Website Migration Monitoring Checklist

Website migrations — moving to a new host, changing DNS provider, replatforming, consolidating domains — are among the most common causes of self-inflicted downtime. The combination of DNS changes, SSL reconfiguration, and simultaneous infrastructure changes creates multiple failure points at once.

Use this checklist before, during, and after any significant migration to catch problems early and minimise impact.

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Before the Migration

Capture Your Baseline

• Document all current DNS records — export a full zone file from your DNS provider. This is your rollback reference. See how to audit your DNS records
• Record current response times on all monitored endpoints — know what "normal" looks like before you change anything
• Note current SSL certificate expiry dates — verify certificates won't expire mid-migration
• Screenshot current WHOIS data — useful for comparison if anything changes unexpectedly
• Confirm domain expiry dates are not imminent — a domain that expires during a migration compounds the problem significantly

Set Up Monitoring on the New Environment

• Add monitors pointing to your new host/platform before DNS cutover — use the server's IP address or temporary staging URL if available
• Verify the new environment is serving content correctly before cutting over traffic
• Confirm SSL certificates are installed and valid on the new host — test with a direct IP request or via the staging URL
• Test all critical user flows on the new environment before cutover

Prepare Your DNS Strategy

• Lower DNS TTL values 24–48 hours before cutover — this reduces propagation time after the change. See how to change nameservers without downtime
• Document the exact DNS changes you'll make during cutover — don't improvise during the migration window
• Identify your rollback procedure — if the new environment fails, how quickly can you revert DNS?

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During the Migration

DNS Cutover

• Make DNS changes precisely as documented — don't make additional changes simultaneously
• Record the exact timestamp of each DNS change — you'll need this for troubleshooting propagation issues
• Monitor DNS propagation globally — check that your changes are propagating correctly across resolvers. See what is DNS propagation
• Watch your monitoring dashboard actively during and immediately after DNS changes
• Set a maintenance window in your monitoring tool covering the cutover window to suppress expected transient alerts. See maintenance windows

SSL Verification

• Verify SSL is serving correctly on the new host after DNS propagates
• Check for mixed content warnings if you're migrating HTTP to HTTPS. See how to fix mixed content errors
• Confirm certificate chain is complete on the new host. See how to fix an incomplete certificate chain

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After the Migration (First 24 Hours)

Verify All Monitored Endpoints

• Confirm all monitors are green after DNS propagation is complete
• Check response times against your pre-migration baseline — degraded response times on the new platform warrant investigation
• Verify content checks are passing — not just status codes; confirm the right content is being served
• Test authenticated flows — login, checkout, form submissions, API calls

Update Monitor Configuration

• Update any monitors pointing to old IPs or staging URLs to point to the new production endpoints
• Add new SSL monitors if you added domains or subdomains during the migration
• Remove monitors for any decommissioned endpoints — old server IPs, staging URLs, deprecated subdomains
• Restore DNS TTL values to normal after the migration is stable

DNS Cleanup

• Remove old DNS records that are no longer needed — old A records pointing to the previous host, deprecated CNAMEs
• Verify nameservers are correct and monitoring is confirming expected values. See how to monitor nameserver changes
• Check for dangling CNAME records pointing to services no longer in use. See what is a subdomain takeover

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One Week Post-Migration

• Review the monitoring log for any incidents or elevated error rates during the migration window
• Confirm uptime has been consistent since cutover
• Document the migration — what changed, when, any incidents encountered, and how they were resolved
• Update your DNS records documentation to reflect the new state

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Quick Reference: Most Common Migration Monitoring Failures

Issue	Detection	Resolution
SSL cert not installed on new host	SSL monitor alert	Install cert before DNS cutover
DNS propagation taking too long	Monitor still hitting old IP	Lower TTL before migration, wait
Incomplete certificate chain	SSL warning in monitoring	Fix chain on new server
Mixed content on new HTTPS site	Content check failure	Fix all HTTP references
Old monitors pointing to decommissioned IPs	False positives	Update monitor URLs post-migration

Domain Monitor provides uptime, SSL, DNS, and domain monitoring across old and new environments simultaneously during migrations. Create a free account.

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Related Articles

• How to Change Nameservers Without Downtime
• What Is DNS Propagation?
• How to Fix an Incomplete Certificate Chain
• How to Audit Your DNS Records for Security Issues