1.Importance of Redirects:
Redirects help maintain the SEO value of your website. They’re essential so that visitors don’t experience broken links and error pages which could negatively impact their experience.
Implementing a proper redirect strategy ensures that link equity and user experience are preserved during the migration process. For example, leveraging 301 redirects correctly allows a smooth transition from old URLs to new ones.
TIP: Use a spreadsheet to map old URLs to new URLs.
2. User Journey Review:
Before starting with website migration, it's essential to assess the user journey and experience on your current website.
This analysis enables the identification of potential areas for enhancing user navigation and interaction. For instance, gaining insight into how users currently navigate your site aids in designing a more intuitive and user-friendly structure for the new website.
Ensuring a seamless transition for users during and after the migration process is critical for maintaining engagement and minimizing disruptions. It's crucial to ensure that visitors can effortlessly locate desired information both pre- and post-migration.
This entails evaluating key touchpoints such as landing pages, navigation menus, forms, calls-to-action (CTAs), and overall content accessibility.
3. Site Architecture
Evaluating the existing site architecture is crucial since it directly influences user experience. A well-structured architecture not only improves user experience but also aids search engine indexing.
If your current site structure hinders user navigation or efficient information retrieval, migrating without addressing this issue may result in similar challenges on your new website. Planning an optimized site architecture entails establishing a clear hierarchy of information and ensuring logical content organization across your website.