Website migration checklist: move without losing Google

A website migration is any move that changes where your pages live or what they run on: a new platform (say, Wix to WordPress), a new domain, new page addresses, or a new host. The checklist that protects your Google traffic comes down to five jobs. List every page you have now and note how each one performs. Map every old address to its new one and set up permanent (301) redirects. Carry over titles, descriptions and content on the pages that bring in visitors. Test everything on launch day. Then watch Search Console closely for the first month. Wrong redirects and leftover noindex blocks top Google's own list of migration mistakes, and both are avoidable.

What counts as a website migration

Google's guide to site moves with URL changes covers three kinds of change: moving from HTTP to HTTPS, changing your domain name, and changing the paths of your pages (for example, from /page.php?id=1 to /services/roof-repair). A platform switch almost always falls in the last group, because Wix, Squarespace and WordPress each build page addresses differently.

A host move where every address stays exactly the same is simpler. Google treats that as an infrastructure change, and you mostly need to make sure nothing breaks during the switch.

One piece of advice from Google that owners often skip: change one thing at a time. If you're moving to a new domain, switching platforms and redesigning, Google suggests doing them one after another so you can tell what caused any drop. If you're planning a full redesign at the same time, our post on what a website redesign costs covers that side.

Before you move: list every page and benchmark

You can't redirect pages you don't know about. Before anything changes:

• Export a list of every URL on the current site. Your sitemap (usually yoursite.com/sitemap.xml) is the easiest start. Add anything else from your CMS page list.
• In Google Search Console, open the Performance report and export the top pages and queries for the last 12 months. These are the pages you most need to protect.
• Note which pages other sites link to. Search Console's Links report shows them.
• Don't forget files. PDFs, menus, price lists and images can get search traffic of their own. Google's guide says to move them and redirect them like any page.
• Save a benchmark: monthly clicks, top pages, and how many inquiries the site sent last month. You'll compare against these numbers after launch.
• Make sure you can sign in to your domain registrar and that the domain is in your name. A migration is a bad week to discover the old developer owns it.

Build the redirect map

The redirect map is a simple spreadsheet with two columns: old URL and new URL. Every page that gets traffic or links needs a row.

Rules for filling it in, all taken from Google's guidance:

• Point each old page at its closest match on the new site. An old "roof repair" page goes to the new roof repair page.
• Don't send everything to the homepage. Google says redirecting many old URLs to one irrelevant page can confuse people and may be treated as a soft 404, which means Google treats it as missing.
• If you've merged several old pages into one new page, redirect them all to that page. That's allowed.
• If a page is gone for good with no replacement, let it return a 404 or 410 error.
• Use server-side permanent redirects, 301 or 308. Google's page on redirects and Google Search explains the types. On WordPress this is usually a redirect plugin or your host's settings; on most hosted builders it's a redirect panel in the site settings.
• Avoid chains, where page A redirects to B and B to C. Redirect straight to the final address.

Google also says plainly that 301 and other permanent redirects don't lose PageRank, so a correct redirect doesn't cost you ranking.

Moving off Wix or Squarespace: what comes with you

Your domain can come with you on any platform, as long as it's registered in your name. Your design and code mostly can't.

Wix says a Wix site must run on Wix's servers and can't be exported to another host. You can export some data, such as CMS collections, and download your images, but the pages themselves get rebuilt on the new platform.

Squarespace offers an export file meant for WordPress. Its help center lists what it includes: layout pages, one blog with its posts and comments, text and image blocks, and gallery pages. Store pages, product, audio and video blocks, extra blogs, drafts, styles and custom CSS don't export. Squarespace also warns that images may not come across with some import methods, so download your originals.

Either way, plan to recheck every page by hand after the import. Exports move words and pictures. They don't carry over your page titles, meta descriptions, redirects or forms reliably.

