Jun 15, 2025·8 min
How to Create a Website for a Step-by-Step Migration Guide
Learn how to build a clear website for a step-by-step product migration guide—structure, templates, navigation, SEO, and launch checks to keep users moving.
Learn how to build a clear website for a step-by-step product migration guide—structure, templates, navigation, SEO, and launch checks to keep users moving.
Before you design pages or write steps, get clear on who is migrating and what “done” looks like. A migration guide that tries to serve everyone at once often ends up serving no one: it becomes either too shallow for experts or too complex for beginners.
Start by naming your core reader types in plain language. For a product migration guide, common audiences include:
Pick one primary audience for the main step flow. Then decide how the other audiences will be supported: separate tracks, callouts (“For admins”), or prerequisite pages. This keeps the main journey clean while still providing depth.
Not all migrations happen the same way. Write down the migration “modes” your website must cover so you don’t discover missing paths mid-build:
Each type may need different entry points, prerequisites, and verification steps. Capturing this early informs your navigation and template design later.
Define success criteria that align with why the guide exists. Useful metrics include:
Turn these into a short “definition of success” statement you can share with stakeholders. It will help you prioritize what to write first.
A step-by-step migration site should feel dependable because it’s specific. Make explicit decisions about what the guide will and won’t cover—for example, supported source versions, optional advanced optimizations, unsupported third-party tools, or edge cases.
Write an “Out of scope” note for internal alignment, and plan a short public-facing statement (“This guide covers X and Y; for Z, contact support”). Clear boundaries prevent endless additions and keep the guide maintainable.
Before you write a single step, collect what “success” looks like and what can break. This is the point where you turn scattered tribal knowledge into a clear, shared plan for the guide.
Create one place where every migration requirement and decision is captured—your draft site, a working doc, or a project board. The format matters less than the rule: one authoritative list of steps, prerequisites, and owners.
Include:
Support, onboarding, solutions engineering, and customer success know where migrations go sideways. Run short interviews focused on specific cases:
Capture each pitfall with: symptom, likely cause, how to confirm, and the safest fix.
List every dependency that can block a step so you can surface it early:
Migrations are full of acronyms and overloaded terms. Create a simple glossary that defines product-specific words in plain language and notes synonyms users might search for. This reduces confusion and keeps terminology consistent across the guide.
A migration guide succeeds when people can quickly answer two questions: “Where do I start?” and “What do I do next?” Information architecture (IA) is how you organize pages so those answers are obvious, even for someone seeing the guide for the first time.
Most migrations need two reading modes: people who want to follow the steps in order, and people who want a quick answer to a specific problem.
Use a hybrid structure:
This keeps the main journey simple without hiding important details.
Keep the top navigation consistent and task-based. A practical set is:
These labels match how users think during a migration, and they reduce time spent hunting for the right section.
Create a dedicated Start here page near the top of the flow. It should explain:
This page prevents frustration by making hidden requirements visible before users commit.
A clean URL pattern helps users orient themselves and supports easy sharing and search. For example:
/migration/prepare/migration/migrate/migration/verifyKeep page types consistent (Step, Concept, Checklist, Troubleshooting). When every page “feels” familiar, users spend less effort learning the site and more effort completing the migration.
Choosing the right platform is less about trendy tools and more about how quickly your team can publish accurate steps, fixes, and updates. A product migration guide changes often—so your platform must make editing and releasing changes routine, not a special event.
A traditional CMS works well if multiple people need a friendly editor, scheduled publishing, and page management. A static site generator can be ideal if you want speed, a clean structure, and changes controlled through reviews (often via Git). A help center platform is a strong choice when you need built-in search, categories, and support-style workflows.
If your team also needs to spin up small internal tools to support the migration journey—like a “readiness checker,” a data validation dashboard, or a guided checklist app—Koder.ai can help you prototype and ship those quickly via a chat-based workflow. It’s a practical way to reduce engineering overhead while keeping the migration experience consistent across docs and tooling.
Make sure the platform supports:
Decide who can draft, review, approve, and publish. Keep the workflow simple: one owner per section, a clear reviewer (often support or product), and a predictable release rhythm (for example, weekly updates plus urgent fixes).
Write down why you chose the platform, who owns it, and how publishing works. Avoid piling on extra tools unless they solve a specific problem; a smaller toolset makes updates faster and reduces “process debt” over time.
Reusable templates keep your migration guide consistent, scannable, and easier to maintain. They also reduce writer-by-writer variation, which is where users start missing critical details.
Aim for one “unit of work” per page: a single action the user can complete and verify. Use a fixed structure so readers always know where to look.
**Goal:** What this step achieves in one sentence.
**Time estimate:** 5–10 minutes.
**Prerequisites:** Accounts, permissions, tools, or prior steps.
### Steps
1. Action written as an imperative.
2. One idea per line.
3. Include UI path and exact button/field labels.
### Expected result
What the user should see when it worked.
