An orthopedic website migration needs an acceptance record that the practice can inspect. A new design can look finished while a surgeon’s old URL leads nowhere, an office page names the wrong location or a referral link opens an obsolete form. Owners and group administrators should agree those checks before signing off the launch.
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This checklist is for selecting and briefing a migration supplier, then checking its delivery. It supports the broader orthopedic website design scope; it does not promise unchanged rankings or appointment volume.
First define which kind of move you are buying
Record whether the project changes hosting, the CMS, page addresses, domain, content or several of these. A hosting move that preserves URLs has different requirements from replacing the entire address structure. Ask the supplier to identify each change and explain which existing functions depend on another vendor.
Google publishes separate guidance for hosting changes without URL changes and site moves with changed URLs. Use the relevant process. A design refresh alone is not a reason to rename every surgeon or specialty page.
Request a URL register with decisions, not a page count
Build the inventory from the existing website, available search and analytics records, and the practice’s operational links. Include surgeon biographies, specialty and office pages, appointment routes, referral instructions, PDFs and externally promoted landing pages. Record missing information rather than assuming a crawl found everything.
Each row should have the old address, intended destination, reason for the decision, information reviewer, implementation owner and test result. Retain useful addresses when possible. For a genuine move, map the content to its relevant new destination. Do not approve a blanket redirect of unrelated pages to the homepage.
Use these orthopedic acceptance examples
The paths below are fictional test examples. Replace them with your actual URLs and approved facts. Agree the expected result with your technical supplier before testing.
| Item | Proposed decision | Acceptance evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Existing /surgeons/dr-example/ | Retain the biography address if its purpose is unchanged. | Live page loads; verified name, credentials and actual consulting offices remain correct. |
| Old /knee-service/ moves to /services/knee/ | Map the old service page to the equivalent approved destination. | The old URL redirects to that page, without a loop; internal links use the new address. |
| An office has closed | Approve its public explanation and destination individually. | Visitors receive accurate closure and contact information; the page does not imply appointments remain available there. |
| A referral PDF has changed | Record the new document and handling of the old link. | The practice’s referral reviewer confirms the current administrative instructions and reachable destination. |
For a group, inspect the relationships as well as individual pages. The shoulder service page may load correctly but link to an office where that service is unavailable. A biography may retain its text while a new directory sends visitors to the wrong reception team. The multi-location orthopedic guide helps assign factual reviewers.
Separate staging controls from live search access
Ask how the development site is protected and how launch settings will be checked. Do not treat a staging screenshot as evidence of the live page’s search accessibility. For intended public pages, verify the actual response, indexing directives, canonical address and the rendered content after release.
Google’s noindex guidance explains that Google must be able to crawl a page to see that directive; blocking crawling is a different control. Your supplier should document the intended controls rather than using those terms interchangeably. Confirm that live internal links and sitemap entries point to approved public destinations.
Test contact routes independently of search settings
A correct canonical does not establish that appointment requests reach reception. Arrange approved, clearly labelled test enquiries with the receiving staff. Verify the intended office, receipt, acknowledgement, follow-up owner and manual fallback. Keep tests separate from genuine enquiries and do not place patient information in the migration test record.
Include phone destinations, booking connections and practice-approved referral routes in the agreed coverage. A connected system may need a separate supplier to test it. Record that dependency and any untested step rather than marking the entire journey passed. Use the orthopedic intake review for the subsequent staff handoff.
Set launch, repair and recovery authority in writing
Name the person approving release and the person deciding whether a defect needs immediate repair, a paused change or restoration. Save the affected content, redirect configuration and relevant settings before editing them. A recovery plan should identify what will be restored, who can perform it and how the restored routes will be checked.
Keep delivery acceptance separate from later search monitoring. Record the launch time, URL checks, known issues and search baseline. Monitor the affected pages and distinguish a technical failure from reporting delays or ranking movement while Google processes changes. An accepted crawl request is not proof that a migration succeeded.
Ask for a migration scope you can sign off
Request the URL register, approved facts, redirect tests, live search-access checks, contact-route evidence, recovery record and unresolved-issue list. Agree the coverage and exclusions, hosting responsibilities, review owners and private fees. This gives the practice a delivery record to assess alongside the new design.
Discuss an orthopedic website migration scope with Sprout Sage Solutions. Share your public website, role and planned change. Implementation responsibilities and acceptance checks belong in the written proposal.
