Website migration services: what should actually be included?

If you are comparing website migration services, the proposals can sound surprisingly similar: move the site, transfer the content, launch the new version. The difference is usually in what happens between those phrases.

A business website can contain years of useful content, established URLs, search visibility, images, forms, analytics, domain settings, structured data, and customer-facing details. A migration service should account for those pieces instead of treating the website like a folder of files.

1. A pre-migration website inventory

Before anything moves, the provider should understand what exists. That normally means identifying the important pages and URLs, navigation structure, images and downloadable assets, forms, scripts, integrations, metadata, analytics, domain and DNS setup, and any functionality that may need special handling.

This inventory creates a baseline. Without one, it is easy to discover after launch that a service page disappeared, a form no longer submits, or an old URL that receives search traffic was never accounted for.

2. Ownership and access review

A good migration begins by confirming who controls the domain, DNS, hosting, website platform, analytics, Search Console, email-related DNS records, and other services connected to the site. Moving the website should not accidentally interrupt business email or leave the company dependent on credentials it does not control.

If ownership is already a concern, start with our guide to keeping your website when you leave a web designer.

3. Content, images, and brand assets

Migration services should specify what content will be transferred. That includes more than homepage copy. Service pages, about information, FAQs, blog or resource content, contact details, images, logos, PDFs, testimonials, and other useful assets should be identified before the move.

Not every asset has to survive unchanged. Old or low-value content can be improved or retired, but that should be an intentional decision rather than an accidental omission.

4. URL preservation and redirect planning

Existing URLs may already be indexed, linked from other websites, shared with customers, or included in marketing materials. A migration service should preserve useful URLs whenever practical.

When a URL must change, the provider should map the old address to the most relevant new destination and implement an appropriate permanent redirect. Sending every old page to the homepage is not a substitute for thoughtful URL mapping.

5. SEO preservation

SEO migration work should include the elements that help search engines understand the site: page titles, meta descriptions where useful, headings, canonical URLs, indexability, internal links, structured data, XML sitemap coverage, robots directives, and redirects.

The objective is not to promise that rankings can never fluctuate. It is to avoid creating preventable search problems during the move. Our guide to what happens to SEO when you move a website explains these risks in more detail.

6. Functional migration, not just visual copying

A page that looks correct can still be broken. Forms should submit to the right destination. Phone and email links should work. Navigation and dropdowns should behave correctly. Downloads should open. Embedded maps, scheduling tools, analytics, tracking pixels, ecommerce components, and other integrations should be reviewed based on what the business actually uses.

7. Mobile, accessibility, and browser testing

The destination site should be tested across common screen sizes and browsers before launch. Providers should check navigation, buttons, forms, images, readable text, keyboard behavior where applicable, labels and alternative text, and obvious layout failures.

A migration is also a useful opportunity to correct problems that were already present instead of reproducing them automatically.

8. A staging or preview period

You should be able to review the migrated website before the domain points to it. A preview gives the business time to compare the new version with the existing site, confirm important content, test functionality, and approve intentional changes while the original website remains available.

That is especially important when a migration also includes improvements or a redesign.

9. DNS and launch support

The migration service should define who is responsible for the production cutover. That may include DNS changes, SSL/HTTPS verification, domain redirects, hostname choices such as www versus non-www, and checks that unrelated DNS records remain intact.

For a practical sequence, see how to move your business website to a new provider.

10. Post-launch verification

Migration work does not end the moment the new homepage loads. The provider should verify important URLs, redirects, forms, analytics, canonical tags, sitemap availability, robots settings, mobile behavior, and any critical integrations on the production domain.

Google Search Console should also be checked after launch. Submit or confirm the production XML sitemap, inspect important URLs, watch indexing and crawl behavior, and monitor for unexpected 404s or other migration-related issues.

11. A clear record of what changed

A useful migration service should leave you with more control than you had before. You should know where the site is hosted, who controls the domain, how to access the website, what URLs changed, which redirects were created, and what ongoing services are optional.

This is one reason we separate migration from redesign. As explained in our guide to switching providers without automatically rebuilding, moving a site should not force unnecessary changes.

What if the existing website cannot simply be exported?

Some website platforms are portable. Others are not. In those cases, migration may require reconstructing the public website in a new environment rather than transferring the original editing system itself.

That is the problem Panderr, the website migration platform developed by PeachSites, is designed to address. Panderr analyzes an existing website so its structure, content, assets, and design can be understood and reconstructed, while allowing the migration to preserve, improve, or redesign the experience instead of assuming every move must start from a blank page.

Questions to ask before hiring a website migration provider

• Will you inventory my current URLs before migration?
• What content and assets are included?
• Will existing URLs be preserved where possible?
• Who creates and tests redirects?
• How are SEO metadata, canonicals, schema, sitemaps, and robots settings handled?
• Will forms and integrations be tested?
• Can I review the site before launch?
• Who handles DNS and the production cutover?
• What happens if something is missing after launch?
• Will I control my domain and have access to the finished website?

The best migration service makes the move boring.

That may not sound exciting, but it is a good standard. A well-planned website migration should feel controlled: inventory what exists, decide what stays, map what changes, build and test the destination, launch carefully, and verify the result.

The value is not simply that the website appears somewhere new. It is that the business arrives there with its useful content, search foundation, functionality, and control intact.