HubSpot Website Migration Checklist

Website migrations are among the highest-stakes projects in marketing operations. Move too fast and you break SEO rankings that took years to build. Move too slow and you're maintaining two platforms simultaneously while your team loses momentum.

Whether you're migrating to HubSpot CMS from another platform, migrating away from HubSpot CMS, or restructuring your existing HubSpot website, this checklist covers the critical steps that determine whether your migration is smooth or catastrophic.

Pre-migration planning (4-6 weeks before)

Content inventory

Before you move anything, know what you have.

• Catalog all pages. List every page on your current site: website pages, landing pages, blog posts, system pages (404, password-protected pages), and any hidden or draft pages. Export your sitemap.xml as a starting point.
• Identify page types. Categorize pages by type: standard pages, landing pages, blog posts, pillar pages, resource pages, and any dynamic pages (search results, account pages).
• Note page-level metadata. For each page, record the current URL, page title, meta description, canonical URL, and any structured data (JSON-LD). This metadata needs to be preserved or updated during migration.
• Inventory non-page content. CTAs, forms, pop-ups, chatflows, meeting links embedded on pages — all of these need to work on the new site.
• Document integrations. List every third-party script, tracking pixel, embedded widget, and integration currently on your website. Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, Facebook Pixel, Hotjar, Intercom, Drift — all of these need to be reinstalled on the migrated site.

URL structure planning

• Map old URLs to new URLs. For every page, decide what the new URL will be. Ideally, keep URLs the same. If you're changing URL structure, create a complete mapping document.
• Plan 301 redirects. Every old URL that's changing needs a 301 redirect to its new location. This is non-negotiable for SEO. HubSpot's URL Redirect tool handles this (Settings > Website > Domains & URLs > URL Redirects).
• Handle URL pattern changes. If the blog URL structure is changing (e.g., /blog/post-title to /resources/post-title), plan redirect rules or patterns rather than individual redirects.
• Check for external backlinks. Use a tool like Ahrefs, Moz, or Google Search Console to identify pages with external backlinks. These are your highest-priority pages for redirect accuracy.

SEO baseline

• Record current rankings. Document keyword rankings for your top 20-50 pages. You'll use this to monitor post-migration SEO impact.
• Record current traffic. Note organic traffic levels by page for the last 3-6 months. This is your baseline for comparison.
• Export Google Search Console data. Export performance data (clicks, impressions, CTR, position) for all pages. This can't be reconstructed after the fact.
• Check indexation. How many pages are currently indexed? Check Google Search Console's "Coverage" report.

Technical preparation

• Set up the destination environment. If migrating to HubSpot CMS, configure your portal's CMS tools: domains, templates, themes, and modules.
• Design and build templates. Create HubSpot page templates that match your new design before migrating content. Don't try to migrate content and redesign simultaneously.
• Configure DNS. Understand the DNS changes needed to point your domain to HubSpot (or away from HubSpot). HubSpot uses a CNAME record for CMS-hosted domains.
• SSL certificates. HubSpot provides automatic SSL for CMS-hosted domains. If migrating away, ensure your new host has SSL configured before the switch.

Content migration (2-4 weeks before)

Blog posts

Blog migrations are typically the largest volume of content. A site with 200 blog posts requires a systematic approach.

• Migrate blog post content. For each post, migrate the title, body content, meta description, featured image, author, categories/tags, and publish date.
• Preserve publish dates. In HubSpot, you can set the publish date when creating a blog post. Use the original publish dates to maintain chronological accuracy and avoid confusing search engines.
• Migrate images. Upload blog images to HubSpot's File Manager (or your new host's equivalent). Update image references in blog post content to point to the new locations.
• Update internal links. Blog posts that link to other blog posts or website pages need their links updated if URLs are changing. A search-and-replace across blog content to update old URL patterns to new ones handles this efficiently.
• Check embedded content. Blog posts may contain embedded videos, tweets, CodePen embeds, or iframes. Verify these still work after migration.

Website pages

• Migrate page content to new templates. Move the content from each page into the corresponding new template. For complex pages with multiple modules, this requires manual layout work.
• Migrate landing pages. Landing pages often have unique designs and form integrations. Test each one individually after migration.
• Migrate system pages. 404 page, search results page, password-protected page templates, and any other system pages.

Forms and CTAs

• Recreate forms. If migrating to HubSpot, create equivalent forms in HubSpot. If migrating away, set up forms on your new platform and update any HubSpot workflows that were triggered by form submissions.
• Recreate CTAs. HubSpot CTAs (call-to-action buttons) used on pages and blog posts need to be recreated or replaced.
• Test form submissions. After migration, submit every form and verify that the data reaches the correct destination (HubSpot contact properties, email notifications, workflow triggers).

