Before moving off WordPress, save a list of the URLs people already use. Include office pages, articles, forms and anything linked from another site. A redesign is easier to manage when you know what needs to survive it.
This checklist applies to a move to Next.js or another platform. Use it once you have a reason to migrate, rather than treating a platform change as a cure for every website problem.
Inventory before building
Export existing URLs and identify pages with search traffic, inbound links or operational importance. Include office pages, articles, downloadable files and contact destinations. Record titles, descriptions, canonicals, index directives and useful content.
Also inventory forms, notification recipients, CRM connections, analytics and consent behavior. A migration that preserves rankings but loses quote requests has still failed the agency.
Map destinations deliberately
Keep working URLs when possible. If a URL changes, map it to the most relevant equivalent. Do not send every removed article to the homepage or a generic blog index. If there is no useful replacement, an intentional not-found response can be appropriate.
Test the redirect map for loops and chains. Update internal links to point directly to the final destinations. Google documents permanent redirects as signals that a resource has moved.
Preserve useful content and identity
Carry over accurate office information, contact details and content that answers actual visitor questions. Do not shorten successful pages merely to fit a new visual template. Keep titles and headings clear, and make sure canonicals and sitemaps describe the public production URLs.
Separate the platform move from a large content purge when feasible. If both must change, document what changed so later performance analysis is interpretable.
Test the production build
- Check desktop and mobile layouts and keyboard access.
- Fetch representative pages and verify server-rendered titles, headings and links.
- Test redirects, expected 404s, robots directives and the sitemap.
- Test forms through the agreed test delivery path, including failure and retry behavior.
- Verify images, social previews, analytics and account access.
- Confirm preview restrictions will not block the production domain.
Launch and monitor
Keep a rollback plan and record the launch date. After deployment, verify the public domain, redirects and inquiry path. Inspect important changed URLs in Search Console and submit the canonical sitemap where appropriate.
Review indexing, query/page performance and errors over time. Distinguish old expired assets from broken links to useful pages. Do not add redirects merely because an unfamiliar URL appears in a report.
Webdimonia scopes migration work as part of insurance agency website design. Review pricing and identify your current platform, important pages and integrations before requesting a quote.
