Before the move: make an inventory
Export a list of every public article, category, attachment, and in-product documentation link. Add the last 90 days of page views, referrals, and support questions if you have them. Mark each item as keep, update, combine, redirect, or retire.
This prevents a common migration failure: moving the pages a team remembers while silently losing the pages customers actually use. It also identifies internal-only notes that should not become public by accident.
Build an old URL to new URL map
For every useful old URL, name its closest new destination. A one-to-one redirect is ideal. If several thin pages become one strong guide, redirect each old URL to the relevant new guide rather than the home page. Keep the map in a spreadsheet with the old URL, new URL, redirect owner, and test status.
Important platform boundary: Answerly does not currently create automatic redirects from an old documentation provider. Configure 301 redirects in the platform that owns the old URLs, your existing web host, or your CDN before you switch traffic. Do not remove the old help center until you have tested the redirect map.
Review content before you publish it
Use the migration to improve the material, not just copy it. Split broad pages into task-based articles. Check screenshots, UI labels, plan limits, policy language, and internal links. Every public article needs one canonical URL, a descriptive title, and links to related tasks.
Answerly can import one public Notion page, one public HTTPS page, or pasted Markdown as a draft. It does not currently bulk-import a site or use an Intercom API connector. If your old center is large, prioritize the highest-traffic and highest-contact topics first instead of implying a one-click migration.
Test the customer journey, not only the pages
Choose five to ten common customer tasks and complete them on mobile and desktop. Test a direct old URL, internal navigation, search, a source-linked answer, contact support, and any authenticated handoff. Ask someone who did not write the documentation to perform the test; authors already know where the answer lives.
Launch-day checklist
- Validate every high-value old URL against the redirect map.
- Confirm canonical tags, robots rules, and the sitemap list only public canonical URLs.
- Check that product links point to the new center.
- Verify contact paths and ownership for urgent or account-specific cases.
- Keep a rollback contact and a record of the prior configuration.
What to watch in the first two weeks
Monitor 404s, questions that have no useful source, support contacts by topic, and pages agents repeatedly share. Fix the highest-impact issue every week. A migration is successful when customers can still finish their tasks, not merely when the new site looks better.