### Rollback (if needed)
How to undo safely, and when to stop and ask for help.
This “goal, time estimate, prerequisites, steps, expected result, rollback” pattern prevents two common failures: users starting before they’re ready, and users not knowing whether they succeeded.
Define a small set of callouts and use them consistently:
Keep callouts short and action-oriented—no essays inside callouts.
Create rules for screenshots (same resolution, same theme, cropped to the relevant UI). Match UI labels exactly to the product, including capitalization, so users can search and visually confirm.
Add a small changelog block on every step page with a Last updated date and a one-line summary of what changed. This builds trust and makes support and maintenance far easier.
A migration guide works best when users always know three things: where they are, what’s next, and how to recover if they need to pause. Your navigation should reduce decision-making, not add to it.
Use clear step numbering that matches page titles and URLs (for example, “Step 3: Export data”). Pair it with a progress indicator at the top of each step (for example, “Step 3 of 8”). This is especially helpful for long migrations where users may return days later.
Keep the “current step” visually highlighted in the navigation so users can re-orient instantly.
Add “Next” and “Previous” buttons at the bottom of every step page, and consider repeating them at the top for lengthy steps. Users should be able to follow the happy path without opening the sidebar.
Alongside that linear flow, include a step list sidebar that shows the full sequence. This helps experienced users jump directly to a step and helps cautious users preview what’s coming.
Keep paragraphs short, and separate actions from explanations. Use checklists for tasks and a small prerequisites table near the top so users can verify they’re ready before they start.
Example prerequisites table:
| You’ll need | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Admin access | To change settings |
| Backup completed | To restore if needed |
Where users must run commands or enter settings, provide copy-paste snippets and label what each snippet does. Keep snippets minimal and safe by default.
# Verify connection before migrating
mytool ping --target "NEW_SYSTEM"
Finally, make “Save and resume later” easy: show what’s already completed and remind users where to pick up next time.
Preparation content is where migrations succeed or fail. Treat it as a first-class part of the guide, not a short note at the top of Step 1. Your goal is to help readers confirm they’re eligible to migrate, understand what will change, and gather everything they need before any irreversible action.
Create a single page that readers can complete in one sitting. Keep it scannable, and make each item testable (something they can confirm, not just “be ready”). Examples include confirming the current plan/tier, required integrations, access to email/domain/DNS, and whether test/staging is available.
If your audience includes teams, add a short “Who needs to be involved” block so a reader can quickly loop in the right people.
Spell out:
This prevents readers from getting stuck mid-process due to missing access.
Include time and downtime notes only when you can validate them through testing, analytics, or support history. Present them as expected ranges and list what affects them (data size, number of users, third-party syncs). Clearly distinguish:
For teams that run migrations as a project, provide a printable checklist (and optionally a downloadable PDF) that mirrors the “Before you start” page and includes sign-off fields like “Export complete,” “Backup verified,” and “Rollback plan approved.”
A migration guide isn’t finished when the steps are done. Readers need confidence that the change worked, a clear path when it didn’t, and a safe exit when it must be undone. Treat these as first-class pages, not footnotes.
Create a dedicated “Verify your migration” page for each major milestone. Write verification as concrete checks with clear outcomes:
Keep checks quick, ordered, and written so a non-expert can follow them. If a check can take time (syncing, indexing), state the expected wait and what “normal” looks like.
Add a central troubleshooting page organized by symptoms people actually report (for example: “Users can’t log in,” “Data is missing,” “Import stuck at 0%”). For each symptom, provide:
If rollback is possible, document it explicitly: what can be reversed, what cannot, and the deadline (for example, before data is overwritten). Include warnings for irreversible actions and a “stop and contact support” note where appropriate.
Add a “Get help” section with clear triggers (business impact, security concerns, repeated failures) and a checklist of information to include so support can act fast.
A migration guide only helps if people can find it quickly—via search, your site navigation, and even “search within the guide.” Optimize for the exact questions users ask while they’re under time pressure.
Start by listing the phrases your audience actually types when they’re stuck. For migration guides, search intent is often action-based and urgent:
Turn each intent into a dedicated page (or clearly labeled section) rather than burying it in a long article. If you support multiple source systems, consider separate “From X” entry pages that funnel into the same core steps.
Write descriptive H2/H3 headings that match the steps users need to complete. Good headings work as both an outline and a set of “mini search results” on the page.
For example, prefer “Step 3: Export users from X” over “Exporting.” Include the product names and objects (“users,” “projects,” “billing data”) in headings where it’s natural.
Where users routinely hesitate (limits, downtime, data loss, permissions), add short Q&A blocks written in a consistent format. Keep answers direct, and ensure each question can stand alone.
This structure makes it easy to later add FAQ schema without rewriting content.
