The WordPress Post-Migration Verification Checklist

A migrated site can load and still be broken. The homepage may come from cache while forms fail, cron stops, payment webhooks point to the old domain or search engines see a staging robots rule.

Use this checklist before decommissioning the old host.

1. Foundation

Homepage and several interior URLs return the expected status.
/wp-admin/ loads and an administrator can sign in.
WordPress Address and Site Address are correct.
The intended theme and plugins are active.
No temporary or old-domain URL remains in the address bar.

2. Content and media

Compare page, post, product and media counts with the source.
Open content containing galleries, tables, shortcodes, custom blocks and embedded media.
Check full-size images, thumbnails, PDFs and downloadable files.
Click header, footer, mobile and dropdown navigation.

3. Authentication and permissions

Test administrator and non-administrator accounts.
Complete a password-reset flow.
Verify editor, shop-manager and custom roles retain the correct capabilities.
Confirm two-factor and social-login integrations.

4. Forms, email and commerce

Submit every important form and verify that the message is received.
Send a WordPress test email and inspect the From address.
Verify SMTP, SPF, DKIM and any domain-restricted credentials.
For WooCommerce, place a sandbox order, inspect taxes and shipping, and confirm customer/admin emails.
Update payment and automation webhooks when the domain changed.

5. URLs and search visibility

Save permalinks once and test posts, pages, archives and pagination.
Confirm intentional 301 redirects and remove redirect chains.
Check canonical tags, sitemap URLs and robots directives.
Confirm production is indexable and staging remains noindexed.
Verify analytics and Search Console on the correct property.

6. Background work and integrations

Review Site Health and scheduled events.
Confirm backups, scheduled posts, subscriptions and queued actions run.
Reconnect CDN, object cache, security firewall and external storage when required.
Test CRM, chat, newsletter, maps and automation integrations.

7. Observe real traffic

Monitor PHP and web-server logs after cutover. Watch failed form submissions, checkout errors, missing assets, unexpected redirects and scheduled-task failures. Keep the old host and a final source backup until the new environment has been stable through a normal business cycle.

Pro restore verification can provide technical evidence that a recovery point is readable and the restored site boots. It does not replace environment-specific checks such as payment processing, email delivery or third-party credentials.

Read the product standards or open the recovery-point verification guide.