What belongs in a dealership website migration checklist?

Create the source inventory

Export crawlable URLs, indexed pages, high-performing search pages, backlinks, content assets, conversion events and current integrations. Record pages that should be retained, consolidated or retired.

Build and test redirects

Use one-to-one redirects where an equivalent destination exists. Avoid routing unrelated retired content to the homepage. Test status codes, chains, parameters, canonicals and internal links.

Validate business operations

Test inventory freshness, lead delivery, service scheduling, calls, chat, digital retailing, accessibility, analytics, consent and search visibility before and after launch.

Order of work in a migration

Start with the inventory of what exists, then decide what to keep, merge or retire, then map redirects, build, test and only then schedule launch. Freeze content changes on the old site shortly before cutover so the inventory stays accurate.

Assign one person to the redirect map and another to lead-path testing. Migrations go wrong when these jobs are assumed to belong to the vendor and nobody at the dealership checks the result.

What to test before and after launch

Before launch, test on a staging copy: inventory freshness, every form and call path, the finance and trade tools, accessibility of key pages and that analytics and tags fire correctly. After launch, crawl the new site, compare it with the old inventory list, confirm the redirects return the right status, and watch leads and search impressions daily for the first weeks. Keep a rollback plan and know who can trigger it.

Common mistakes in dealership migrations

Redirecting many retired pages to the homepage loses the relevance they had. Forgetting the small pages that hold backlinks is another.

Others include dropping structured data, changing URLs without a map, and launching on a day when nobody is watching lead delivery. Ask the new provider for its redirect and validation plan in writing before signing, and check it against the source inventory.

A launch-day plan

Agree a time when traffic is lower and staff are available. Assign people to check inventory, forms, phone numbers, chat, analytics and redirects immediately after switching.

Keep a call list for the vendor and your team. Decide in advance what problem would trigger a rollback and who decides.

Write the plan on one page and share it before launch.

The first thirty days

Check search performance and indexing weekly, review lead volume against the same weeks last year, scan for broken links and slow pages and review the vendor's fix list. Keep the old site's URL inventory nearby to spot missing pages. Hold a review meeting at thirty days and record lessons for the next migration.