# Decide what to carry before you rebuild > Inventory website content before migrating: classify pages, files, metadata, media, and ownership so useful content is kept and weak content improved. Source: https://scayverstaging.1wp.site/resources/site-operations/content-migration-inventory/ ![Person holding a clipboard next to several stacked cardboard packages in a warehouse setting.](https://scayverstaging.1wp.site/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/sg-resources-146877-hero.webp) Before a redesign, inventory website content so the migration protects the pages visitors use, the files people have bookmarked, and the information staff still need to edit. [Talk to a Specialist](https://scayverstaging.1wp.site/talk-to-a-specialist/?form=book) [Every resource](https://scayverstaging.1wp.site/resources/) **Format** [Guide](https://scayverstaging.1wp.site/resources/type/guide/) **In this format** 92 ## What should you inventory in website content? A redesign often focuses on new layouts while valuable content sits in the old system. The inventory also gives the team permission to improve or retire weak material deliberately instead of copying everything into a new template. List public URLs, page titles, descriptions, headings, body content, images, downloads, video, and structured records such as services, products, locations, and articles. Include forms and the confirmation content they produce. Record page owner, current purpose, and any known traffic or business use. A file download linked from an email campaign may matter even if it is not in the navigation. Use more than the CMS export. Search data, analytics, internal links, and a crawl can reveal pages that are still visited but easy to overlook. Google’s [site move guidance](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/site-move-with-url-changes) recommends using sitemaps, analytics, server logs, and link data to identify important URLs when planning a move. ## Which pages should stay, change, or leave? Give each item a decision: keep, improve, consolidate, redirect, archive, or remove. Add a reason. A strong service page may need new copy but should keep its role. Three overlapping FAQ pages may work better as one answer. An obsolete event page may no longer serve a visitor, but old links to it still need an intentional destination or appropriate response. Separate content quality from URL value. A thin page with useful inbound links may deserve a careful rewrite rather than deletion. A polished page that describes a discontinued offer should not survive because it looks good. The decision should reflect the reader’s current need and the business’s current scope. ## What happens to media and relationships? Map images, PDFs, video, and embedded assets to their new locations. Check rights and captions before reuse. If an old article references a downloadable guide, preserve a working path or update the article. If a service relates to an industry or case example, record that relationship in the new content model rather than copying the same text into several pages. Test a small sample import with difficult content: long titles, galleries, tables, missing images, and special characters. A successful export file does not prove the new site displays the content correctly. Editors should also test whether they can update the migrated record without breaking its layout. ## Who approves the migration? Assign a content owner for each family and a reviewer for factual, legal, or proof-dependent material. Set a cutover rule so staff know when to stop editing the old site and where new changes belong. Record what remains unpublished because it lacks approval. A migration should not quietly promote old claims into a new design. The final inventory becomes the basis for route mapping and post-launch checks. Without it, the team can only guess whether a missing page was intentionally removed. ## Classify ten high-value pages first. Export a list of current URLs and choose ten high-value pages to classify first. For a site with editable structures, see [web development](https://scayverstaging.1wp.site/services/development/web-development/). [Talk to a Specialist](https://scayverstaging.1wp.site/talk-to-a-specialist/) to build a migration scope that preserves useful content and makes omissions visible. [Explore the site-operations guides](https://scayverstaging.1wp.site/resources/site-operations/). Guides ## Guides beside Decide what to carry before you rebuild. 