Eric Mutema

Question 03 of 06

How do I migrate my store or website without losing SEO?

Short answer

Keep the same content, map every old URL to its new one, add 301 redirects for every URL that changes, and check Search Console after launch. Most traffic drops after a migration come from missing redirects, not from the new platform.

Why rankings drop after a migration

Search engines rank individual URLs. If a product page moves from one address to another with no redirect, the old address returns a 404 and its rankings are lost. Platforms use different URL patterns, so a platform change almost always changes URLs. Shopify, for example, puts products under /products/ and collections under /collections/, while WooCommerce defaults to /product/ and /product-category/.

The steps that protect rankings

  • Crawl the old site and export every URL, including products, categories, posts, pages and images that get search traffic.
  • Pull your top pages from Search Console and analytics, so you know which URLs matter most.
  • Build a redirect map: each old URL to its closest new equivalent. Don't send everything to the homepage.
  • Keep titles, headings, body content and meta descriptions the same at launch. Change the platform first and the content later, so you can tell which change affected rankings.
  • Add the redirects as 301s on the new site, then test them before switching DNS.
  • After launch, submit the new sitemap, watch Search Console's page indexing and 404 reports, and fix gaps as they appear.

What else can break

  • Internal links that still point to old URLs.
  • Image URLs, which also carry search traffic for many stores.
  • Structured data, such as product prices and reviews, that the old theme or an app provided.
  • Customer accounts: passwords can't be exported between platforms, so plan a reset email.
  • Website & store migrations: Move a site or store to a new platform, theme or host with your content, orders, customers and URLs intact.
  • Global Atlanta case study: Moved a 30-year-old international business publication off Newspack to a custom GeneratePress build, then stabilized its performance, data and security.

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