Websites. Reviewed October 29, 2026
Website migration
Also called: Platform migration, Site move
A website migration moves a site to a new platform, host or domain, and the checklist that protects rankings is a page inventory, a one-to-one redirect map and a Search Console check after launch.
In practice
Moving off Wix, GoDaddy, Squarespace or a rented agency platform is the common case. Export what can be exported, rebuild what cannot, keep every address that has rankings or redirect it, and keep the old site live until the new one is indexed.
A domain change is the riskiest version and takes months to settle. Avoid it unless the old domain is unusable.
Related terms
- 301 redirectA 301 redirect permanently sends visitors and search engines from an old web address to a new one and passes most of the old page's ranking value along with them.
- Website redesignA website redesign rebuilds the look and structure of an existing site, and done carelessly it loses rankings because old page addresses disappear without redirects.
- Website ownershipWebsite ownership means the business holds the domain, the code and the content and can take all three to any host or agency; a rented site lives on a provider's platform and goes dark when the subscription stops.
- XML sitemapAn XML sitemap is a file, usually at /sitemap.xml, that lists every page a site wants search engines to crawl along with the date each one last changed.
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