Technical migrations terrify marketing teams. We get it.
You're responsible for a website that drives leads, supports campaigns, and represents your brand. The thought of moving thousands of pages to a new platform? That keeps people awake at night.
But here's what I've learned after migrating properties like Typeform's 4,000-page site: migrations don't have to be stressful. They just need to be systematic.
The real problem behind migration anxiety
Most marketing teams fear migrations because they've heard horror stories:
Traffic drops overnight. Pages go missing. Redirects break. SEO rankings plummet.
These disasters happen when migrations are rushed or poorly planned. When teams treat it like a simple copy-paste job instead of the complex technical project it actually is.
At MakeBuild, we've developed a methodology that eliminates these risks. Our 5-step process has helped teams migrate complex enterprise sites without losing a single visitor or breaking a single link.
Our 5-step migration process
Step 1: Prepare
Before touching a single page, we map everything.
We use multiple tools – Google Search Console, sitemap reviews, legacy CMS exports – to understand the full scope. This isn't just about counting pages. It's about understanding relationships, dependencies, and edge cases.
During some migrations, we discover orphaned pages that exist outside of official documentation - pages that aren’t in sitemaps but are still receiving traffic. Without thorough preparation, these could get lost.
The key here is creating a comprehensive plan that maps every existing URL to its new location. No page gets left behind.
Step 2: Engage
Migration planning isn't a solo activity.
We work closely with client stakeholders and site owners to review our migration plan. We want to understand which sections will be migrated when, identify any gaps in our knowledge, and get buy-in from everyone involved.
This step is crucial because different team members often have different views of what the site contains. The marketing team might not know about that special landing page the sales team uses. The product team might have forgotten about that integration documentation.
Communication prevents nasty surprises later.
Step 3: Move
This is where our systematic approach really pays off.
We migrate pages from old to new, leaning heavily on bulk export/import tools wherever possible. This reduces human error and speeds up the process.
But here's the thing: different platforms require different approaches. If you're moving pages from a platform that allows server-side code to something like Webflow, you need to plan for those differences. Third-party API integrations might need proxies to protect endpoints.
We don't just copy content. We adapt it for the new platform while preserving functionality.
Step 4: Verify
Pre-launch checks are non-negotiable.
We use automated tools to confirm that everything has been migrated according to plan: we check that pages are accessible, that redirects work properly, and that we haven't introduced any 404 errors.
Step 5: Monitor
Launch day isn't the end. It's the beginning of a new phase: monitoring.
Working closely with client teams, we keep a close eye on key metrics to identify any issues early. Traffic patterns, search rankings, conversion rates – we track it all to ensure the migration is performing as expected.
Identifying issues quickly means we can resolve them fast, ensuring that mall issues don't turn into big problems.
What makes this work
Three things separate successful migrations from disasters:
Thoroughness in planning. You can't migrate what you don't know exists. We spend significant time doing full sweeps of existing sites, using multiple tools and human QA to ensure nothing gets missed.
Platform-specific adaptation. Not every migration is a straight copy-paste. Different platforms have different capabilities and constraints. We plan for these differences upfront.
Stakeholder communication. The technical team can't work in isolation. We engage stakeholders early and often, keeping everyone informed about progress, timelines, and any issues that arise.
The Typeform challenge
The Typeform.com migration presented us with a complex challenge: a site comprising multiple different platforms and sections under a single domain name, with different CMS, hosting and technical approaches.
Following our 5-step process, we partnered with the awesome Typeform team to successfully migrate all 4,000 pages without any downtime. The key was treating each section as its own mini-migration while ensuring everything worked together seamlessly.
Why this matters for your team
Website migrations will always involve some technical complexity. But they don't have to be stressful experiences that keep your team awake at night.
The right process, thorough planning, and clear communication can turn a potential disaster into a smooth transition that actually improves your site's performance and your team's capabilities.
Let's wrap this up
Successful website migrations aren't about luck or hoping for the best. They're about systematic preparation, clear communication, and methodical execution.
Create a migration plan that accounts for every page, every redirect, and every stakeholder concern. Use our 5-step process as your framework: Prepare, Engage, Move, Verify, Monitor.
Don't let migration anxiety hold your team back from platform improvements that could transform your marketing capabilities. With the right approach, you can move thousands of pages without losing sleep – or traffic.
Ready to plan your next migration? Start with a comprehensive audit of your existing site. Map every URL, identify every stakeholder, and create a timeline that allows for thorough testing. Your future self will thank you.