What is a website migration and why is it risky?

A website migration is any change to your site that affects how Google crawls and indexes it — changing domain, switching platforms (e.g., Wix to WordPress), restructuring URLs, moving HTTP to HTTPS, or merging multiple domains. The risk: if 301 redirects, canonicals, internal links, or content depth aren't preserved, organic traffic can drop 30–70% within weeks. Done correctly, a migration preserves rankings and often improves them.

How much does a website migration cost?

Migration projects at MarketiXpert range from $1,500 to $15,000 USD depending on size and complexity. A simple platform migration (Wix → WordPress, < 50 pages) starts at $1,500. A domain change with 500+ URLs starts at $4,000. Enterprise migrations (10,000+ URLs, multilingual, e-commerce catalog) are custom-quoted.

How long does a migration take?

Small migrations (under 50 pages) take 1–2 weeks. Standard platform migrations (50–500 pages) take 3–5 weeks. Complex domain or multi-site migrations take 6–12 weeks. Most of the time is spent on the redirect map, content audit, and pre-launch testing — the actual cutover takes hours, not days.

Will my Google rankings drop during a migration?

Some short-term fluctuation (5–15% on some queries) is normal for 2–4 weeks while Google re-crawls and re-indexes the new structure. With our migration process, rankings typically recover within 30 days and often improve due to better Core Web Vitals, cleaner URL structure, and removed legacy technical debt.

What types of migrations do you handle?

Platform migrations (WordPress, Shopify, Webflow, Wix, Squarespace, custom code), domain changes (example.com to example.io), HTTP → HTTPS, www → non-www (or vice versa), subdomain → subfolder (blog.example.com → example.com/blog), site mergers (two domains into one), and country/language consolidation (multiple ccTLDs → hreflang on one root).

Do you provide ongoing SEO after the migration?

Yes. Every migration includes a 30-day post-launch monitoring window with daily index checks, weekly ranking reports, and immediate fix-up of any 404s or canonical issues that surface. After 30 days, we offer optional monthly SEO retainers starting at $750 USD/month.

Website Migration Services | WordPress, Shopify, Domain — MarketiXpert

Q: How long does a migration take?

Small migrations (under 50 pages) take 1–2 weeks. Standard platform migrations (50–500 pages) take 3–5 weeks. Complex domain or multi-site migrations take 6–12 weeks. Most of the time is spent on the redirect map, content audit, and pre-launch testing — the actual cutover takes hours, not days.

Q: Will my Google rankings drop during a migration?

Some short-term fluctuation (5–15% on some queries) is normal for 2–4 weeks while Google re-crawls and re-indexes the new structure. With our migration process, rankings typically recover within 30 days and often improve due to better Core Web Vitals, cleaner URL structure, and removed legacy technical debt.

Q: What types of migrations do you handle?

Platform migrations (WordPress, Shopify, Webflow, Wix, Squarespace, custom code), domain changes (example.com to example.io), HTTP → HTTPS, www → non-www (or vice versa), subdomain → subfolder (blog.example.com → example.com/blog), site mergers (two domains into one), and country/language consolidation (multiple ccTLDs → hreflang on one root).

Q: Do you provide ongoing SEO after the migration?

Yes. Every migration includes a 30-day post-launch monitoring window with daily index checks, weekly ranking reports, and immediate fix-up of any 404s or canonical issues that surface. After 30 days, we offer optional monthly SEO retainers starting at $750 USD/month.

Website Migration Done Right — No Lost Rankings, No Surprises

Switching platforms. Changing domains. Cleaning up URL structure. Moving from HTTP to HTTPS. Consolidating multiple sites into one. These are some of the highest-risk projects a business website ever goes through — and most agencies do them badly.

MarketiXpert specializes in SEO-preserving migrations. We've moved sites with 50,000+ URLs without losing a single top-10 ranking, and we've fixed migrations that other agencies wrecked.

Book a free migration audit →

Why Migrations Go Wrong

The vast majority of failed migrations share the same root causes:

No 301 redirect map — old URLs return 404s, killing link equity
Truncated meta tags — title tags + descriptions rewritten without SEO input
Lost canonical tags — duplicate content suddenly appears
Removed schema markup — rich results disappear from SERPs
Broken internal linking — pages become orphaned
Forgotten robots.txt or sitemap — Google can't find or crawl the new site
No Search Console re-submission — index lag stretches from days to months
Untested mobile rendering — Core Web Vitals collapse on the new platform
Missing analytics + tracking — you don't even see the bleeding for weeks

Our migration process eliminates every one of these failure modes.

