How do I migrate my website without losing content?

A website migration can involve changing hosting providers, domains, platforms or servers. The safest way to protect your content is to create a complete backup, verify the transfer and test the new website before making the final change.

1. Make a complete backup

Before starting the migration, create a current backup of your website.

Depending on your platform, this may include:

Website files
Database
Images and other media
Themes and plugins
Configuration files
Website content

Do not rely on a backup that you have not checked or cannot restore.

2. Create an inventory of your content

List the important pages, posts, images, documents and other content on your existing website.

This gives you something to compare against after the migration and helps identify missing content.

3. Prepare the new website

Set up the new hosting environment, domain or website platform before switching visitors to it.

Transfer your content using the migration method appropriate for your platform.

For WordPress, this may involve a migration plugin, hosting migration service or manual transfer.

4. Compare the migrated content

Before changing DNS or making the new website live, compare it with the original.

Check important:

Pages and posts
Images and media
Downloads
Internal links
Navigation
Forms
Product or service information
User accounts, where applicable

Pay particular attention to content stored in databases or media libraries, as it may not be transferred by simply copying website files.

5. Test the new website

Test the migrated website on desktop and mobile.

Check that important pages load correctly, images appear, links work and interactive features continue to function.

Fix missing or broken content before completing the migration.

6. Keep the original website available

Do not immediately delete the old website after switching to the new one.

Keep the original environment and a backup available until you have confirmed that the migration is complete and the new website is functioning correctly.

Last Updated 2nd February 2026.

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We publish our Knowledge Base to help individuals and businesses resolve common issues across websites, advertising platforms, Salesforce and other digital systems.

We regularly review and update our guides, but the platforms, software and services covered can change without notice. As a result, screenshots, settings, features or recommended processes may differ from those available when an article was last reviewed.

The information provided is general guidance and should not be treated as advice specific to your systems or circumstances. UTDS Optimal Choice cannot accept responsibility for errors, data loss, service disruption or other issues resulting from changes made by following these guides.

If you are unsure about any of the steps, particularly where a change could affect live systems, data, tracking or business processes, we recommend speaking to us before making the change. Our team can review your specific setup and provide advice based on the current platform and configuration.

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