# Website migration SEO checklist

Source: [Website migration SEO checklist](https://typeroll.com/docs/guides/migration-seo-checklist/)

> Keep search traffic when you move a website to Typeroll, with a URL inventory, redirects, a parity check against the new deployment and a launch gate before switching DNS.

A website migration loses search traffic when old addresses stop answering, when content or metadata changes without a decision, or when the switch happens before anyone checked the new site. Typeroll keeps a URL inventory for each site and checks the actual deployment, so each of these risks has a tool. This checklist applies to every source: WordPress, Squarespace, Wix, Webflow, Astro and others.

Start with [Choose your migration approach](https://typeroll.com/docs/guides/migration-approach/) and the guide for your source. The tools below are described in [Migration URL tools](https://typeroll.com/docs/tools/migration-urls/).

## Before you build

* [ ] **Readiness.** `get_migration_readiness` passes for the target site and the old site’s address. It catches missing media storage and a source that blocks requests.
* [ ] **Search data.** Export the old site’s top pages from Google Search Console, or let an agent import them with `import_gsc_performance`; see [Google Search Console](https://typeroll.com/docs/guides/search-console/#use-search-console-data-in-a-migration).
* [ ] **URL inventory.** Every public address of the old site is in the inventory: from its sitemap (`import_sitemap`), Search Console, a crawl and the source’s own routing (`add_migration_urls`). Include images and files that other sites link to.
* [ ] **Text and design decisions.** Record whether text and design are preserved or renewed. Titles, descriptions and headings change only by decision, not as a side effect.
* [ ] **Benchmarks.** Note current traffic, rankings for the most important searches and the number of indexed pages, so you can compare after launch.

## While you build

* [ ] **Same addresses where possible.** Keep each page’s path with an explicit Page `path` or a Content type URL pattern.
* [ ] **Redirects for every changed address.** Each moved page gets a permanent redirect to its closest replacement, not to the home page. `list_migration_urls status="unhandled"` is the work list until it is empty.
* [ ] **Metadata.** SEO titles, meta descriptions, share titles and images, canonical URLs and noindex settings are carried over or deliberately changed. Compare source and target HTML with the workspace’s `compare_seo.py`.
* [ ] **Structured data.** Article dates and authors, FAQ, product and organization data are present on the new pages; see [SEO for your site](https://typeroll.com/docs/guides/seo/#structured-data).
* [ ] **Internal links.** Links in the content point to the new addresses, not to the old domain or to redirects. `check_internal_links` finds broken saved links.
* [ ] **Media.** Images are transferred to the site’s own media storage, with their alt text. Nothing loads from the old host.
* [ ] **Languages.** Language versions keep their hreflang links on all sides.

## Before switching DNS

* [ ] **Publish to the temporary address.** Verification needs a real deployment; drafts are not checked.
* [ ] **Every old address answers.** `verify_migration_urls` requests every inventory address against the new deployment: no `missing`, no `broken_redirect`, no unresolved `error`. Large inventories use the `url_parity` workflow.
* [ ] **Content and SEO parity reviewed.** Record the comparison with `record_migration_seo_acceptance`.
* [ ] **Launch gate.** `get_migration_launch_report` returns `launch_ready: true` for the latest deployment. A new deployment makes earlier evidence stale; run the checks again.
* [ ] **Site-level basics.** The [launch readiness report](https://typeroll.com/docs/guides/launch-checklist/) has no open warnings you have not accepted.
* [ ] **Indexing on the real domain.** The new site is prepared for its final address before traffic moves; see [Website and media domains](https://typeroll.com/docs/publishing/domains/).

## After switching DNS

* [ ] Run `verify_migration_urls` again against the real domain.
* [ ] Call `check_site_indexing` and confirm the live site is indexable.
* [ ] Submit the new sitemap in Search Console and request indexing of the most important pages.
* [ ] Keep the old site’s Search Console property and watch its **Pages** report for errors for a few weeks.
* [ ] Compare traffic and rankings with the benchmarks after two and six weeks. Some movement in the first weeks is normal.
* [ ] Keep the old host until the owner approves its retirement, and archive original files privately first.

## Check it

`get_migration_launch_report` shows `launch_ready: true` for the deployment that is live, and a second `verify_migration_urls` run against the real domain reports no missing addresses.