1. ### [Define the website before you price the build](https://scayverstaging.1wp.site/resources/site-operations/website-requirements-checklist/) Site operations · 4 min read 2. ### [Choose a CMS around the work your team does](https://scayverstaging.1wp.site/resources/site-operations/choosing-a-cms/) Site operations · 3 min read 3. ### [Use the smallest build that solves the real problem](https://scayverstaging.1wp.site/resources/site-operations/plugin-vs-custom-development/) 4. ### [Map the handoff between tools before you automate it](https://scayverstaging.1wp.site/resources/site-operations/integration-data-map/) 5. ### [Check the dependency before it becomes invisible](https://scayverstaging.1wp.site/resources/site-operations/api-vendor-due-diligence/) 6. ### [Plan checkout as a business process, not a button](https://scayverstaging.1wp.site/resources/site-operations/checkout-flow-planning/) 7. ### [Give the product catalog a structure that can grow](https://scayverstaging.1wp.site/resources/site-operations/ecommerce-catalog-structure/) 8. ### [Decide the order rules before you configure checkout](https://scayverstaging.1wp.site/resources/site-operations/shipping-and-tax-workflow/) 9. ### [Make the return path clear before someone needs it](https://scayverstaging.1wp.site/resources/site-operations/returns-content-structure/) 10. ### [Define access rules before the member dashboard](https://scayverstaging.1wp.site/resources/site-operations/membership-access-model/) 11. ### [Design the learning workflow before choosing the LMS](https://scayverstaging.1wp.site/resources/site-operations/lms-delivery-requirements/) 12. ### [Ask for what the appointment actually needs](https://scayverstaging.1wp.site/resources/site-operations/appointment-booking-fields/) 13. ### [Make website leads usable inside the CRM](https://scayverstaging.1wp.site/resources/site-operations/crm-field-mapping/) 14. ### [Stop form spam without punishing real visitors](https://scayverstaging.1wp.site/resources/site-operations/form-spam-and-privacy/) 15. ### [Every automation needs an owner when it stops](https://scayverstaging.1wp.site/resources/site-operations/automation-failure-handling/) 16. ### [Give the chatbot a smaller, trustworthy job](https://scayverstaging.1wp.site/resources/site-operations/ai-chatbot-knowledge-boundaries/) 17. ### [The handoff is part of the answer](https://scayverstaging.1wp.site/resources/site-operations/ai-human-handoff/) 18. ### [Name the action before you tag the button](https://scayverstaging.1wp.site/resources/site-operations/analytics-event-naming/) 19. ### [Test the conversion, not just the dashboard](https://scayverstaging.1wp.site/resources/site-operations/conversion-event-validation/) 20. ### [Make measurement follow the choice a visitor makes](https://scayverstaging.1wp.site/resources/site-operations/consent-and-analytics-planning/) 21. ### [Spend page weight on things visitors can use](https://scayverstaging.1wp.site/resources/site-operations/website-performance-budget/) 22. ### [Accessibility continues every time someone publishes](https://scayverstaging.1wp.site/resources/site-operations/accessibility-content-operations/) 23. ### [Test the backup before you need it](https://scayverstaging.1wp.site/resources/site-operations/backup-restore-drill/) 24. ### [Update the plugin, then prove the journey still works](https://scayverstaging.1wp.site/resources/site-operations/plugin-update-staging/) 25. ### [An alert needs a person and a next action](https://scayverstaging.1wp.site/resources/site-operations/monitoring-ownership/) 26. ### [Know what ongoing website care actually covers](https://scayverstaging.1wp.site/resources/site-operations/website-care-scope/) 27. ### [Keep the domain and its connected services in view](https://scayverstaging.1wp.site/resources/site-operations/domain-dns-transfer/) 28. ### [Give each old link a sensible destination](https://scayverstaging.1wp.site/resources/site-operations/redirect-mapping/) 29. ### [Decide how to reverse a bad launch before launch day](https://scayverstaging.1wp.site/resources/site-operations/website-launch-rollback/) No other guides in this group yet. Keep reading ## Read after Decide what to carry before you rebuild. The rest of the resources, newest first. - [2 July 2026 Customer Persona Worksheet](https://scayverstaging.1wp.site/resources/customer-persona-worksheet/) - [2 July 2026 The Social Content Sprint Playbook](https://scayverstaging.1wp.site/resources/the-social-content-sprint-playbook/) - [2 July 2026 AI Prompt Pack for Blog Post Outlines](https://scayverstaging.1wp.site/resources/ai-prompt-pack-for-blog-post-outlines/) - [2 July 2026 Email Welcome Sequence Template](https://scayverstaging.1wp.site/resources/email-welcome-sequence-template/) - [2 July 2026 Website Pre Handoff QA Checklist](https://scayverstaging.1wp.site/resources/website-pre-handoff-qa-checklist/) - [2 July 2026 The SEO Content Audit Guide](https://scayverstaging.1wp.site/resources/the-seo-content-audit-guide/) - [2 July 2026 Positioning Statement Worksheet](https://scayverstaging.1wp.site/resources/positioning-statement-worksheet/) - [2 July 2026 The Client Onboarding Playbook](https://scayverstaging.1wp.site/resources/the-client-onboarding-playbook/) - [2 July 2026 AI Prompt Pack for Ad Headline Variations](https://scayverstaging.1wp.site/resources/ai-prompt-pack-for-ad-headline-variations/) - [2 July 2026 The One Page Creative Brief Template](https://scayverstaging.1wp.site/resources/the-one-page-creative-brief-template/) - [2 July 2026 Brand Launch Readiness Checklist](https://scayverstaging.1wp.site/resources/brand-launch-readiness-checklist/) - [2 July 2026 The Landing Page Teardown Guide](https://scayverstaging.1wp.site/resources/the-landing-page-teardown-guide/)