Moving In

Deciding whether to migrate or rebuild

Default to moving the site as it stands. A straight move changes the machine underneath and nothing a search engine can...

Building a migration timeline you can hold to

Build the schedule from the cutover backwards, because the cutover hour is the only date that has a fixed relationship...

Sequencing a multi site migration over several weeks

Move one site first, learn from it, then move the rest in batches ordered so that failure lands on the cheapest site...

What to freeze during a migration window

The freeze begins the moment you take the copy you intend to keep, not the moment you change DNS. Every write that...

Proving a move is finished before you tell the client

A move is finished when you can demonstrate it, not when you have worked through the tasks. Those are different states...

Rolling back a move that went wrong

Roll back when you cannot yet name the fault. Fix forward when you can. Severity feels like the deciding variable at...

Moving email without losing messages

Site files can be copied twice, and if the second copy is wrong you copy them a third time. Mail does not work that...