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Website Migration to New Domains or Directories: Relocate SEO CleanDomain and directory changes need a clean technical migration concept
During a website migration change domain, protocol, path structure or system. Separate these changes in the plan so that a traceable new state exists for each old important address.
A migration is an assignment of old and new user paths. Equal slugs alone do not prove equivalent content.
What exactly is moving?
| Amendment | Special checks |
|---|---|
| New domain name | Host, certificate, old entries and internal absolute URLs |
| New paths | Assignment of old content and suitable redirect targets |
| New CMS | Output of metadata, status codes and page types |
| New language structure | Language URLs, canonicals and equivalent translations |
Track a specific address all the way
Illustrative example: https://alt.example.org/produkte/rucksack.html is replaced by https://neu.example.org/shop/rucksack/. The new URL must contain the corresponding product. The old address should lead directly to the new matching destination without multiple additional host and path redirects.
Also check parameters, language variants and embedded media. A new product path with correct status can still contain old image or PDF links on the previous domain.
Break down migration into controllable steps
- Capture important old URLs and their actual content.
- Assign new goals or conscious distances and examine them professionally.
- Match redirects, internal links, canonicals and sitemap.
- Before switching, test samples of each rule and page type.
- After launch, control the public response and relevant Search Console settings.
Not all errors are redirect errors
A missing content, changed product inventory or a new search intention cannot be repaired via a forwarding alone. Therefore, in addition to the status, check the actual answer to the previous user question.
Keep the assignment and the test bench. This allows later references to old URLs to be classified faster. If several changes take place simultaneously, rank changes cannot be reliably assigned to a single technical step.
Frequent questions
Can I just delete old URLs?
Only after conscious decision about content, references and replacement. Important entries so far should not unintentionally lead to nowhere.
Does the new page have to look exactly the same?
No. It should continue to fulfil the expected task and remain technically achievable. A change of design does not justify a loss of essential information.