The ultimate SharePoint migration checklist

A super smooth SharePoint migration process

There’s so much more to SharePoint migrations than just lift and shift; you need to cover every angle—from planning to optimization to governance and beyond.

Whether you want to migrate to a newer version of SharePoint, to the Microsoft cloud, to another tenant—or just reorganize content, we’re with you every step of the way. Since 2009, we’ve been helping IT professionals working in Microsoft accelerate migrations.  

We created this checklist to help you create a SharePoint migration plan while guiding you through the phases of your migration journey. Follow these steps to save time and minimize risk.

• Take inventory of your SharePoint data by performing an audit of what’s currently on your environment
• Clean up your environment from data that’s redundant, unused, or no longer up to date
• Plan and structure your information architecture for your business to get your new environment ready
• Communicate the benefits behind the move to users so that they understand ahead of time.
• Kick off your migration with the right tools to ensure success. Ideally, choose a tool that offers you automated migration reports to stay on top of everything.
• Generate a post-migration checklist that makes sense to your reality, and helps you keep tabs on all the things you need to consider post your migration.

Pre-migration: Gear up for change

Creating a detailed migration plan will help you avoid potential errors, reduce downtime, and ensure that your SharePoint migration project runs smoothly.

Start your migration on the right foot. Assessing and managing the existing data environment is crucial to streamline the process. Run a source analysis to get a complete understanding of your environment’s inventory with a third-party tool and what you need to migrate.

With your full-featured ShareGate trial, you can run a source analysis to help you determine:  

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With your full-featured ShareGate trial, you can run a source analysis to help you determine:  

• The size of your environment
• The size of your file shares
• The number of site collections
• The number of sites  
• The number of unused or abandoned sites  
• The number of files and folders
• The number of workflows
• Potential issues

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1. Take inventory of your SharePoint data

The most important pre-migration step is taking stock of what’s in your current SharePoint environment with a solid audit. Is it file share? On-prem? Box? A previous version of SharePoint or SharePoint Online? You need to know what’s under the hood, and ShareGate can help. This way, you can make better decisions with proper planning about what to migrate, and determine how long it will take to upgrade your end users into their modern workspace.

2. Clean up your environment

Once you have a solid inventory, start hammering away to weed out data that’s redundant, unused, or no longer up to date. Focus on what needs to be migrated. You’re going to want an efficient, streamlined SharePoint / SharePoint Online environment that lasts.

3. Get your new environment ready

Before you move, you’ll need to prep your new home. Spend some time planning and structuring your information architecture for your business. You can get custom! And of course, you’ll want to create a clear SharePoint management plan for how it will be used within your organization. Our checklist has it all on how you can get this done

4. Prepare your users

End-user training and communication are key to driving adoption. To achieve the best possible outcome, you’ll want to make sure users understand the benefits behind the move ahead of time. Determine what you’ll offer in terms of training and support to set your team up for long-term success.

5.  Start your migration

Stay on top of the migration process. It’s essential to note issues that arise during the upgrade and resolve them as needed. It’s easier when you have the right tools that help to make sure your move is a success. Automated migration reports keep everything smooth.

6.  Post-migration

After making the move, test everything out. Ensure the migration was successful and that everything is where it should be. A post-migration checklist plays a big role in reducing headaches before and after you swing open the doors and let everyone in.

Migrate faster. Transform smarter.

Microsoft 365 migrations are more than just lift and shift. ShareGate Migrate is an end-to-end software solution that guides you every step of the way, from migration to governance. Get accelerated migrations with a complete high-performance toolset that follows best practices throughout your Microsoft 365 journey.

Learn more about what ShareGate’s migration tool can help you do