# Website Migration Checklist: What to Check Before and After

> Canonical: https://jethost.com/kb/website-migration-checklist/ · Last modified: 2026-10-21T09:54:14+00:00

A smooth migration is mostly about preparation. Whether our team moves your site for you or you do it yourself, working through a proper checklist – before, during, and after the switch – is what keeps a move from turning into a scramble. Run through the points below in order and you won’t leave a page, a mailbox, or a redirect behind.

## Before you migrate

Preparation is where most of the risk disappears. Tick these off before anything moves:

- **Take a full backup** of your current site – files and database – and keep a copy somewhere safe, separate from both hosts.
- **List everything you’re moving** – every domain and subdomain, and every email account with its folders – so nothing is forgotten.
- **Gather your access details** – your current hosting/control-panel login (or a backup file) and the login where you manage your domain’s DNS.
- **Note your current setup** – PHP version, cron jobs, custom redirects, and any SSL certificates – so you can recreate them on JetHost.
- **Check your domain’s expiry and lock status** so a renewal or registrar lock doesn’t surprise you mid-move.
- **Lower your DNS TTL to 300 seconds** about a day ahead, so the final cutover propagates in minutes, not hours.
- **Pause big changes** on the old site – new posts, orders, or uploads – while the move is in progress, so the copy stays in sync.

## During the move

Nothing goes dark while you migrate – your old site stays live until you choose to switch. If our team is handling it, these steps are done for you; if you’re doing it yourself, follow the [WordPress](https://jethost.com/kb/how-to-migrate-a-wordpress-site-to-jethost/) and [email](https://jethost.com/kb/how-to-migrate-your-emails-to-jethost/) guides.

- **Copy the site files and databases** to your JetHost account.
- **Recreate your email accounts** with the same addresses before switching anything public.
- **Test the copy on JetHost** using a temporary URL or your computer’s hosts file, while the old site is still live.
- **Keep the old site running** the whole time – it only stops serving visitors once you move the domain.

## After you switch

Once the domain points to JetHost, confirm everything works before you relax:

- **Browse the live site** on JetHost – homepage, key pages, forms, checkout, and the admin login.
- **Confirm your SSL is active** so the site loads over `https://` with no browser warnings.
- **Send and receive a test email** on each migrated mailbox, and confirm your devices are updated to JetHost’s mail servers.
- **Check redirects and internal links** work and that no important page returns a 404.
- **Recreate cron jobs** and confirm the correct PHP version is set for the site.
- **Test a purchase or form submission** end to end if you run a store or rely on contact forms.

## A few days later

- **Confirm DNS has fully propagated** and that both the site and email reliably use JetHost.
- **Check no new mail reached the old mailboxes** before you stop using them.
- **Cancel your old hosting** once everything is confirmed working – but not a moment before.

## JetHost Experts Tip

Test the migrated site using a temporary URL or your computer’s hosts file *before* you change DNS. Catching a broken link or missing plugin while the old site is still live means your visitors never see the problem.

## Need more help?

Want to skip the checklist entirely? Our team runs through all of this for you with a [free managed migration](https://jethost.com/kb/how-to-migrate-your-website-to-jethost/) – just open a ticket through **Client Area → Support**, or email us.