How to migrate your website to a new platform

Brands move to a new platform when the current one can no longer support what the site needs to do. A website migration is what that move involves, and getting it right requires preparation, a clear process, and an understanding of what can go wrong before anything is touched. This article covers every stage of that process so the site comes out stronger on the other side.

Moving to a new platform is often the right call. The current platform may no longer support what the site needs to do, the hosting arrangement may have become a bottleneck, or the URL structure may need to be reorganized as the site has grown. The case for migrating is usually easy to make. Executing it correctly is where things go wrong. For how to decide whether a migration is the right move at this stage, see the article on when to redesign your website.

What is a website migration?

A website migration is the process of moving a site from one platform, host, domain, or URL structure to another. It can be as contained as switching hosting providers while keeping everything else the same, or as extensive as rebuilding the entire site on a new platform with a restructured URL system and redesigned pages. The scope of the migration determines how complex the process is and how much risk it carries.

Any migration that changes URLs requires redirects to preserve the search rankings those pages have built up. Any migration that changes platforms requires content to be transferred accurately and tested before the new site goes live. Both categories require planning before anything is moved.

Types of website migration

Platform migration

Moving from one platform to another while keeping the same domain and URL structure where possible. This type is common when a site has outgrown its current platform's capabilities or when the platform is being discontinued. The primary risk is content transfer — ensuring every page, image, and data point arrives correctly on the new platform — and confirming that the new platform generates the same URLs as the old one, or that redirects are in place wherever they differ.

Host migration

Moving to a different hosting provider without changing the platform or the URLs. This is typically lower risk than a platform migration because the site itself does not change. The main risks are downtime during the transition and DNS propagation delays that can make the site temporarily unavailable. A staged transition minimizes both.

URL restructure

Changing the URL structure of a site without necessarily changing the platform. This might involve reorganizing pages into different categories, changing slug formats, or removing subfolder structures. Every URL that changes needs a redirect from the old address to the new one. A URL restructure without redirects loses all the search rankings attached to those old addresses.

Domain migration

Moving the site to a new domain name. This carries the highest SEO risk because every page is effectively moving to a new address. Setting up redirects from every page on the old domain to the equivalent on the new one, updating references wherever they exist, and monitoring rankings closely after the move are all essential steps in this type of migration.

What can go wrong during a website migration

Search rankings drop significantly

The most common and most damaging consequence of a poorly managed migration is a sharp drop in search visibility. This happens when URLs change without redirects, when content is not migrated completely, or when the new platform introduces technical issues that affect how search engines crawl and index the site. Some ranking variation is normal in the weeks following a migration. Severe or long-lasting drops signal that something was missed during the process.

Broken links throughout the site

A migration that changes URLs without updating internal links leaves the site with links pointing to addresses that no longer exist. Every internal link to an old URL becomes a broken link that sends visitors to an error page instead of the intended page. For how broken links affect visitor experience and search performance, see the article on what broken links are and why they hurt your site.

Content lost in transfer

Manual content migration across platforms with different data structures can result in pages that arrive incomplete, images that do not transfer, or formatting that breaks in the new environment. Running a full content audit before the migration and verifying each page after it goes live catches these issues before visitors encounter them.

Analytics data gaps

If analytics tracking is not set up correctly on the new site before it goes live, the migration creates a gap in historical data. Traffic, conversion, and behavior data from before the migration cannot be reconstructed afterward. Verifying that tracking is in place and collecting data correctly is one of the last checks before the new site is launched.

How to migrate a website

Audit all content before migrating

Start with a full inventory of the current site: every page, every image, every file. Identify which content will be migrated to the new site, which will be consolidated or removed, and which needs to be updated before it moves. A migration is a good opportunity to carry forward only what is still relevant and performing. Outdated content that was never reviewed does not need to move to the new platform.

Map old URLs to new ones

Before any content moves, create a complete mapping of every URL on the current site to its equivalent on the new one. For URLs that will change, this mapping becomes the redirect plan. For URLs that will stay the same, confirm the new platform will generate them identically. A single missing redirect means a page that previously ranked well now returns an error to every visitor and search engine that requests it. For how to handle pages that return errors after a migration, see the article on what a 404 error is and how to fix it.

Set up 301 redirects for every changed URL

Every URL that changes during the migration needs a 301 redirect from the old address to the new one. This tells search engines the page has permanently moved and transfers the ranking signals the old URL had accumulated to the new destination. Setting up redirects is not optional for any migration that changes URLs. Missing a significant portion of them will cause ranking drops that take months to recover.

Test thoroughly before going live

Before switching the domain to point to the new site, test everything on a staging environment: every page, every form, every link, every redirect. Check how the site loads and behaves on different devices. Verify that analytics tracking is collecting data correctly. Catching issues at this stage is far less disruptive than discovering them after visitors are already landing on the new site.

Monitor closely after launch

The days and weeks following a migration require closer attention than a typical week. Check that rankings are stable, that traffic is arriving at the expected pages, and that no unexpected errors are appearing. Set up monitoring alerts so availability issues are caught immediately rather than hours later. See the article on what website monitoring is and why you need it for how to have that in place before the migration goes live.

Website migration checklist

• Full content inventory completed before migration begins
• Old URLs mapped to new URLs with redirect plan confirmed
• 301 redirects set up for every changed URL
• Content migrated and verified on the new platform
• All internal links updated to reflect new URLs
• Analytics tracking verified and collecting data on the new site
• Site tested on desktop and mobile before going live
• Monitoring alerts configured and active from day one after launch
• Search engines notified via updated sitemaps
• Rankings and traffic monitored weekly for the first two months post-launch

How WEMASY supports website migration

WEMASY includes redirect management built into the dashboard, making it straightforward to set up 301 redirects for every URL that changes during a migration. The platform handles hosting, SSL, and performance configuration automatically, which removes a layer of technical complexity from the transition. For migrations to WEMASY from another platform, content can be transferred through the dashboard without requiring developer involvement for standard page types.

See what is included at the WEMASY website builder, or review plan options on the pricing page.

Frequently asked questions