A new website does not require a new domain or a new business inbox. First identify what is connected and who has authority to change it.
Find the accounts before planning the move
Your domain registrar, website host and email provider can be three different companies. Confirm which account owns the domain, who receives renewal notices and who can authorize a website change. Do not assume a password for the old website also gives access to the domain.
Keep credentials out of website briefs and ordinary inquiry forms. Agree on delegated access or have the account owner make the specific changes supplied by the launch team. Resolve an inaccessible account before committing to a cutover date.
Write down what must continue working
Record the current website address, any alternate address such as www, your business email provider and the pages that receive useful visitors. Note outside systems connected to the site, including booking links and existing Google measurement.
Website changes should be planned around the existing email configuration. Simply replacing all domain records can interrupt mail or other services. Everstead’s normal cutover preserves existing email records; moving mailboxes or transferring a domain is a separate job.
- Registrar and renewal owner confirmed
- Email provider identified
- Existing Google resources identified
- Current public pages and useful links listed
Map old pages to useful destinations
A saved link, search result or printed QR code may point beyond your homepage. List those destinations and choose the closest relevant new page. Redirecting unrelated pages to Home can leave a visitor without the information they expected.
Everstead includes review of up to ten existing public URLs and up to ten simple redirects in the standard package. A large article library, many service areas or a complex store requires a broader migration plan before purchase.
Check the live result before calling it finished
After cutover, check the intended domain, HTTPS, the www/apex behavior, key old links and the full inquiry path. Confirm business email still works. Record which version the owner approved and who controls the connected accounts.
Keep a recovery plan and the previous configuration available to the person doing the cutover. The completion standard is a working, approved website with a usable handoff—not simply that a domain setting changed.
- Approved pages appear on the intended domain
- Important old URLs reach the right destination
- Inquiry receipt is confirmed
- Existing business email still works