Relocating a website can be daunting, but with careful preparation, it should not be impossible. Before you go into this type of move, make sure you’re prepared. Here are a few ways you can better prepare for a website move.
1. Identify Your Needs
Website migrations can be complex processes and require extensive preparation, so the first step should be assessing your needs.
This can involve creating a content map, freezing new pages, and running tests in a closed environment – these methods can identify errors or issues that could disrupt user experience or traffic levels if left unaddressed – this should be conducted as an integrated team effort across departments.
2. Identify Your Goals
Migration strategies depend on your reasons for migrating; but regardless, it is vital to identify and define goals before initiating one.
Make sure that your goals are measurable, because if they can’t be measured accurately then improvement cannot take place.
An objective such as increasing traffic could be tracked with site analytics software to assess what works and what doesn’t.
3. Identify Your Platform
Website moves can range from moving your domain name or changing URL structures, and it’s vital that everyone involved understands what will be involved and when to schedule it for completion.
Preserve search engine rankings as much as possible by freezing content several weeks prior to moving the site and mapping all existing URLs.
4. Identify Your Content
If your school or district is transitioning to a new URL, it is crucial that all content be identified and decisions made as to what will move and what needs to go away. This transition provides an ideal opportunity to evaluate your site and make improvements as part of a comprehensive site audit.
Test your redirects in an isolated environment to make sure they work as intended and avoid hiccups when going live. This can help ensure a seamless user experience.
5. Identify Your Domain Name
Making an important decision as a web admin, selecting an effective domain name should be of top priority. A memorable, catchy name that fits within your budget should be your goal.
To find your domain name, use either your billing records or an online tool. In Windows, you can also open Network and Sharing Center > Change Adapter Settings to determine it.
6. Identify Your Host
Reasons may arise that require you to identify who hosts a website; perhaps simply finding the hosting provider behind a competitor site, or perhaps more urgently recovering login credentials from one that has been taken over after an employee or agency has left.
To do this, a number of methods exist, such as checking their nameservers or accessing WHOIS information for their domain.
7. Identify Your Security Settings
Your web browser offers various security settings you can toggle on or off, often organized into zones. These allow you to restrict which features can be enabled for specific websites; some features can be helpful while others could pose risks; it is therefore essential that you identify and comprehend these settings prior to migrating your site.
Migrations of websites are an inevitable aspect of doing business, yet can often prove disruptive for users and traffic alike.
8. Identify Your Backups
One of the best ways to prevent website migration hiccups is by keeping regular backups. It can be easy to lose track of things such as renewal dates, page settings changes, or unintended side effects from theme settings you apply – things which could become easily lost sight of over time.
Automated backups ensure that you can always recover from adverse situations, and save you time when migrating your website.