CMS Migration Checklist
IntermediateQuick Answer
TL;DR
A complete CMS migration checklist covers four stages: pre-migration (content audit, stakeholder alignment, platform selection, content modeling), execution (export, transform, media migration, URL mapping), testing (content verification, link checking, SEO validation, performance benchmarking), and post-migration (301 redirects live, monitoring active, team trained, old system decommissioned). Check off every item — skipped steps are the leading cause of SEO loss and data gaps after launch.
Key Takeaways
- Never begin execution until the content audit and content model are both signed off
- Media migration is consistently underestimated — budget separate time for asset inventory, download, and re-upload
- SEO validation must happen before go-live, not as a post-launch fix
- Keep the old CMS running in read-only mode for at least 30 days after cutover