CMS Launch Checklist: 5 Checks

Launching a new CMS is not the finish line. It is the point where hidden migration problems start to show up.

If your team has already moved the first batch of content into the new system, now is the time to audit what made it over, what broke, and what still needs cleanup. This CMS launch checklist focuses on five areas that can affect search traffic, reader experience, and revenue if they are missed.

For teams planning CMS migration support, this stage matters as much as the move itself. A clean import means very little if URLs change, menus break, or key integrations stop working.

If you are following along with this migration series, you are in a good spot. The content has been copied into the new CMS. It is not live yet, which gives you a short window to catch issues before real users and search engines see them.

1. Check the URLs

URLs are one of the first things to audit. If they change without a plan, rankings can drop, backlinks can break, and bookmarked pages can stop working.

Verify URL formats

• Keep existing URLs when possible. The safest option is to preserve the current URL for every migrated page. If a URL must change, create a unique 301 redirect for that page.
• Keep the same structure. If your old site uses a pattern like /category/subcategory/slug, keep it during launch unless there is a strong reason to change it.
• Delay structural cleanup. If you want a new naming system, it is often safer to launch first and make larger URL changes after the site has settled.

Check status codes

• Avoid accidental redirects. Small differences such as trailing slashes, uppercase letters, or www settings can create redirect chains.
• Use the right response codes. Live pages should return 200. Redirected pages should return 301. Intentionally removed pages should return 410.

Action steps

1. Export URL lists from the old and new systems, then compare them side by side.
2. Use crawl tools like Screaming Frog or Botify to find URL mismatches, redirect issues, and metadata gaps.
3. Review a sample of old URLs manually to confirm they resolve exactly as expected.

2. Check the content

A content audit helps you confirm that the migration did not trim, duplicate, or scramble key page elements. This is especially important for publishers modernizing a CMS, where archives, article templates, and ad placements all need to survive the move.

Review text and metadata

• Compare word counts. Large differences can point to missing body copy, failed formatting, or truncated fields.
• Check meta titles and descriptions. Make sure they migrated with the page and still fit expected character limits.
• Confirm heading structure. Headings should still be present and in the right order.
• Look for duplicates. Duplicate pages can confuse search engines and create reporting noise.

Review images and media

• Find broken images. A crawler can quickly flag image URLs returning 4XX errors.
• Check alt text. Image alt text should still be attached after migration.
• Review file sizes. Large image files can slow pages and hurt the launch.

Check custom page elements

Standard text blocks usually migrate well. Custom elements are where problems tend to hide.

• Pull quotes, confirm placement and styling.
• Tables, confirm formatting and mobile behavior.
• PDF embeds, confirm the files load and remain accessible.
• Video embeds, confirm they load correctly and point to the intended source.
• Widgets and custom modules, confirm each one still renders the right data.

If your team uses a crawler with custom extraction, pull these elements into a spreadsheet and compare them at scale. It saves time and makes spot-checking more reliable.

3. Check navigation and menus

Menus are easy to overlook because they sit outside the main content migration. But if the navigation breaks, users struggle to move through the site and important pages lose internal links.

Before launch, keep menu changes small. A migration already introduces enough variables. Renaming sections, changing taxonomy, and rebuilding site structure at the same time makes it harder to identify what caused a traffic drop.

What to review

• Main navigation, confirm every link goes to the correct destination.
• Dropdowns and submenus, confirm they work on desktop and mobile.
• Footer links, confirm policy pages, category pages, and contact paths are intact.
• Utility navigation, confirm search, login, newsletter, and account links still work.

Action steps

1. Click through every primary and secondary menu item by hand.
2. Test navigation on multiple screen sizes.
3. Check whether top pages still receive internal links from the menu and footer.

4. Double-check high-value URLs

Your highest-value pages deserve manual review. These are the pages that drive the most traffic, leads, subscriptions, or sales. If they break, the impact is immediate.

Identify priority pages

Pull a list of pages with high traffic, strong conversion rates, or strong engagement. This usually includes evergreen articles, landing pages, category pages, and revenue pages.

What to confirm on each page

• The page design looks right.
• The URL matches the old version, or redirects correctly.
• The metadata is present.
• Calls to action still work.
• Load time is acceptable.
• Related modules, ads, or signup blocks still appear.

Simple audit workflow

Page type	What to check	Why it matters
Top articles	URL, metadata, images, embeds	Protects search traffic
Category pages	Pagination, internal links, templates	Supports crawl paths and discovery
Revenue pages	Forms, CTAs, tracking, speed	Protects leads and sales

If you need a more formal process, build a page-level QA plan into your website migration process so the team knows exactly what gets checked before launch day.

5. Check third-party integrations

Content may migrate cleanly while connected tools quietly fail. That is why integrations need their own review before launch.

Common integrations to test

• Newsletter forms, submit a test signup and confirm it lands in the right list.
• Email platform connections, review API keys, tags, and opt-in settings.
• Pop-ups and modals, test triggers including timed displays and behavior on exit intent.
• Affiliate and commerce links, confirm links still point to the right destination and keep tracking parameters.
• Product cards and sponsored modules, confirm prices, images, and buttons display correctly.
• Comment systems, confirm old comments are present and new comments can be submitted.
• Membership or subscription access, test user roles and restricted content.
• Tag management and analytics, confirm tags fire properly and pageviews appear in reporting.

Action steps

1. Run form submissions and comment submissions with test accounts.
2. Log in with each user type to verify permissions.
3. Compare old and new affiliate or product links side by side.
4. Use tag preview tools and real-time analytics reports during testing.
5. Document every failed integration before launch, even if it seems minor.

Before you launch, reduce surprises

A CMS migration can fail in small ways long before it fails in obvious ways. One broken redirect, one missing signup form, or one damaged top page can create traffic loss that takes weeks to unwind.

This is why a pre-launch audit matters. Check URLs, content, menus, priority pages, and integrations before the site goes live. Keep the launch as stable as possible, then make bigger structural changes later.

If you want a second set of eyes before launch, talk with Refact. We help teams move to new platforms without losing the parts of the site that already work.