Password logins and recurring billing break first during a CMS migration for a membership site. A CMS is the software that stores pages, member accounts, and access rules. Redirects, locked content, and member email usually fail next. Each failure has a different owner, so migration order matters more than design polish.
Official resources:
- Follow Google's site-move checklist for URL changes — Map old-to-new URLs and configure 301 redirects to preserve rankings during migration.
- Build a Stripe webhook endpoint that verifies signatures — Test raw-body signature verification so renewals keep syncing after migration.
Table of Contents
- Will members still be able to log in?
- Will renewals and cancellations keep working?
- Will locked content stay locked?
- Will old links and search traffic survive?
- Will members still get email?
- Frequently Asked Questions
Will members still be able to log in?
No, not with their old passwords on most cross-platform moves. The WordPress Make/Core team reports that WordPress stores passwords as one-way hashes, with bcrypt from version 6.8, in the bcrypt announcement.
Hashes cannot be decrypted into plain text. Plan for forced password resets or magic-link login. Send reset instructions before launch, expire old sessions, and test login, logout, password change, and locked-account recovery for each membership level.
Will renewals and cancellations keep working?
They stop syncing when the new site does not connect to the payment gateway. Duplicator notes that renewals live at the gateway, so Stripe or PayPal webhooks must point to the new server, in the membership-migration guide. Without that link, renewals, cancellations, and access updates do not sync.
Stripe Documentation also requires webhook verification with the raw request body, signature header, and endpoint secret. Do not parse, reformat, or proxy the body before verification. Test with a real renewal, cancellation, failed payment, and plan change.
- Point webhooks to the new server before taking payments live
- Reconnect billing products and customer IDs
- Confirm access changes after each gateway event
Will locked content stay locked?
Gated content does not move by itself. MemberPress protects posts, pages, courses, and files only through Rules tied to membership products and access conditions. Those rules must be recreated on the new system.
Common failures are pages left public, courses blocked for paying members, and downloadable files exposed by direct URL. Rebuild every product, rule, drip schedule, and expiry action. Then test as logged-out visitor, active member, expired member, and wrong-tier member.
Will old links and search traffic survive?
Old links break unless every changed URL has a server-side permanent redirect. Google recommends mapped 301 or 308 redirects for each changed URL and keeping them live as long as possible, generally at least one year, in the site-move documentation. Shopify also warns that dropped redirects or mangled structured data can erase rankings built over years.
Expect temporary ranking fluctuations while Google recrawls and reindexes. Map checkout, login, account, pricing, course, and download URLs first. Keep XML sitemaps, canonical tags, and internal links pointed at new URLs.
Will members still get email?
Often they stop receiving receipts, reset links, and renewal reminders. A domain or sender change can silently break delivery. Google Gmail Help states that Gmail requires SPF or DKIM for all senders, in the email sender guidelines.
Update SPF, DKIM, and DMARC for the new sender and mail service. High-volume senders face stricter authentication requirements. Test signup, receipt, password reset, failed-payment, and cancellation emails before launch.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should we migrate active subscriptions or cancel and re-bill?
Keep active subscriptions at the gateway when possible. Memberful documents direct import of members plus active Stripe Subscriptions from some systems, while other setups need customer IDs, card migration, or re-entry.
What should we freeze during cutover?
Freeze plan changes, refunds, product edits, and content-rule edits. Process gateway events on only one system to avoid duplicate access changes.
