Website migration SEO: Move your website without losing your rankings.
A website migration is any change that moves your pages somewhere new: a redesign that changes page addresses, a new platform or a new domain. It’s when a business is most likely to lose the search traffic it’s spent years building, and the easiest time to protect it.
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What it is
More than a new look
If page addresses, the platform or the domain are changing, it’s a migration.
Over the years, search engines build up a picture of your website: which pages exist, what each one is about and how far to trust it.
A migration changes that picture all at once. Pages move to new addresses, content is rewritten or dropped, and the code behind it all changes. If the old addresses aren’t redirected and the important content isn’t carried across, Google treats the new website almost as a stranger, and visitors following old links and bookmarks land on error pages.
Most of that can be avoided. A good migration is mostly careful preparation: knowing exactly what you have before you change it.
When you need it
Any time your website moves
Each of these is a migration, and each needs planning.
- A redesignIncluded when I build your new website. Website redesigns
- A new platformMoving from WordPress, Wix or Squarespace to Shopify, or between any two systems.
- A new domainA rebrand, a new name, or moving from one address to another.
- Merging websitesTwo websites becoming one, without losing what either has earned.
- Another agency’s rebuildSomeone independent checking that your rankings are protected while someone else builds.
- A launch that went wrongTraffic that dropped after a new website went live, found and put right.
What usually goes wrong
Most of the damage comes from the same few mistakes.
Your rankings and enquiries took years to build, and a careless launch can lose them in weeks. Here’s how I handle each one.
What usually goes wrong: Old page addresses stop working, so visitors and Google hit dead ends
How I handle it: Every old address mapped to its new page with a permanent (301) redirect
What usually goes wrong: Pages that bring in traffic are cut or merged on instinct
How I handle it: What to keep, merge or retire decided from your traffic, links and sales
What usually goes wrong: Page titles, headings and Google’s structured data lost in the new design
How I handle it: Every new template checked against the live site before launch
What usually goes wrong: Important pages buried deeper by a new menu
How I handle it: Menus and internal links planned around the pages that earn
What usually goes wrong: The test site turns up in Google, or the new site is hidden from it at launch
How I handle it: The test site kept private, and Google’s settings checked on launch day
What usually goes wrong: Tracking breaks, so nobody can see what changed
How I handle it: Analytics set up and tested, with a benchmark to compare against
What usually goes wrong: Pages get heavier and slower on phones
How I handle it: Lean, hand-built pages, measured against Google’s speed standards
How it’s done
Measured before, checked after
The plan comes first, so nothing is left to chance on launch day.
- 01
Measure what you have
Your rankings, traffic, top pages, links and enquiries, so there’s a benchmark to compare against.
- 02
Map every address
Each old page matched to its new home with a permanent (301) redirect.
- 03
Check before launch
Titles, headings, content, structured data and tracking compared with the live website, and the test site kept out of Google.
- 04
Launch, then watch
Everything checked on the day, then Search Console watched in the weeks after, and anything that comes up put right.
Questions
Questions, answered.
If yours isn’t here, ask me: there’s no such thing as a silly question about your own website.
Ask me a questionWhat is a website migration?
Any change that moves your website’s pages: new page addresses, a new platform, a new domain, or two websites merged into one. Search engines have to work out the new website, so it needs planning to keep the rankings and traffic you have.
Does a redesign count as a migration?
Usually, yes. If page addresses, the structure or much of the content change, the same risks apply. A redesign that only changes the look, keeping every address and page, is lower risk, but still worth checking before launch.
Will we lose rankings when we move?
Some movement is normal while Google takes in a new website. A planned migration keeps it small and short: every old address redirected, nothing important lost on the way, and problems caught early. Nobody can honestly guarantee that rankings won’t move.
How long before traffic recovers?
With a careful migration, most websites settle within a few weeks. A move that also changes a lot of content or structure can take longer, and I’ll tell you what to expect for yours.
What is a redirect map?
A list of every address on your current website and the new address it should send people to. It’s what stops old links, bookmarks and Google’s index leading to error pages.
Can you work with the agency building our website?
Yes. I give them the redirect map and the checks, review the new website before launch, and check it again on launch day. They build it; I make sure the move is safe.
We’ve already launched and lost traffic. Can you help?
Yes. I compare the old website with the new one, find what went missing or broke, and put it right. The sooner it’s done, the better the chance of winning it back.
How much does it cost?
It’s included in every redesign I build. For a website someone else is building, from £1,495, depending on its size.
Let’s talk
Planning a new website?
Tell me what’s changing and when. I’ll reply personally, usually the same working day.