During the move: content, titles and forms

On the new site, before launch:

• Keep the content of your top pages. Rewriting everything at once makes it hard to tell whether a drop came from the move or the new copy.
• Copy over each page's title tag and meta description, at least for the pages that get traffic.
• Keep your headings and internal links. Update internal links so they point at the new URLs directly, so visitors don't bounce through redirects.
• Rebuild forms and send a test from each one to make sure the inquiry reaches you.
• Reconnect analytics and verify the new site in Search Console. If you verify with an HTML file or meta tag, make sure it's on the new site.
• If you hide the new site from Google while you build it, with a robots.txt block or noindex tags, write down exactly where, so you can remove them at launch.

Launch day checks

Google recommends moving a small or medium site all at once. On the day:

1. Turn on the redirects.
2. Remove any noindex tags and robots.txt blocks left from development. Google lists forgetting this as a common mistake.
3. Check that each new page's canonical tag points to its own new address.
4. Test redirects. Click through your top 20 old URLs from the benchmark list and confirm each lands on the right new page in one hop. Search Console's URL Inspection tool helps here.
5. Submit the new sitemap in Search Console.
6. If you changed domain, use Search Console's Change of Address tool on the old domain. Google says you only need it for domain or subdomain changes.
7. Test every form and the phone links on a real phone.
8. Update your Google Business Profile website link and your social profiles if the address changed.

The first month: what to watch in Search Console

Google says to expect some ranking fluctuation while it recrawls, and that a small to medium site can take a few weeks for most pages to move over. Bigger sites take longer. A short dip is normal. A steady slide is a sign something's wrong.

Check weekly:

• The Page indexing report on the new site. Indexed pages should climb, and "Not found (404)" errors should stay low. A spike in 404s usually means a gap in the redirect map.
• The Performance report. Compare clicks and top pages against your benchmark.
• The sitemap report. The new sitemap's indexed count should rise over time.
• Inquiries. Forms and calls are the number that pays the bills.

Keep the redirects in place for as long as you can. Google's guidance is at least a year, and it suggests keeping them indefinitely from a visitor's point of view. Don't let the old domain expire either, or the redirects go with it.

What a migration quote should include

A migration done properly is a project with a written plan. Before you sign, check that the quote covers:

• A full URL list and the redirect map, and who checks it.
• Moving content, images and files, and carrying over titles and descriptions.
• Rebuilding forms and reconnecting analytics and Search Console.
• Launch-day testing.
• Some form of check in the weeks after launch.
• Who owns the domain, the new site and its content afterward.

For reference, our published prices: moving a site from Wix, Squarespace or an old WordPress install starts from $250 as an add-on, and an extra page is $150. Our pricing page lists the full builds, and our Starter and Business website builds include launch, redirects and a handover session. We build custom sites on Next.js or on WordPress, and the domain, code and content stay yours. We can't promise every ranking survives a move unchanged, and nobody honestly can. What we do is keep useful pages, map old links to new ones and carry over titles and descriptions to keep the risk low.

If you're planning a move and want a second opinion on the plan, tell us about your site.

FAQ

What does it mean to migrate a website?

It means moving a site to a new platform, domain, host or set of page addresses. The aim is that visitors and Google find everything in its new place, which is what redirects are for.

Will I lose my Google rankings if I move my site?

Some short-term fluctuation is normal while Google recrawls. Google says rankings settle down over time. A complete redirect map, carried-over titles and content, and no leftover noindex tags give you the best chance. Missing or wrong redirects are one of the common mistakes Google lists.

How long does a website migration take?

For a small site the build and move often take a few weeks. After launch, Google says a small to medium site can take a few weeks for most pages to be reindexed at their new addresses.

Can I move from Wix or Squarespace to WordPress and keep my domain?

Yes, if the domain is registered in your name. The domain moves; the design usually has to be rebuilt. Squarespace offers a partial content export for WordPress, and Wix sites can't be exported to another host.

How long should redirects stay in place?

Google recommends at least a year, and keeping them indefinitely if you can. Keep renewing the old domain as long as the redirects matter.

How much does a website migration cost?

It depends on the number of pages, how much has to be rebuilt and whether the design changes. At Ortha, moving from Wix, Squarespace or an old WordPress site starts from $250 as an add-on to a build.