WEBSITE MIGRATION
Move your website safely, without losing what it already earned
Changing platform, switching host, or bringing your site over to Sitemate Studio. We plan the move, protect your rankings and content, and keep downtime to a minimum.
Zero-downtime approachSEO & redirects preservedFull backup before we start
Why businesses migrate
The most common reasons a website needs to move, platform, host, or both.
Outgrown the current platform
Growing catalogues, content or features the current builder can't support any more.
Slow or unreliable hosting
Frequent downtime, sluggish load times, or a host that's stopped being responsive.
Rising platform costs
Subscription and add-on fees that no longer match what the site actually needs.
Poor search performance
A previous build with weak technical SEO holding back rankings and traffic.
Limited support or access
Lost touch with the agency or developer who built the site, with no way to make changes.
Wanting more ownership
Wanting to own the code, content and hosting outright, rather than renting a platform.
Should you actually change platform?
Not every website should be moved to a new platform. We’ll always tell you honestly, even when that means recommending you stay put.
Your current platform can't support the features or content you need
You're paying for a subscription that no longer matches your needs
You've had recurring performance, security or reliability issues
You want full ownership of your code, content and hosting
The previous developer or agency is no longer contactable
You're planning growth the current setup genuinely can't handle
We’ll often recommend you don’t move platforms
Sometimes better hosting, care or a smaller fix solves the real problem.
The site works well and just needs better hosting or care
The issues are fixable with updates or a redesign, not a rebuild
A platform move would cost more than it would ever save
What can we migrate?
Some of the most common migration paths we handle. If yours isn’t listed, get in touch and we’ll review it.
WordPressSitemate Hosting
Keep your WordPress site exactly as it is, move it onto faster, managed Sitemate Hosting.
See Hosting & Care →WordPressWordPress
A fresh, better-structured WordPress build, or consolidating multiple installs into one.
See WordPress Website Design →WixWordPress
Rebuilding a Wix site properly on WordPress, with room to grow beyond the builder's limits.
See WordPress Website Design →WebflowWordPress
Moving a Webflow site to WordPress when content management needs outgrow the CMS.
See WordPress Website Design →Existing websiteNext.js / Payload
For suitable sites with the traffic and ambition to justify a fully custom, headless build.
See Bespoke Next.js Websites →Existing hostSitemate Hosting
Same site, same platform, just moved to faster, better-monitored hosting.
See Hosting & Care →Other platformContact us
Squarespace, Shopify, a custom build, or something else entirely. Tell us what you're on and we'll review it.
Get in touch →What’s included in a migration project
Everything a safe migration needs to cover, handled as one project rather than a checklist you manage yourself.
Platform migrations
Moving from one platform to another, Wix, Webflow, Squarespace or elsewhere, onto WordPress, Next.js/Payload or the platform that fits.
Hosting migrations
Moving an existing site onto Sitemate Hosting without changing the platform underneath it.
WordPress migrations
Moving between WordPress hosts, or consolidating multiple WordPress installs into one.
Wix & Webflow migrations
Rebuilding a Wix or Webflow site properly on a new platform, not just copying it over.
Content, images & page migration
Every page, image and piece of content carried across and checked against the original.
Redirects & URL preservation
301 redirects mapped for every existing URL, so links and bookmarks keep working.
SEO migration
Metadata, structured data and page authority carried across to protect your rankings.
Forms & integrations
Contact forms, booking tools and third-party integrations reconnected and tested.
Analytics & tracking migration
Google Analytics, tag manager and conversion tracking moved across and verified.
Domain, DNS & email
Domain and DNS changes planned carefully so email and other services keep working.
Testing & minimal-downtime launch
Every page, form and redirect checked on staging, then a launch designed to minimise downtime.
Backups & rollback planning
A full backup and a clear rollback plan in place before we touch your live site.
Our migration process
Six steps designed to protect your site while it moves, not just get it moved.
STEP 1
Discovery & audit
Review your current site, content, integrations and hosting.
STEP 2
Migration plan
Map every URL, redirect and integration before touching anything.
STEP 3
Full backup
A complete backup and rollback plan before any work begins.
STEP 4
Build & migrate
Move content, design and functionality to the new platform or host.
STEP 5
Testing
Check every page, form, redirect and integration on staging.
STEP 6
Launch & monitor
Go live with minimal downtime, then monitor closely for two weeks.
What gets transferred
A clear line between what moves automatically and what needs a closer look.
All pages, content and images
Blog posts and articles
Forms and their integrations
Analytics and tracking setup
SEO metadata, titles and structured data
Existing URLs, carried across via redirects
Domain and DNS records
Email routing, where applicable
Handled with extra care
Flagged during discovery, before any quote is confirmed.
