SOP 49: Migrate Host/CMS vs. Keep In Place — Post-Close Decision

SOP 49: Migrate Host/CMS vs. Keep In Place — Post-Close Decision

After close you choose: move the asset or leave it. Choose by risk, not preference.

— Keep the existing host and CMS for the first 30 days when: rankings are stable, the stack is mainstream (WordPress on standard hosting), and you have full credential access. Changing nothing isolates any post-transfer ranking dip as transfer-caused, not migration-caused.
— Migrate immediately when: the site runs on the seller's personal account you cannot fully sever, a shared/insecure host, or a custom CMS only the seller understands.
— Sequencing rule: never migrate host AND redesign AND change content in the same week — you lose the ability to attribute a traffic drop to a single cause.
— If migrating, replicate the exact URL structure and 301 nothing unless verified necessary.

Pass criterion: one variable changed at a time, with a traffic baseline recorded before each change.

Save this — run it every deal.