The WordPress Site Migration Checklist I Use for Every Client Project

Site migrations are one of the riskiest things you can do to a live WordPress site, and one of the most common jobs that lands in my Upwork inbox after someone else's migration went wrong. Here's the checklist I run every time.

Before Touching Anything

Full backup of files and database, verified to actually restore (not just created)
A staging environment that mirrors production as closely as possible
A documented list of all active plugins, theme, and PHP/WordPress versions

During the Migration

Migrate to staging first, never directly to production
Check for hardcoded URLs in the database (a very common source of broken migrations)
Re-test all forms, checkout flows (if WooCommerce), and custom plugin functionality — not just that pages load
Verify redirects for any URLs that changed, to protect SEO rankings
Check email deliverability (transactional emails silently break in migrations more often than people expect)

After Going Live

Monitor error logs for at least 48 hours
Re-submit the sitemap to Google Search Console if URLs changed
Keep the old environment available as a rollback option for a defined window before decommissioning it

A Real Migration Under Deadline Pressure

One recent project involved migrating a directory site to HivePress with a hard delivery deadline — I documented exactly how that went, including what almost went wrong, in this case study.

Why This Matters More Than People Assume

A rushed migration doesn't usually fail instantly — it fails a week later when a plugin conflict surfaces, or a month later when someone notices organic traffic dropped because redirects were missed. The checklist exists specifically to catch what doesn't show up on day one.

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I'm Shahid Latif, a Top Rated Plus WordPress developer on Upwork. Browse my portfolio or get in touch.