Custom functionality that depends on the old platform
Legacy plugins or apps with no direct equivalent
Historical data that needs extra security checks
SEO & REDIRECTS
Avoiding lost rankings is the whole point
A migration is the single easiest way to lose years of search rankings overnight. We treat SEO as part of the build, not an afterthought.
Every existing URL mapped to a 301 redirect before launch
Titles, meta descriptions and structured data carried across
Internal linking rebuilt to match the new site structure
Search Console monitored closely in the weeks after launch
Analytics and conversion tracking verified before and after
Redirect map / URL migration screenshot
Platform migration vs. hosting migration
Two very different projects that both get called “migration.” Knowing which one you need changes the scope, timeline and risk.
Platform migration
Changing the system your site runs on
What changes
Design, code and CMS, effectively a new website
Content & URLs
Rebuilt onto the new system, with redirects mapped
Typical reason
Platform limitations, cost, or wanting more ownership
Timeline
Usually 2-6 weeks depending on scope
SEO risk
Real, but well managed with a proper redirect plan
Hosting migration
Keeping the same platform, changing where it lives
What changes
Only where the site lives, nothing else
Content & URLs
Untouched, the site moves as-is
Typical reason
Performance, reliability, price or better support
Timeline
Typically 1-3 days
SEO risk
Minimal, if any, when done properly
A recent migration
From problem to result.
Aria Dental Practice homepage preview
WordPress → Sitemate HostingHosting migration
Aria Dental Practice
A well-built WordPress site was suffering from slow load times and repeated outages on an old shared host. The site itself didn’t need rebuilding. It needed better hosting.
Result
Moved to Sitemate Hosting with zero ranking loss and no downtime during the switch
REVIEWED INDIVIDUALLY
What does a migration cost?
Every migration is reviewed individually before we quote it, so pricing reflects your actual site, not a generic package. Common platforms we migrate from:
WordPressWixWebflowSquarespaceShopifyWooCommerceCustom websites
WHAT AFFECTS THE QUOTATION
Existing platformSite sizeContent volumeE-commerce dataRedirectsFormsCustom functionalityIntegrationsAccess to existing hosting/platform
Custom quotation
Reviewed manually · fixed quote before work begins
AFTER YOUR MIGRATION
Keep the new setup healthy with Hosting & Care
Once your site has landed on its new platform or host, a Hosting & Care plan covers backups, updates, security monitoring and support, so the move stays a one-off, not a recurring problem.
Related services
Wherever your site lands, these are the services that come next.
Website Development
For a full redesign alongside your migration, not just a lift-and-shift.
Learn more →
WordPress
The most common destination for platform migrations we handle.
Learn more →
Wix
Migrating onto, or off of, a Wix site.
Learn more →
Webflow
Migrating onto, or off of, a Webflow site.
Learn more →
Bespoke Next.js Websites
For suitable sites ready to move onto a fully custom Next.js / Payload build.
Learn more →
E-commerce
Migrating a store's products, customers and order history to a new platform.
Learn more →
Hosting & Care
Ongoing hosting, updates, monitoring and support after your migration.
Learn more →
Pricing
See how migration pricing compares across our other services.
Learn more →
Common questions about migrations
Will my website go down during the migration?
We plan every migration to keep downtime to an absolute minimum, usually a few minutes at most during the final DNS switch, and we schedule that switch for low-traffic hours.
Will I lose my Google rankings?
Not if it's done properly. We map every existing URL to a 301 redirect and carry across metadata and structured data, which is what protects rankings through a migration.
What happens if something goes wrong?
We take a full backup before any work begins, so we can roll back to the original site at any point if needed.
Do you migrate WooCommerce or Shopify stores too?
Yes, store migrations, including products, customers and order history, are part of this service and are scoped alongside any platform change.
Can you just move my hosting without changing the platform?
Yes, that's a hosting migration: the simpler of the two project types, usually completed in one to three days.
How long does a full platform migration take?
Most platform migrations take two to six weeks depending on site size, content volume and how much custom functionality needs rebuilding.
Do you handle domain and DNS changes?
Yes, we plan domain and DNS changes carefully so email and any other connected services keep working throughout.
What if you don't think I should migrate?
We'll tell you. If better hosting, care or a smaller fix solves the real problem, we'd rather recommend that than migrate a site that doesn't need it.
Ready to move your website safely?
Tell us about your current site and where you want it to end up. We'll review it and come back with an honest recommendation and a fixed quote.
Request a Migration Quote