Cloud & DevOps
Website migration: change host, domain or CMS without losing your search rankings
A website migration means moving an existing site to a new host, a new domain name, a new protocol (HTTP to HTTPS) or a new CMS without your visitors or Google noticing. It is a routine technical operation, yet a poorly prepared migration is one of the most common causes of sudden drops in organic traffic.
This service is for businesses, online retailers and publishers whose website is a commercial asset: every indexed URL, every backlink and every ranking earned must be preserved. It applies equally to a WordPress brochure site, a PrestaShop store or a custom application.
We handle the full URL inventory, the 301 redirect map, lowering DNS TTLs ahead of time, the cutover itself and post-migration monitoring in Google Search Console. The goal is simple: no lost pages, no unexpected 404 errors, no visible interruption.
When do we step in?
Changing hosting provider
Your current host is slow, overpriced or no longer maintained. Files, database, certificates and scheduled tasks must move to new infrastructure without any service interruption.
Changing domain name
A merger, a rebrand or a move from a national to an international domain: every old URL must 301-redirect to its exact equivalent, and Google must be notified through the change of address tool.
Moving to HTTPS
Your site is still served over HTTP or has partial HTTPS with mixed content. The certificate must be installed, redirects enforced, HTTP-loaded resources fixed, and canonical tags and the sitemap updated.
Switching CMS
Moving from Wix, Joomla, Drupal or a static site to WordPress, or from WordPress to a modern framework. The URL structure usually changes: the mapping table must be built page by page before any cutover.
Redesign with a new site structure
A visual redesign often comes with a reorganisation of pages. Without a redirect plan, your best-ranking pages drop out of the index within weeks.
How we work
- 1
Audit and URL inventory
We crawl the existing site, export indexed URLs from Google Search Console, list pages that receive backlinks and record current rankings. This inventory becomes the reference for validating the migration.
- 2
Redirect mapping
Every old URL is paired with its new destination in a mapping table. We avoid redirect chains and bulk redirects to the homepage, which Google treats as soft 404 errors.
- 3
Preparing the target environment
Setting up the new hosting or CMS, copying files and the database, configuring the TLS certificate, and lowering the DNS TTL to a few minutes several days before cutover so the change propagates quickly.
- 4
Testing on a staging environment
The migrated site is tested through the hosts file or a temporary subdomain: forms, checkout, search, customer area, email sending, performance. Redirects are verified automatically across the entire inventory.
- 5
Cutover
Choosing a low-traffic window, freezing changes on the old site, running a final data sync, switching DNS records, then checking response codes and error logs in real time.
- 6
Post-migration monitoring
Submitting the new sitemap, watching crawl and coverage errors in Search Console, comparing rankings and traffic against the initial inventory for several weeks, and fixing any missing redirects.
Technologies we use
- 301 redirects (Nginx, Apache, .htaccess)
- DNS (Cloudflare, Route 53, OVH)
- Let's Encrypt TLS certificates
- Google Search Console
- Screaming Frog
- rsync and SSH
- WP-CLI
- MySQL and MariaDB
- Cloudflare
- WordPress and PrestaShop
Related expertise
Why choose Agencei?
An SEO-first method
We do not treat a migration as simply moving files. The URL inventory, redirects and Search Console verification are part of the default scope, not an optional extra.
Automated redirect testing
Before and after cutover, every URL in the inventory is requested by script to check the response code and final destination. Omissions are caught before Google finds them.
Zero-downtime cutover
Thanks to lowered TTLs, a write freeze and a final sync, the cutover window is usually limited to a few minutes, often with no perceived downtime at all.
Multi-CMS and custom expertise
We migrate WordPress and PrestaShop sites as well as Node.js, PHP or Java applications, hosted on OVH, o2switch, AWS or dedicated servers.
In brief
- What is this service?
- Website migration is the process of moving an existing site to a new host, a new domain, HTTPS or a new CMS while preserving URLs, redirects and search rankings.
- Who is it for?
- Businesses, online retailers and publishers whose site generates traffic or revenue and who cannot afford lost rankings or downtime.
- What problem does it solve?
- Preventing the organic traffic losses, 404 errors, unindexed pages and outages that come with an improvised migration.
- How long does it usually take?
- Typically a few days for a simple hosting change, up to several weeks for a CMS switch with a new site structure. Post-migration monitoring continues for several weeks.
- What factors influence the price?
- The number of URLs and pages to map, whether the CMS and URL structure change, the complexity of features to test (checkout, customer area) and the availability of technical access.
- How does the engagement run?
- URL inventory, 301 redirect mapping, target environment preparation with lowered DNS TTL, staging tests, cutover during a quiet window, then monitoring in Google Search Console.
- What are the risks?
- Missing or chained redirects, pages removed without an equivalent, indexing block left active, forgotten DNS or MX records, and mixed content after moving to HTTPS.
- What alternatives exist?
- Keeping the current hosting and optimising it, or migrating progressively section by section when the site is very large.
Frequently asked questions
Does a website migration always cost search rankings?
No. A temporary dip of a few days is possible while Google recrawls the site, but a well-prepared migration keeps rankings intact. Lasting losses almost always come from missing redirects, pages removed without an equivalent, or an indexing block left active on the new site.
How long is the site down during cutover?
Usually a few minutes at most, and often with no visible interruption. We lower the DNS TTL several days ahead, prepare an identical target site and run the final sync just before switching DNS.
Should I keep the old domain after a name change?
Yes, for as long as possible. 301 redirects from the old domain must remain active for at least a year, ideally indefinitely, because external links and bookmarks will keep pointing to the old addresses.
Can you migrate a site if I don't have server access?
In most cases, yes. FTP or SFTP access, a database export or CMS admin access is often enough. If no access is available at all, we can rebuild the content from a crawl, but this requires more work.
What happens to email linked to the domain?
MX records are inventoried before cutover and reproduced exactly. If email is also changing provider, we plan that step separately to avoid any lost messages.
Does switching CMS change the URLs?
Almost always. That is exactly why a page-by-page mapping table is built before cutover. Whenever possible, we keep the existing URL structure to minimise redirects.
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