Types of Website Migrations We Handle

Platform Migrations

Wix → WordPress (most common: businesses outgrow Wix limits)
Squarespace → WordPress / Webflow
WordPress → Headless Next.js
Shopify → WooCommerce (or reverse — depends on operational fit)
Webflow → WordPress / Next.js
HubSpot CMS → WordPress
Custom PHP → Modern stack (Next.js, Laravel, etc.)

Domain Migrations

example.com → newbrand.com (rebrand)
example.net → example.com (consolidating TLDs)
HTTP → HTTPS (still surprisingly common)
www → non-www (or reverse) — see also our www canonical fix work

Structural Migrations

Subdomain → subfolder (blog.example.com → example.com/blog) — often improves rankings
Deep URL restructure (e.g., /2018/03/post-name → /posts/post-name)
Category consolidation (merging overlapping content silos)
Multi-site merger (combining two domains' content into one)

International / Multilingual

ccTLD consolidation (example.co.uk + example.ca → example.com with hreflang)
Adding new language versions with correct hreflang
Removing failed localizations without losing English equity

Our 6-Step Migration Process

Step 1: Discovery + Baseline (3–5 days)

We fully crawl your existing site and snapshot:

All indexed URLs (every page, post, image, PDF)
Current rankings for top 200 keywords
Backlink profile and authority pages
Current Core Web Vitals
Existing schema and meta data
Forms, conversions, tracking events
Server logs (when available) to see how Googlebot crawls today

Step 2: Redirect Map (5–10 days)

The single most important artifact in any migration:

1:1 old URL → new URL mapping for every indexed page
Wildcard rules for dynamic content (e.g., /2020/*/* → /posts/*)
410 (gone) for genuinely-removed pages — never just 404
Consolidation logic for duplicate / thin content
Hash-fragment and query-string rules
Anchor link preservation for jump-link traffic

Every entry in the redirect map is validated against the new site before launch.

Step 3: New Site Build / Configure (varies)

If part of a redesign, this is where the new site is built. If migrating to an existing site, we configure:

Canonical tags
robots.txt and XML sitemap
Schema markup (mirrored or improved from old site)
Open Graph / Twitter meta
Internal linking that mirrors old crawl paths

Step 4: Pre-Launch Test (3–5 days)

On a staging environment, we verify:

Every URL in the redirect map returns the correct HTTP 301
All canonical tags point to the new URL
No mixed-content warnings (HTTPS)
Schema validates in Google Rich Results Test
Forms submit, analytics fire, payments process
Mobile, tablet, desktop render correctly
Core Web Vitals on the new site meet or beat the old site

Step 5: Cutover (2–6 hours)

Performed during your lowest-traffic window (often weekend mornings):

DNS or hosting switch
Live verification of redirect map (sampling 10–20% of URLs)
Search Console: submit new sitemap, request indexing on top 50 pages
GA4 + GTM verification
24-hour monitoring of error rates and 404s

Step 6: 30-Day Post-Launch Care

Daily crawl for new 404s
Weekly ranking + index status report
Immediate fix-up for any redirect issues that surface
Disavow file update if any toxic backlinks newly point to dead URLs
Final sign-off report at day 30

Migration Packages

Project Size	Timeline	Starting Price
Small (< 50 URLs)	1–2 weeks	$1,500 USD
Standard (50–500 URLs)	3–5 weeks	$3,500 USD
Large (500–5,000 URLs)	6–10 weeks	$7,500 USD
Enterprise (5,000+ URLs, multilingual, e-com)	8–16 weeks	Custom quote

All packages include baseline audit, 301 redirect map, structured data preservation, pre-launch QA, cutover support, and 30-day post-launch monitoring.

Real-World Migration Risks We Catch

Before you commit to a migration with anyone, ask if they've thought through:

What happens to paginated URLs (?page=2, /page/2/) — preserved or consolidated?
Are PDF assets in your redirect map? They often rank.
How do you handle case-sensitive URLs (/Service vs /service)?
What's the plan for /feed/, /rss/, /amp/ legacy paths?
Are you preserving anchor links (#section) for documentation traffic?
How will email signature backlinks (often the longest-lived legacy URLs) be redirected?

If your prospective agency can't answer these, find a different one. (Or hire us.)

Ready to Migrate Without Losing Rankings?

Whether you're moving platforms, changing domains, or finally fixing a messy URL structure, we'll make sure your SEO investment survives the move.

Book your free migration audit →

Or email info@marketixpert.com with your current site URL and migration goal — we'll respond within one business day with a no-obligation scope and quote.