Migrate a website without losing its SEO
· by the Agence Web Premium team, Guéliz Marrakech
Direct answer: a poorly prepared migration can lose 50 to 80% of organic traffic, sometimes permanently. With a comprehensive 301 redirect plan and a before/after audit, the loss is limited to a temporary drop of two to four weeks. Agence Web Premium carries out these migrations from 2,499 MAD.
The situations concerned: change of host, switch from Wix to WordPress, graphic redesign with change of addresses, switch to HTTPS, change of domain name, or merger of two sites.
Why do we lose our SEO during a redesign?
In short: Because old addresses disappear without redirection. Google continues to send visitors to pages that no longer exist.
Each page on your site has accumulated value in the eyes of Google: age, inbound links, click history. If the address changes without redirection, all of this value is lost. The new page starts from scratch.
The classic symptom: a redesign in January, and traffic divided by three in February, without anyone understanding why. In almost all of the cases we diagnosed, it was the absence of a redirection plan.
What is a 301 redirect plan?
In short: A lookup table that associates each old address with its new one. The 301 redirect passes almost all of the acquired value to Google.
Concretely: we list all the addresses of the old site (via the sitemap, Google Search Console and a complete crawl), then we associate each one with its equivalent on the new site.
Deleted pages are redirected to the thematically closest page — never overwhelmingly to the home page, which Google interprets as a soft error.
How does a secure migration take place?
In short: Audit and survey of front positions, preparation of the new site, redirection plan, switchover, then monitoring for four to eight weeks.
- Front survey. Current positions, most visited pages, inbound links, complete address inventory.
- Preparation. New site built and tested on a separate environment.
- Redirection plan. Correspondence verified line by line.
- Toggle. Ideally mid-week, outside busy commercial periods.
- Immediate checks. Testing redirects, sitemap resubmitted, Search Console verified.
- Monitoring. Track 404 errors and positions for four to eight weeks.
How long does the drop in traffic last?
In short: Two to four weeks on average for a well-done migration, while Google recrawls the entire site.
A slight drop is normal: Google must rediscover each page. What is not normal is a lasting drop beyond six to eight weeks — this signals a technical problem.
We monitor and correct throughout this period. It is included in the service.
Should you change your domain name?
In short: Avoid if possible. Changing domains adds significant risk to an already tricky redesign. If it is essential, do it separately.
If you need to both redesign the site and change the domain, we recommend proceeding in two stages: first the redesign on the existing domain, then the change of domain two to three months later, once the positions have stabilized.
Combining the two operations makes any diagnosis impossible in the event of a problem.
Controlled migration or botched migration
| Stage | Botched migration | With Agence Web Premium |
|---|---|---|
| Address inventory | not done | full crawl + Search Console |
| 301 redirects | absent or towards reception | one by one, checked |
| Survey of front positions | none | encrypted reference |
| Sitemap | forget | regenerated and resubmitted |
| Post-switch monitoring | none | 4 to 8 weeks |
| Typical traffic loss | 50 to 80%, sustainable | temporary drop of 2 to 4 weeks |
Frequently asked questions
Will I lose my SEO by redoing my site?
Not if the migration is prepared. With a full 301 redirects plan, the loss is limited to a temporary drop of two to four weeks.
How much does a site migration cost?
From 2,499 MAD, depending on the number of pages and complexity. Redirects plan and post-migration monitoring are included.
What is a 301 redirect?
A technical instruction that tells Google that a page has definitely changed address. It transmits almost all of the value acquired by the old page.
Can I migrate from Wix to WordPress?
Yes. See our page alternative to Wix. The content must be copied manually, as Wix does not offer a complete export.
When should you make the switch?
Mid-week, excluding busy sales periods. Never on a Friday evening or the day before a promotional operation.
What if my traffic doesn't go up?
We monitor for four to eight weeks and correct. In the majority of cases, a persistent drop comes from missing or misdirected redirects.
Can you migrate and change your domain name at the same time?
It is possible but not recommended. It is better to proceed in two stages, two or three months apart.
Do you manage the change of host?
Yes, including transfer of domain name, emails and SSL certificates, without interruption of service.
Redo your site without losing your positions
Prior audit, redirection plan verified line by line, monitoring for two months.
