A new website can make it easier for someone to find crisis support, join a service, donate, refer a patient or understand what your organisation does. But that only happens if the content arrives intact, accurate and easy to use. A website content migration checklist gives your team a practical way to protect the information people rely on while moving to a new platform.
For charities, healthcare organisations and public-sector teams, content migration is not simply copying text from one content management system to another. It is a chance to remove confusion, update outdated messages and make essential services easier to reach. It can also go wrong quickly when a small team is asked to review hundreds of pages alongside their day-to-day work.
The answer is not to move everything. It is to make deliberate decisions, with a clear record of what is moving, changing, merging or being removed.
Website content migration checklist: start before design is finished
Content work should begin well before the new site is built. Waiting until development is nearly complete creates rushed decisions and forces content into templates that may not suit it. Early planning allows your website structure, page templates and user journeys to reflect what people actually need to know and do.
1. Set clear outcomes for the new website
Start with the organisational outcomes behind the project. You may need more self-referrals, clearer information for professionals, improved member recruitment, better evidence for funders or fewer calls caused by unclear service details. These priorities help you decide what content deserves attention.
Choose a small number of measurable goals. For example, a housing charity might want more completed advice enquiries, while a membership body may focus on event registrations and membership renewals. A page that does not support a user need, a strategic priority or a legal obligation may not need to migrate.
2. Create a full content inventory
Record every page, downloadable document, image, video, form and resource on the existing website. Include the page URL, title, content owner, audience, last review date, traffic where available, and any dependencies such as embedded forms or third-party tools.
This can feel painstaking, but it prevents a common and costly problem: discovering late in the process that a well-used referral form, annual report or training resource has been missed. Do not forget content that sits outside the main navigation. Search results, campaign landing pages, news archives and old PDFs often contain information that staff and service users still share.
3. Give each item a migration decision
For every item in the inventory, assign one clear action: keep, revise, merge, archive or remove. A page should not be marked as “to review” indefinitely. Someone needs responsibility and a deadline for the decision.
Keeping a page unchanged may be appropriate for a current policy, a well-performing service page or a document that must remain available. Revising may be needed where language is outdated, contact details have changed or the content no longer meets accessibility standards. Merging is useful when several pages repeat the same information. Removing content can make a website easier to navigate, provided users are redirected to the most relevant alternative.
Be especially careful with historical content. News stories from ten years ago may add little value, but project reports, consultation findings and research can be valuable evidence of your organisation’s work. It depends on their relevance, legal retention requirements and whether people are still being directed to them.
Make the content useful, accessible and accountable
4. Confirm owners, reviewers and approval routes
Migration stalls when nobody knows who can approve a change. Put named owners against high-priority pages, particularly service information, safeguarding content, clinical information, fundraising pages and statements that may have legal or reputational implications.
Agree what needs specialist review. A healthcare provider may need clinical sign-off; a local service may need operational confirmation of opening hours and eligibility; a charity working with people at risk may need safeguarding input on imagery and language. Keep the approval process proportionate. Requiring five approvals for every short web update can leave harmful inaccuracies live for too long.
5. Rewrite for real users, not internal structures
Most older websites reflect how an organisation is organised rather than how people seek help. Internal programme names, funding terms and departmental labels can mean very little to someone arriving in a moment of stress.
Use plain English headings that lead with the action or need: “Get help with debt”, “Refer someone to our service” or “Training for professionals”. Explain eligibility, location, cost, waiting times and next steps early. If your services are complex, acknowledge that complexity without making readers work through jargon to understand it.
This is also the right point to check tone. Content about addiction, domestic abuse, bereavement, health conditions or financial hardship should be clear and compassionate, never patronising. The aim is not simply polished copy. It is information that helps a person decide what to do next.
6. Build accessibility into every item
Accessibility cannot be left to the development team. The words, documents, images and videos your organisation provides all affect whether people can use the site.
Check headings are structured logically, links describe their destination, and important meaning is not conveyed by colour alone. Write useful alternative text for images that communicate information, rather than repeating file names or adding decorative detail. Caption videos and provide transcripts where appropriate. Avoid uploading inaccessible PDFs when the information could be a straightforward web page.
For public-sector bodies, accessibility obligations are formal. For every mission-led organisation, they are also about fairness. A service is not genuinely available if someone cannot understand the instructions, use the form with a keyboard or access a document using assistive technology.
7. Prepare images, documents and media properly
Move only media that serves a purpose. Check image permissions, consent records and expiry dates, especially where photographs show children, patients, clients or people who may be vulnerable. A compelling image from an old campaign may no longer have valid consent for a new context.
Rename files clearly, compress oversized images and ensure downloads have meaningful titles. Review documents for currency and accessibility. If a PDF is needed for printing or formal publication, keep it. If it contains key guidance that changes regularly, publish the core information as HTML and offer the document only where it adds value.
Protect search visibility and vital journeys
8. Map URLs and plan redirects
When an existing page moves, its old address should usually redirect to the most relevant new page. This protects people using saved links, partners sharing resources and search engines that have indexed your content.
Create a redirect map from every retained or removed URL to its new destination. Do not send large numbers of old pages to the homepage. Someone looking for a local support group who lands on a general homepage may assume the service has disappeared. Where no relevant replacement exists, a clear removal can be better than a misleading redirect.
Keep an eye on PDFs too. They are often widely shared in newsletters, referral pathways and external guidance, even if they receive little visible traffic on the site.
9. Test forms, calls to action and key journeys
A migrated page is not complete because it looks right. Test the actions people need to take. Submit referral forms, donation forms, newsletter sign-ups, event bookings and contact forms using test data. Confirm confirmation messages arrive, data reaches the right inbox or system, and consent wording is accurate.
Test on mobile devices as well as desktops. Ask someone who was not involved in the project to find a specific service, make a referral or locate a policy. Their hesitation will reveal gaps that the project team may no longer see.
Prioritise journeys with real-world consequences. If a person cannot find urgent support, a volunteer cannot apply, or a professional cannot make a referral, the impact is greater than a minor formatting issue on an archive page.
10. Launch with a post-launch review plan
Migration is not finished on launch day. In the first days and weeks, check broken links, missing images, redirects, form submissions, search performance and feedback from staff and users. Keep the old site available privately for a short, agreed period if possible, so the team can verify information and recover anything missed.
Set review dates for critical content and make routine ownership part of the new website process. A well-maintained site is less likely to become another major migration problem in three years’ time. It also gives your team confidence that service information remains correct when circumstances change.
A good migration makes space for what matters: clear routes into support, credible evidence of your work and content that respects people’s time. Treat each page as part of someone’s journey, not as a digital asset to be shifted from one box to another.