Assets and files

• Migrate PDFs and documents. Any downloadable assets (whitepapers, ebooks, case studies) need to be uploaded to the new host. Update all download links.
• Migrate images. All images used across the site need to be hosted on the new platform. If images were hosted on HubSpot's File Manager and you're migrating away, download them all and re-host them.
• Update hardcoded asset URLs. If blog posts, pages, or templates reference assets by full URL (https://cdn2.hubspot.net/...), these URLs need to change. A bulk search-and-replace for old CDN URLs is essential here.

CRM and data considerations

A website migration doesn't just affect your website. It affects CRM data, automations, and integrations too.

• Update URLs in CRM records. If your domain is changing, company records, contact records, and deal records may contain old-domain URLs in their properties. Website URL fields, LinkedIn profile URLs with old domain paths, and custom URL properties all need updating.
• Update email templates. Marketing emails and sales templates often link to website pages. If page URLs are changing, those links need updating. See our guide on rebranding email templates for a detailed approach.
• Update workflow actions. Workflows that send people to website pages (via email links or redirect actions) need their URLs updated.
• Update chatflows. If your website chat references specific pages or URLs, update those references.
• Update knowledge base articles. If you have a HubSpot knowledge base that links to website pages, update those links.

Pre-launch testing (1 week before)

• Full site crawl. Use a crawler like Screaming Frog to crawl your staging site and check for broken links, missing images, redirect loops, missing meta tags, and duplicate content.
• Test all forms. Submit every form with test data and verify delivery.
• Test all redirects. Check every redirect in your mapping document. For large redirect lists, automate this with a script or tool.
• Cross-browser testing. Test the site in Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge. Test on mobile devices.
• Performance testing. Check page load times on the new platform. A migration that doubles load times will hurt SEO and user experience.
• Verify tracking codes. Ensure Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, Facebook Pixel, and all other tracking scripts are installed and firing correctly on the new site.
• Check robots.txt. Make sure the new site's robots.txt allows search engine crawling. A common migration mistake is leaving a "Disallow: /" directive from the staging environment.
• Check XML sitemap. Verify the new sitemap includes all migrated pages with correct URLs.

Launch day

• Update DNS. Point your domain to the new host (or update HubSpot's domain settings). DNS propagation can take up to 48 hours, though it's usually faster.
• Activate redirects. Ensure all 301 redirects are live and working before the DNS switch completes. You can set these up in advance in HubSpot.
• Verify SSL. Confirm that HTTPS is working on the new site. Mixed content warnings (HTTP resources on an HTTPS page) are common migration issues.
• Submit updated sitemap. In Google Search Console, submit your new XML sitemap. Also submit it in Bing Webmaster Tools.
• Monitor for errors. Watch Google Search Console, your analytics, and server logs for 404 errors, redirect chains, and other issues.
• Test critical paths. Walk through your most important user journeys: homepage > product page > pricing > signup, blog > CTA > landing page > form submission, etc.

Post-launch monitoring (1-4 weeks after)

• Monitor organic traffic daily. Some fluctuation is normal during the first 2 weeks. Significant drops (>20%) suggest redirect or indexation issues.
• Check keyword rankings weekly. Compare against your pre-migration baseline. Investigate any pages that dropped significantly.
• Monitor Google Search Console. Watch for crawl errors, indexation drops, and manual actions. Check the "Coverage" report for new errors.
• Review 404 error logs. Some 404s are inevitable — they reveal redirect mappings you missed. Fix them as they appear.
• Monitor form submissions. Verify that form conversion rates haven't dropped. A broken form or a form that looks different can cause conversion rate changes.
• Check third-party integrations. Verify that all integrations (CRM, analytics, advertising, chatbots) are functioning correctly.
• Schedule a 30-day review. At the 30-day mark, do a comprehensive review: compare traffic, rankings, conversions, and user behavior against your pre-migration baselines.

Bulk URL updates across your CRM

One of the most commonly overlooked parts of a website migration is updating URLs that exist inside CRM records and content. Old domain references can lurk in:

• Blog post body content (internal links)
• CRM record properties (website URLs, LinkedIn URLs)
• Email templates (links to website pages)
• CTA button links
• Knowledge base articles
• Workflow email actions

Manually finding and updating every URL reference is impractical for anything beyond a handful of pages. A bulk search-and-replace approach — searching for the old domain and replacing with the new domain across relevant object types and content — ensures comprehensive coverage without the risk of missing references.

The preview step is particularly important for URL replacements. You want to see exactly which records will be updated and verify that the new URLs are correct before applying changes across thousands of records.

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Migrating your website and need to update URLs across HubSpot? SearchReplace finds every reference to your old domain and lets you update them in bulk, with full preview.