, tourism, healthcare, education, retail, ecommerce, finance, automotive and manufacturing, giving her broad commercial experience across both B2B and B2C sectors. More recently, Sophie has become one of Koozai’s leading voices on AI Search and the impact of generative AI on marketing. She has developed the agency’s AI prompt library, built custom GPTs and AI agents to improve internal efficiency, and created Koozai’s AI usage policy to help the business adopt AI responsibly and effectively. She is particularly interested in how AI is changing the way people discover brands, products and services, and what businesses need to do to remain visible as search continues to change. Sophie regularly writes about AI Search, Digital PR, organic growth, marketing strategy, leadership and the practical application of AI in marketing. She also reviews and fact-checks Koozai’s AI Search and digital strategy content before publication, ensuring it is accurate, practical and reflects current best practice. Alongside her agency work, Sophie has delivered webinars on SEO for the construction industry, spoken at digital marketing events across Hampshire, featured in Search With Sean Live and supported the hospitality industry through judging and organising prestigious awards, including the UK Sommelier of the Year and UK Restaurant Manager of the Year. She also served on the organising committee for the National Restaurateurs Dinner. Her work has been recognised through both personal and agency awards, including the Catey Award for Best Independent Marketing Campaign and the Construction Marketing Award for Best Small Agency. Sophie holds a BA (Hons) in Marketing & PR together with Google and HubSpot marketing certifications. She continues to explore how emerging technologies can improve marketing effectiveness while keeping people, creativity and commercial thinking at the heart of every strategy. Her insights and commentary have been featured by publications including Moz, Sitebulb, Yahoo News, The Business Magazine, Hampshire Business News, Portsmouth News, The Daily Echo, Professional Electrician, The Caterer, Restaurant Online, HVP Magazine and many other industry publications. Away from work, Sophie is a self-confessed foodie, proud geek and lifelong learner who believes every day should be a school day. She is passionate about creating positive workplace cultures, supporting work-life balance and helping people build careers they genuinely enjoy.

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