Migration docs change often. Plan redirects for renamed pages to avoid broken links, especially for:
Use stable, human-readable URLs (avoid version numbers in the path when possible), and keep page titles aligned with those URLs so users recognize they’re in the right place.
A migration guide isn’t “done” at launch. The fastest way to improve it is to watch what real users do and ask them what didn’t work. Analytics tells you where people struggle; feedback tells you why.
Focus on a small set of events that map to user progress:
If you can, segment by audience type (admin vs. end user), migration path, and device. Keep the setup privacy-conscious: avoid collecting sensitive input values and prefer aggregated reporting.
Place a simple widget at the bottom of each step:
Route responses to a shared inbox or dashboard, and tag them by page so writers can act quickly.
Set a recurring review (weekly at first, then monthly):
This loop keeps the guide aligned with how migrations actually happen, not how you imagined they would.
A migration guide is only as trustworthy as its accuracy under real conditions. Before launch, treat the website like a product release: test the steps end-to-end, verify the content matches the current UI, and confirm the site is usable for everyone.
Follow the full migration on a fresh account or a sandbox environment, exactly as written. Don’t rely on “it should work.” Capture where you hesitated, where expectations didn’t match reality, and where steps depended on hidden defaults (permissions, plan level, pre-existing data).
As you test, verify that copy-paste commands, file names, and example values are consistent across every page. A single mismatch can break a customer’s progress.
Check for broken links, outdated screenshots, and UI label mismatches (button names, menu paths, dialog text). If your product UI changes frequently, prefer annotated screenshots only when they clarify a complex screen; otherwise use text instructions that survive minor UI shifts.
Also confirm terminology: if you use “workspace” in one page and “project” in another, readers will assume they’re different.
Review headings for a clear structure (one main page title, then logical subheadings). Check color contrast, ensure images have meaningful alt text, and confirm the guide works with keyboard navigation (tab order, visible focus states, no keyboard traps). Forms and expandable sections should be reachable and understandable without a mouse.
Before publishing, validate metadata (page titles and descriptions), redirects for any moved pages, and that search indexing is allowed where appropriate. Test internal navigation paths and key site destinations referenced in the guide (for example, /pricing or /contact) to ensure they land on the intended pages.
Finally, do a last “cold read” for clarity: can someone unfamiliar with your product complete the migration without asking for help?
A migration guide is only useful if it stays aligned with the real product and the real process. Treat the website as a living asset, not a one-time launch.
Set explicit ownership for updates whenever the product UI, naming, permissions, or migration steps change. Choose a primary owner (often product documentation or enablement) and a backup owner for coverage.
Define what triggers an update, for example: a UI release, a new supported source system, a changed prerequisite, or a newly discovered failure mode. If ownership is unclear, the guide will drift and users will lose trust.
Maintain a changelog page that highlights what changed and when—especially changes that affect outcomes (new prerequisites, renamed screens, updated commands, or revised “do not do this” warnings).
If your product or migration path has meaningful versions, archive older guide versions so customers on older releases can still succeed. Mark old versions clearly and note end-of-support dates to avoid confusion.
Create a simple request process for new migration scenarios: a short form or ticket template that asks for source/target, constraints, sample data size, and desired cutover approach. Route requests to an intake owner and review them on a predictable cadence.
Plan regular reviews (monthly or quarterly) to confirm accuracy. Use a checklist: prerequisites still valid, screenshots current, steps match the product, troubleshooting reflects recent incidents, and success criteria are measurable.
Small, frequent updates keep the guide credible—and keep support teams from reinventing the same answers.
Start by defining a single primary audience (admins, developers, or end users) and what “done” means.
Then choose the migration modes you must support (self-serve, assisted, phased) and write measurable success criteria (completion rate, fewer tickets, time to migrate).
Pick one primary audience for the main step-by-step flow, then support other readers with:
This keeps the happy path readable without losing depth.
Maintain one “single source of truth” for:
A shared doc, project board, or the draft site itself can work—what matters is one authoritative list.
Interview support, onboarding, solutions engineering, and customer success.
For each real failure, capture:
Use ticket themes to prioritize what needs clearer prerequisites, warnings, or troubleshooting entries.
Use a hybrid structure:
Pair this with task-based top navigation like Overview, Prepare, Migrate, Verify, Troubleshoot, FAQ.
Include a dedicated Start here page that sets expectations:
This reduces drop-offs by making hidden requirements visible before Step 1.
Confirm the platform supports the essentials:
Choose the tool that makes frequent updates routine, not painful.
Use a predictable step template with one “unit of work” per page:
Add consistent callouts (Important/Tip/Warning/Error) and a small “Last updated” changelog on each page.
Make it hard to get lost:
Also make pausing easy by showing what’s completed and where to resume.
Create first-class pages for:
These pages turn “completed steps” into “successful outcomes.”