Webflow Migration Checklist

1. Pre-Migration Planning

Goal: Audit current site, plan structure, and avoid surprises.

• Define goals — Why are you migrating? (speed, flexibility, design, CMS, SEO improvements)
• Full site audit — Map out every page and asset in a spreadsheet
• Analytics review — Export Google Analytics + Search Console data
• Traffic & SEO baseline — Note top-performing pages, keywords, backlinks
• Inventory current functionality — Forms, integrations, scripts, custom features
• Back up current site — Export HTML, download media, save code snippets
• Choose Webflow hosting plan — Based on traffic, CMS items, form submissions

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2. Content & Design Preparation

Goal: Prepare everything before touching Webflow.

• Gather brand assets — Logos, fonts, brand colours, icon sets
• Finalise sitemap — Remove outdated pages, combine duplicates, plan redirects
• Prepare content — Update copy, optimise images, write new meta titles/descriptions
• Plan CMS collections — Blog posts, portfolio, team members, products
• Document design requirements — Style guide, grid system, interaction patterns
• Identify needed integrations — CRM, marketing automation, analytics, chat, booking tools

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3. Build in Webflow

Goal: Recreate site structure + design with best practices.

• Set up global styles — Colours, typography, spacing, components
• Build main pages — Homepage, about, services, contact, key landing pages
• Create CMS collections & templates — Match your content model
• Optimise for mobile — Responsive design for all breakpoints
• Add accessibility basics — Alt text, heading hierarchy, colour contrast checks
• Set up forms — Connect to email or CRM, test submissions
• Implement interactions/animations — Subtle, performance-friendly effects

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4. SEO Migration Steps

Goal: Protect rankings and avoid traffic drops.

• Match old URLs where possible — Keep same slugs for high-value pages
• 301 redirects — Map old URLs to new URLs for all changed pages
• Optimise meta titles & descriptions — Page-by-page in Webflow’s SEO settings
• Add Open Graph data — Title, description, image for social sharing
• Generate new sitemap.xml — Enable in Webflow settings
• Check robots.txt — Allow indexing of all relevant pages
• Test canonical tags — Ensure they point to the correct version

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5. Performance & QA

Goal: Ensure site is fast, functional, and bug-free.

• Optimise images — Use WebP/JPEG, compress before upload
• Minify code — Enable in Webflow settings
• Test across devices/browsers — Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Edge, iOS, Android
• Check form submissions — All send to correct recipients
• Review navigation — All links work, no broken pages
• Check accessibility — Keyboard navigation, screen reader labels
• Load speed test — Use GTmetrix, PageSpeed Insights, or WebPageTest

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6. Launch & Post-Launch

Goal: Go live smoothly, monitor, and iterate.

• Point DNS to Webflow hosting — Update domain registrar settings
• Verify in Google Search Console — Submit new sitemap.xml
• Check SSL is active — Enable HTTPS in Webflow hosting settings
• Monitor analytics — Watch traffic and bounce rates
• Track rankings — Compare keyword positions pre- and post-migration
• Monitor 404 errors — Add new redirects if needed
• Collect feedback — Ask users/clients for issues or improvements

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Pro Tips

• Stagger migration if site is large — start with lower-traffic sections.
• Have a rollback plan — Keep the old site live in a subdomain temporarily.
• Announce your launch — Use email, LinkedIn, and social to drive immediate traffic.
• Re-crawl the site after launch with Screaming Frog or Sitebulb to catch missed pages or redirects.

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