Glossary of Website Migration Terms
301 Redirect
A permanent redirect that informs search engines and browsers that a page has permanently moved to a new location.
302 Redirect
A temporary redirect that indicates a page has temporarily moved to a new location.
B
Backup
A copy of website files and data created for the purpose of restoration in case of data loss or migration issues.
Broken Links
Hyperlinks on a website that no longer work or lead to a valid page.
C
CMS
Content Management System. A software application used to create, manage, and modify digital content on a website.
CMS Theme/Template
A pre-designed layout or design that can be applied to a CMS to change the appearance of a website.
Content Migration
The process of transferring website content, including text, images, videos, and files, from the source website to the target website.
D
DNS
Domain Name System. The system that translates domain names (e.g., www.example.com) into IP addresses.
Domain Registrar
A company or organization that manages the registration of domain names.
Downtime
The period during which a website is not accessible or experiencing technical issues.
R
Robots.txt
A text file that provides instructions to search engine crawlers about which pages should be indexed or excluded from indexing.
S
SEO
Search Engine Optimization. The process of improving a website’s visibility and ranking in search engine results.
Source Website
The existing or old website that is being migrated to a new platform or server.
SSL Certificate
Secure Sockets Layer certificate. A digital certificate that enables secure communication between a website and a user’s browser.
T
Target Website
The new website or destination where the source website will be migrated.
Test Environment
A separate environment or server used to test and verify the functionality of a website before its final migration.
U
Uptime
The percentage of time a website is accessible and operational.
URL Mapping
The process of redirecting URLs from the old website to corresponding pages on the new website.
W
Website Migration
The process of transferring a website from one hosting platform or server to another.
X
XML Sitemap
A file that lists all the pages on a website and helps search engines crawl and index them.