How to plan content migration for a website redesign.

Start with a complete content inventory

List every indexable page, important asset, downloadable file, form, reusable block, and content type. Record the current URL, page purpose, owner, organic value, inbound links, conversion role, update status, and technical dependencies.

A crawl provides a useful base, but it will not reveal content hidden behind logins, disconnected campaign pages, or material stored outside the CMS. Ask the people who manage sales, support, legal, and operations what the public site depends on.

Assign a decision and destination to every item

Mark content to keep, improve, combine, replace, archive, or remove. Add the future URL and redirect destination at the same time. When pages are combined, identify the unique material that must survive instead of moving every paragraph unchanged.

Use evidence when possible. Organic data, inquiries, links, support questions, legal obligations, and business priorities are stronger reasons than personal preference. Pair the migration plan with the guidance on protecting SEO during a redesign.

Map old content into the new page and field model

• Destination: the future page, component, or collection.
• Fields: title, summary, body, media, alt text, author, date, SEO, and relationships.
• Transformation: formatting, rewriting, cropping, or data cleanup required.
• Owner: the person preparing and approving each item.
• Status: drafted, reviewed, entered, checked, and ready.

Prototype real content early. Placeholder copy hides overflow, missing fields, weak hierarchy, and component edge cases. A representative long page and a difficult record often reveal more than a perfect sample.

Separate entry from quality assurance

After content is entered or imported, verify headings, links, images, alt text, downloads, metadata, canonical URLs, structured data, dates, authorship, redirects, and mobile presentation. Review sensitive pages with the appropriate business owner.

Launch redirects and the new sitemap with the site. Retain the migration sheet for post-launch checks and future maintenance. The redesign checklist provides the wider release sequence.