Short answer
- A website migration is any change that moves pages to new addresses: a new domain, a new platform, a redesign with new URLs, or switching from http to https.
- The single most important step is a 301 redirect from every old page to its closest new page. Most traffic losses after a redesign come from skipping this.
- Audit before launch, launch at a quiet time, then watch Google Search Console daily for the first few weeks.
- Some ups and downs for a few weeks are normal. A steep, lasting drop usually means missing redirects, blocked pages or lost content.
Which kind of migration are you doing?
The risk depends on how much changes at once. The more things change together, the harder it is to tell what caused a drop.
| Type | Example | Risk | What matters most |
|---|---|---|---|
| New design, same URLs | Fresh look, every page keeps its address | Low | Keep titles, headings and text on each page |
| New platform | Wix or Squarespace to WordPress or a hand-built site | Medium | Platforms format URLs differently, so redirects are needed |
| New URL structure | /services.html becomes /services/roof-repair | Medium to high | A complete URL map and 301 redirects |
| New domain | oldname.com to newbrand.com | High | Redirects plus Google's Change of Address tool |
| Several at once | New domain, platform and content together | Highest | Split into stages if you can |
Google's own documentation on moving a site with URL changes covers the technical side. Below is the small-business version.
Before you move: build the URL map
A URL map is a simple two-column spreadsheet: every old address on the left, the new address it should send visitors to on the right. It sounds tedious, and for a 15-page site it takes about an hour. It's the hour that saves your traffic.
- List every old URL. Use your sitemap, a crawl of the old site, and the Pages report in Google Search Console. Don't forget blog posts, old landing pages and PDF files people link to.
- Mark which pages actually matter. In Search Console's Performance report, sort pages by clicks. These are the pages you cannot afford to break.
- Match each old page to the closest new page. A "kitchen remodeling" page should redirect to the new kitchen page, not the homepage. Redirecting everything to the homepage tends to be treated like a missing page.
- Decide what to do with pages you're dropping. If there's a close equivalent, redirect to it. If there truly is none, it can return a proper "not found".
Hypothetical example: a landscaper's old site has /lawn-mowing.html with steady clicks from "lawn mowing service" searches. The new site calls it /services/mowing. Without a redirect, Google keeps showing the old address, visitors land on an error, and the page slowly drops out of results. With a 301 redirect, the old page's signals pass to the new one.
The pre-launch SEO migration audit
Before the new site goes live, check it on its staging or preview address:
| Check | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Every important old page has a matching new page with similar content | Rankings follow content; if the text disappears, so do the rankings |
| Page titles and meta descriptions written for every page | Blank or duplicate titles make it harder for Google to understand pages |
| Headings and key service text kept or improved | Redesigns often trim words to look clean and lose the details people search for |
| No "noindex" left on from development | A leftover noindex tag can remove the whole site from Google |
| Robots.txt doesn't block the site | Staging sites are often blocked; that setting must not go live |
| Internal links point to new URLs | Links that bounce through redirects slow things down |
| Structured data, NAP details and contact info match your Google Business Profile | Consistency helps local rankings |
| Mobile speed is at least as good as before | A slower site is a step backwards; see Website speed for small businesses |
Launch day
- Launch on a quiet day. Not the start of your busy season, and not right before a holiday when you can't watch it.
- Switch on the 301 redirects at the same moment the new site goes live, and test a sample of old URLs, starting with your top pages.
- Submit the new sitemap in Google Search Console and update the website link on your Google Business Profile.
- For a domain change, verify both domains in Search Console and use the Change of Address tool. Keep the old domain registered and redirecting; don't let it expire.
- Re-check tracking. Make sure analytics, ad conversion tags and call tracking fire on the new site, or you'll lose the data you need to judge the move.
The first 30 days after launch
| When | What to check |
|---|---|
| Days 1–3 | Test old URLs again, watch for spikes in "not found" errors, confirm contact forms and call buttons work |
| Week 1 | Search Console Pages report: are new pages being indexed? Any "blocked" or "noindex" surprises? |
| Weeks 2–4 | Compare clicks and impressions for your top pages against the same period before the move |
| Ongoing | Fix any redirect you missed, update links on directories and social profiles to the new URLs |
A temporary wobble is normal while Google re-crawls. What isn't normal is a drop that keeps getting worse after a few weeks. That almost always traces back to a missing redirect, a blocked section or content that was removed.
Mistakes that cost the most traffic
- No redirects at all. The most common and most expensive mistake, especially when a designer builds the new site from scratch without seeing the old one.
- Redirecting everything to the homepage. Visitors looking for a specific service land somewhere generic and leave.
- Cutting content to look minimal. The service details, prices and FAQs you removed were often what ranked.
- Changing everything at once. New domain, platform and content in one go makes problems hard to diagnose.
- Letting the old domain expire. Every link pointing to it breaks, and someone else can buy it.
- Forgetting the Google Business Profile link, which often still points to the old site for months.
How I handle it
When I rebuild a site as part of a website project, the URL map, redirects, Search Console setup and post-launch checks are part of the job, not an extra. If you're planning a move and want a second pair of eyes first, the free audit covers your current pages and what to protect. For ongoing technical work after the move, there's SEO services.