WordPress Migration Checklist: Move Hosts Without Breaking the Site

A WordPress migration is successful only when the public site, forms, email, redirects, analytics and administration still work after the move.

Before the migration

• Record the current DNS settings and nameservers.
• Create a fresh file and database backup outside the old host.
• List important forms, payments, logins and integrations.
• Confirm the PHP version and required extensions.
• Reduce DNS TTL in advance when appropriate.

Build the destination safely

Use a temporary address or hosts-file preview. Keep search engines away from duplicate staging copies and avoid sending transactional messages during testing.

Test more than the homepage

• Open key templates and posts.
• Submit every important form.
• Test checkout and account journeys.
• Check redirects and canonical URLs.
• Verify analytics and consent tools.
• Confirm outgoing email authentication and delivery.

Switch DNS deliberately

Change only the required records, keep the old hosting active and monitor both environments while DNS propagates. Do not cancel the old account immediately.

After the switch

1. Confirm HTTPS and mixed-content behaviour.
2. Purge host, plugin and CDN caches.
3. Check server logs and form submissions.
4. Resubmit or confirm the XML sitemap.
5. Run a broken-link and redirect check.
6. Take a new backup of the working destination.

Common migration mistakes

The most expensive mistakes are changing DNS before testing, forgetting mail records, leaving staging open to indexing and cancelling the source before a complete backup exists.

Use the hosting selection checklist before choosing the destination.