The new shop looked great on Stella’s phone. The menus were clear, the photos were sharp, and the checkout felt quick.
Then she clicked an old product link from a customer email. “Page not found.”
It was a small test with a big lesson. A fresh design would mean little if buyers could no longer reach the things they wanted.
Stella’s story is fictional, but the checks below can help you plan a real move.
What Changes During a Website Migration?
A website migration is a move that can change your platform, domain, page addresses, or hosting. Ecommerce replatforming means moving the shop to a new platform.
Know What You Are Moving
A design refresh may keep the same URLs, while a platform move may change product and category paths. Write down what will change before the work starts.
Keep URLs that work well where you can. Bring SEO into the plan early, alongside web design, rather than checking it once the shop is built.
Before Launch Save What Already Works
Your ecommerce SEO migration needs a clear view of the old shop. Use this first part of the SEO migration checklist to save what matters.
Record Pages Traffic and Sales
List product, category, and blog URLs. Save page titles, headings, key text, images, and pages with links from other sites. Include pages that bring sales, even if they get few visits.
Keep recent and seasonal data from Search Console, analytics, and your order system. That gives you a fair basis for checks after launch.
Keep Products Easy to Find
Keep useful category text, product details, and links between pages. Do not leave key products reachable only through the search box.
Google’s ecommerce site structure guide explains why links from menus through to products matter. Review those paths as part of website redesign SEO.
Map Old URLs to the Right New Pages
If URLs change, a redirect sends buyers from an old address to its new home. This is how to migrate product URLs without leaving old links broken.
Build a Clear Redirect Map
Create a sheet with the old URL, new URL, and test result. Send each moved page straight to its closest valid match using a permanent 301 redirect.
For example, an old blue-shirt link should reach that shirt’s new page. Do not send all old products to the homepage.
If a page is gone with no useful replacement, a proper 404 or 410 response is better than an unrelated page. Test for loops and chains that pass through several URLs.
Google’s redirect guide explains permanent and temporary moves.
Look After Existing Backlinks
Keep old addresses and domains working so their redirects still run. Ask owners of valuable links to update them where practical.
Google advises keeping redirects for at least a year, and longer can help people using old links. Its site move guide also warns that rankings may shift while pages are processed. No plan can promise zero change.
Test the Store Before Buyers Arrive
The next part of your ecommerce migration checklist covers search access and the buying journey. Give each check an owner before launch day.
Check Search Access and Page Details
Keep the test site private. At launch, remove test-site blocks from public pages meant for search, including any noindex tags that tell search engines to leave pages out.
Check that canonical tags, which name a page’s preferred URL, use the new live addresses. Update internal links and the XML sitemap, the file that lists your pages.
Test product data such as prices and stock details. Check mobile speed too; our Core Web Vitals guide explains the user experience checks worth keeping in view.
Place Orders and Check Tracking
Test product options, stock, discounts, delivery, tax, payments, and refunds. Use a phone as well as a desktop.
Use our ecommerce CRO checklist to review the buying journey. Check purchase tracking against actual orders. A missing tag can make sales look lost; a broken payment flow can stop them happening.
Google’s GA4 ecommerce guide covers purchase and refund events. Keep this test linked to your ecommerce CRO work, since search visits need a working checkout to become sales.
After Launch Watch Traffic and Orders Together
Choose a quieter launch window and have someone ready to fix faults. Back up the old store and agree on a recovery plan that protects new orders too.
Run a Post Migration SEO Check
Crawl the live site to check redirects, broken links, page access, and key content. Submit the new sitemap in Search Console. For an eligible domain move, use its Change of Address tool too.
Watch search clicks, top landing pages, paid orders, and checkout errors each day at first. Then keep reviewing trends over the weeks ahead.
Compare matching weekdays and allow for sales offers or season shifts. Traffic that holds steady while orders fall calls for a checkout check, not just an SEO review.
Give the New Store a Careful Start
Stella’s team fixed the broken link before launch, then tested the rest of the old product list.
That is the aim of ecommerce website migration: make the move clear for search engines and smooth for buyers. If you need help planning the checks, Cresconnect’s ecommerce SEO service is a place to start.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will a website migration affect rankings?
It can. Good planning reduces avoidable faults, but rankings may shift as search engines process the move.
Do I need redirects if URLs stay the same?
Not for unchanged URLs. Test that those pages still load and show the right content.
How long should migration redirects stay live?
Google advises at least a year. Keeping useful redirects longer helps buyers who follow old links.
What should I check after migration?
Check redirects, search access, key pages, tracking, payments, and real orders. Review traffic trends too.
Can I promise no traffic loss?
No. A tested plan lowers risk, but no one can guarantee unchanged rankings or traffic.
