Moving a website is like moving a physical house: All content, design, and functionality must be packed up, transported, and unpacked in a new location. This “new location” could be a new URL, a different server, a new content management system (CMS), or a completely new website structure.
A move can be technically demanding. That’s why it’s important to plan the move carefully. Otherwise, you risk damaging the user experience, losing rankings in Google (SEO), and having a website that doesn’t function optimally.
Why move a website?
There can be many reasons for moving – new company name, better website address, new CMS or perhaps an improved structure. Regardless of the reason, it is crucial to follow best practices, especially in technical SEO, to ensure a smooth transition.
Types of Website Moves
There are several ways to move a website. Each type has its own characteristics:
1. Domain Change (New Domain Name)
When you change your domain, you move your entire website to a new web address. It’s like changing the address of a house. For example, www.gammelt-firma.dk become to www.nyt-firma.dk. This often happens when a company changes its name. Or if you want a shorter or better web address.
2. CMS Migration (New System)
A CMS migration means that you change the system (Content Management System) that the website is built in. It can be a switch from WordPress to Shopify, from Joomla to Drupal, or from one system to another.
In a way, it’s a bit like changing the operating system on a computer. The website’s content and design must be transferred to the new system.
3. Server move (New Hosting)
A server migration means that the website’s files and database are moved to a new server. This can be with a new hosting provider or to another server with the same provider.
You can think of it as giving the website a new “engine” to run on. This is often done to improve the speed or stability of the website.
4. Structural changes (Redesign/Restructuring)
Structural changes mean changing the way the website is structured. This could be changes to menus, web addresses (URLs), or the way the content is organized. You can think of it in the same way as remodeling a house, where you change the layout of the rooms, move doors, etc.
5. SEO migration
An SEO migration is not a standalone type of migration as such, but an important part of all the other types. It is about ensuring that the website maintains (or improves) its visibility in search engines like Google when it is moved.
It requires careful planning and monitoring, otherwise you risk losing your rankings.
How do I minimize SEO losses during a website move?
When moving a website, there are some important things to remember. If you do it wrong, it can mean that fewer people can find your website.
To avoid this, you must follow a number of SEO best practices:
- 301 redirects: Make sure all old URLs are properly redirected to the new ones via 301 redirects. This tells search engines that the page has permanently moved.
- Updating internal links: All internal links should point to the new URLs to avoid unnecessary redirects and improve crawl efficiency.
- Sitemap and robots.txt: Update and resubmit XML sitemaps in Google Search Console and check that robots.txt is not blocking important pages.
- Crawl and benchmarking: Perform a technical crawl of the site before and after the move to identify any errors and ensure that all redirects are working correctly.
- Monitoring traffic and rankings: Follow traffic and keyword rankings closely in the weeks following the move to catch and fix any issues early.
Read more about technical SEO and how it supports a safe website migration.
Checklist for a successful move
To ensure a smooth transition, a detailed checklist should be followed:
- Map all existing URLs
- Plan the new information architecture
- Set up 301 redirects for all relevant pages
- Test redirects and technical functionality on a staging environment
- Update all tracking codes and scripts
- Notify Google via Search Console of changes
- Follow up with a technical SEO audit after going live
Risk and consequences
Inadequate planning and execution of a website migration can lead to:
- Decline in organic traffic
- Loss of search engine rankings
- Broken links and degraded user experience
- Inconsistent brand identity
Therefore, website relocation should always be handled in collaboration with technical SEO specialists and developers to minimize risks and maintain digital visibility.
How long does a website migration take?
The timeframe for a website migration varies significantly depending on the complexity of the project. A simple move of a small website to a new server with the same domain and structure can potentially be completed in a few hours if everything goes according to plan.
However, in most cases, it is more realistic to expect the actual migration to take 1-3 days for smaller to medium-sized websites. Larger websites, e-commerce platforms, or websites with complex features may take several days or even weeks to migrate.
However, it is crucial to understand that the active migration period is only part of the overall process. The total time also includes a thorough preparation phase (planning, backup, setting up the new environment) and a subsequent testing and optimization phase (checking links, redirects, performance, SEO). It is during these phases that most unforeseen issues are typically discovered and resolved.
Therefore, it is wise to allocate sufficient time for the entire process, typically 1-4 weeks depending on the size and complexity of the website, although the active migration may only take a fraction of this time.
