ServicesWebsite Migration Services

Website Migration Services

Platform changes, domain moves and site restructures planned so your rankings, enquiry forms and email survive the switch: full URL inventory, one-to-one redirect mapping, launch checks and a rollback plan.

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Move the site without losing what ranks.

WEBSITE MIGRATION SERVICES
Inventory everything

URLs, backlinks, forms, tags, DNS records.

Map redirects and rehearse

One-to-one 301s tested on staging.

Launch, watch, roll back if needed

Crawl, 404 monitoring, Search Console.

Standard migration path · Rollback agreed before launch

What we can help with

What a migration plan covers

Platform changes, domain changes and URL restructures each carry different risks. The plan covers all of these.

  • Crawl of every live URL, plus pages with backlinks or traffic
  • Redirect map pairing each old URL with its closest new page
  • Titles, descriptions, headings and schema carried across
  • Forms, call tracking, analytics and pixels re-tested
  • DNS, email (MX) and SSL checks before the switch
  • Rollback plan and post-launch monitoring for 404s

Website Migration Services in practice

The common ways migrations lose traffic

Most migration damage comes from a handful of mistakes: old URLs left to 404 instead of redirecting, every old page redirected to the home page, the staging site’s noindex setting copied to production, titles and service copy rewritten carelessly, or tracking tags left behind. Domain moves add their own traps, such as email stopping because the MX records weren’t copied to the new DNS host. Each of these is preventable with a checklist and someone responsible for it.

Redirects, canonicals, sitemaps and crawl checks are core technical SEO work, so a migration is planned with SEO from the first inventory rather than patched after launch.

Planning and implementation

Redirect mapping, launch day and the way back

URLs are pulled from a site crawl, the XML sitemap, Search Console and analytics so pages with traffic or backlinks aren’t missed. Each gets mapped to its most relevant new URL and tested on staging. Before launch day, DNS TTLs are lowered, the old site stays intact on its host, and a named person can point DNS back if something serious fails. For domain changes, Search Console’s Change of Address tool is used once redirects are confirmed working.

If the move includes a rebuild, the new site is scoped under website development. Migrations that add or merge country or language versions need international SEO planning for hreflang and regional URLs.

How we work

Migration in three stages

01

Inventory and benchmark

Current rankings, traffic by page, backlinks, forms and tracking are recorded as a baseline for after the move.

02

Map, build and rehearse

The redirect map and launch checklist are tested on staging, including forms, tags, robots settings and DNS records.

03

Switch, monitor, fix

After launch we crawl the new site, check redirects, watch 404s and indexing in Search Console, and close gaps quickly.

Measurement and review

Measuring a migration

Compare organic clicks, rankings for key service terms, enquiries and indexed pages against the pre-migration baseline. Some short-term ranking movement is normal while Google recrawls. A sustained drop on specific pages usually points to a missed redirect or changed content that can be traced.

Keep the redirects in place long term rather than removing them after a few months, and keep the old domain registered if you moved away from it, because old links and bookmarks keep sending visitors for years.

Good questions

Website migration questions

A few useful answers before we talk.

Will we lose Google rankings when we migrate?

Some temporary fluctuation is common while Google recrawls and processes redirects. Lasting losses usually have avoidable causes: missing redirects, removed content, changed titles, slower pages or an accidental noindex. A full URL inventory, one-to-one redirect map and post-launch monitoring keep the risk low. Nobody can honestly guarantee zero movement, but a carefully run migration should recover to its previous level, and a better new site can improve on it.

Why not redirect all the old pages to the home page?

Google tends to treat mass redirects to an unrelated page as soft 404s, so the ranking value of the old pages is largely lost. Visitors following an old link to a specific service also land somewhere irrelevant and leave. Each old URL should point to the closest matching new page. If a page genuinely has no equivalent, redirect it to the nearest relevant section or let it return a 404 or 410.

What happens to our email when we change domain or DNS host?

Email depends on DNS records such as MX, SPF, DKIM and DMARC. If those aren't recreated exactly at the new DNS host before nameservers change, mail can stop arriving or start landing in spam. The full DNS zone is exported before any change, each record is checked afterwards and test emails are sent. Moving the website to a new host doesn't need to touch email at all if the records are handled properly.

What is the rollback plan?

The old site stays live on its original host, untouched, until the new one passes launch checks. DNS TTLs are lowered beforehand so a switch back takes effect quickly. If a critical problem appears, such as forms failing or checkout breaking, DNS is pointed back to the old host, the issue is fixed on staging and the site is relaunched. The decision criteria, and who makes the call, are agreed before launch day.

Can the free audit check our site before a migration?

Yes, and it's a sensible first step. The audit reviews which pages bring in traffic and enquiries, the current technical setup and existing problems such as broken redirects or duplicate pages, so the migration starts from a clean baseline. It also helps you judge how much migration work is involved. Planning and running the move is quoted separately. Request the free audit before you migrate.

Connected services

Make the next part work, too.

01

Technical SEO

Crawl, indexing and redirect work that protects rankings.

Explore Technical SEO

02

Website Development

The new build, when a migration includes a redesign.

Explore Website Development

03

International SEO

Hreflang and regional URL planning for multi-country moves.

Explore International SEO

A useful starting point

Check your site before you move it

For migrations, the audit records which pages carry your traffic and enquiries, so nothing important gets left behind.

  • Pages with organic traffic, backlinks or steady enquiries
  • Existing redirect chains, 404s and duplicate URLs
  • Tracking and forms that must be rebuilt on the new platform
See the 100% free audit offer

Get a 100% free audit with an actionable checklist.

Tell us what you’re moving from and to, and we’ll outline the risks.

Get my free audit & checklist