## Website migration control worksheet

Digital Kreativa editorial team. Published 14 November 2026.

Use this checklist as a release record, not a substitute for a site-specific technical plan. For every check, record a status, tester, environment, evidence location, and issue owner. Use not started, passed, failed, or not applicable; explain every exception. Keep credentials and sensitive records elsewhere.

## Scope and authority

- Migration purpose and changed systems: Complete here.
- Domains, URLs, content, and data affected: Complete here.
- Unchanged dependencies, including email services: Complete here.
- Exact release identifier and launch window: Complete here.
- Release operator and final approver: Complete here.
- Technical escalation and recovery decision-maker: Complete here.
- Launch-blocking criteria and accepted exceptions: Complete here.

## Before launch checklist

- Inventory pages, media, downloads, and important historical addresses.
- Record current key journeys, known errors, and baseline measurement conditions.
- Confirm access to hosting, DNS, deployment, integrations, and reporting accounts.
- Back up required files, data, and configuration and record secure backup locations.
- Rehearse restoration in an isolated environment and retain the result.
- Document rollback triggers, steps, authority, and data reconciliation.
- Agree content freeze or synchronisation arrangements and handling of new submissions.
- Map old addresses to retained pages, relevant replacements, or deliberate removals.
- Test redirect destinations, loops, chains, and relevant query-string behaviour.
- Prepare production internal links, canonicals, sitemap, and any language references.
- Identify temporary access and indexing restrictions to change at release.
- Keep preview protection and private-area access controls intact.
- Test the exact release candidate across representative browsers and mobile layouts.
- Verify keyboard journeys, downloads, images, forms, and receiving systems.
- Test consent choices, persistence, and settings against approved requirements.
- Review defects and recovery evidence with the accountable approver.

## URL outcome record

Duplicate this record for each address or reviewed mapping rule.

- Existing address and business significance: Complete here.
- Intended outcome: Retain, redirect, or remove.
- Final destination and expected response: Complete here.
- Observed response, redirect path, and final content: Complete here.
- Query-string considerations and test evidence: Complete here.
- Tester, status, and unresolved issue owner: Complete here.

## Go or no-go record

- Release identifier reviewed: Complete here.
- Blocking defects and their status: Complete here.
- Exceptions, impact, and accountable acceptance: Complete here.
- Recovery readiness and data reconciliation owner: Complete here.
- Decision, approver, and actual decision time: Complete here.

## Immediately after launch checklist

- Confirm the approved version is serving on the public domain.
- Check required DNS changes and preservation of unrelated mail records.
- Verify certificates, important routes, redirects, and missing-page responses.
- Repeat critical journeys in a real browser and confirm authorised test receipts.
- Check production content for preview-host links and missing resources.
- Verify consent behaviour and approved analytics configuration.
- Check production indexing settings, canonical addresses, and sitemap contents.
- Preserve preview and private-area restrictions where still required.
- Use appropriate Search Console inspection and reporting; distinguish access from indexing.
- Record failures, escalation, and the decision to continue or recover.

## Evidence record

- Check name and expected result: Complete here.
- Tester, environment, release identifier, and actual test time: Complete here.
- Observed result and evidence location: Complete here.
- Status and reason for any exception: Complete here.
- Issue severity, owner, and next action: Complete here.

## Follow-up and closure

- Review schedule, owner, and notification route: Complete here.
- Errors, enquiries, search reports, and traffic compared with baseline: Complete here.
- Tracking differences or seasonal factors affecting comparison: Complete here.
- Redirect retention and recovery arrangements: Complete here.
- Remaining defects, priorities, and next review: Complete here.
- Closure evidence and accountable acceptance: Complete here.

## Reference guidance

- [Google Search Central guidance for site moves with URL changes](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/site-move-with-url-changes)