Testing and Quality Assurance

With the site fully built out on the WordPress staging environment (content, functionality, SEO measures all in place), conduct a thorough testing and QA phase. The goal is to catch and fix any issues before the site goes live. QA should cover the following areas.

Content verification

Go through each section of the site and verify content correctness. Are all pages present and loading? Is the content on each page accurate and complete (no missing paragraphs or weird characters)? 

Have someone from the content team or original authors verify critical pages manually. 

Ensure that the images and files are loading correctly.

Functional testing

Test all the key functions on the site:

• Submit each form on the site and verify that it behaves correctly (shows a success message, sends an email to the right recipients, or logs the entry as expected). Check that form data is received by external systems if applicable.
• If it’s an eCommerce site, run test orders (in a sandbox mode or with test credentials) to ensure the entire flow (add to cart, checkout, payment) works.
• If login-protected sections exist, create test users and ensure they can log in and see what they should, and that access is restricted where it should be.
• Test search functionality by searching for known terms and see if results are relevant.
• Click through navigation menus, buttons, and links on each page to verify they go to the correct target pages.

Cross-browser and device testing 

Test the site on your target web browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge) and ensure consistent behavior and layout. Also test on various devices/screen sizes (desktop, tablet, mobile) to confirm the responsive design works and content is readable and functional (especially menus, forms on mobile, etc.). 

Performance testing 

Assess the site’s performance on staging. Use tools to measure page load times. If possible, simulate some load to ensure the site and server can handle it (especially if expecting high traffic). Optimize any slow pages now. Note that performance might differ in production if infrastructure is different, but this gives a baseline.

SEO checks 

Crawl the staging site with an SEO spider (like Screaming Frog in offline mode) to catch SEO issues. Look for missing meta tags, broken links (404s), or inconsistent use of headings. Ensure the page titles and meta descriptions are correctly in place as planned. Check that the XML sitemap is accessible and correct. Also verify that no pages that should be public are accidentally marked noindex (and vice versa).

Accessibility & compliance testing

Run accessibility checks (using browser plugins or tools like WAVE) to ensure the site meets needed standards (this could be important for legal compliance, e.g., ADA). Fix any high-priority issues (like missing alt texts, contrast issues, etc.). Also ensure that privacy-related features like cookie consent banners are working if those are required by law.

User Acceptance Testing (UAT) 

Have representatives from each stakeholder group do a final review. For example, ask a few content editors to practice editing a page or creating a post on the new WordPress (on staging) to ensure they find the workflow acceptable and everything they need is available. Let the SEO specialist review meta tags and analytics setup. Have a marketing manager or sales rep submit the contact form to see the email they get. This broad involvement can catch issues from different perspectives before launch, and it increases confidence across teams.

Issue tracking and fixes 

As you perform QA, log any bugs or issues found (content discrepancies, broken features, styling problems, etc.). Use a tracker or spreadsheet to prioritize and fix them. Ensure each issue is resolved and retested. Some fixes might involve re-migrating a piece of content, adjusting CSS, enabling a plugin setting, etc. Go through iterative rounds until the critical issues are resolved.

Before moving to launch, you should have a high degree of confidence in the new site. It should be fully functional, thoroughly tested, and approved by key stakeholders. This QA phase is crucial for engineering (to validate technical integrity) and for business teams (to ensure their needs are met). Only after passing QA and obtaining final sign-off should you schedule the go-live.

Here’s a migration execution checklist to verify all execution-phase tasks are completed before proceeding to launch:

• WordPress setup complete: WordPress is installed and configured (permalinks, settings) fully. All required plugins are installed and activated. The theme (design) is implemented and matches expected design/branding.
• Content migrated: All pages, posts, and other content from the old site have been imported into WordPress. Content is verified for completeness (no missing sections) and correctness (formatting looks good).
• Media migrated: All images and media files are transferred and load correctly on the new site. Image links in content are updated to new locations.
• Users migrated/created: All necessary user accounts exist on the new site with appropriate roles (administrators, editors, etc.). Authors are correctly assigned to content. Communication has been sent to users (if needed) about new logins or password resets.
• Functionality implemented: Every feature from the old site is operational on the new site:
  • Menus and navigation links are working.
  • Forms are set up and tested (submissions go through, emails sent, integrations working).
  • eCommerce/membership features (if any) are configured and tested (test transactions or logins successful).
  • Search works properly.
  • Any custom interactive elements or integrations are functioning as expected.
• URL redirects configured: A redirect rule is in place for every old URL to the appropriate new URL​. Sample tests of URLs confirm 301 redirects are working.
• SEO elements in place: Meta titles and descriptions have been added in WordPress for all key pages (via SEO plugin or manually). The XML sitemap is generated and correct. Internal links have been updated to point to the new URLs. Noindex is still ON for staging (to be turned off at launch).
• Site fully tested: Completed QA testing on content accuracy, forms, login, page display on multiple devices/browsers, etc. Resolved all identified issues. No broken links or missing media remain.
• Performance acceptable: Pages load within acceptable time on staging. Basic performance optimizations (caching, minification, etc.) are in place.
• Stakeholder sign-off: The team has conducted UAT and all departments (engineering, marketing/SEO, content, sales, etc.) have signed off that the new site is ready to go live. No outstanding high-priority issues remain.
• Launch plan ready: A detailed launch plan is documented (including timing, who will do what during launch, and a rollback plan if needed). Team members are aware of their roles during launch.

Once everything above is checked off, you are prepared to execute the final launch of the WordPress site.