What Is Website Migration?

It feels rewarding to watch your company evolve, but depending on your requirements, that change may also entail a website migration!

If you plan on making any significant changes to your website that affect all pages, you have come to the right page. Our article will walk you through different types of website migrations and what to consider while doing so.

What Is Website Migration, And Why Would I Need It?

what is website migration?

Website migration occurs when the pages on your website undergo a URL change or hosting platform transition. It is bound to impact the web layout, page content, website architecture, or other elements that affect UX. It could significantly impact the ranking of your pages.

In what scenarios can you consider website migration?

  • To use CMS (content management system), or hosting platform with more features.
  • As a part of rebranding efforts.
  • If you are diversifying business offerings and want to restrict it to a certain place.

Types Of Website Migration And What They Impact

Let’s learn about different types of website migration and how they impact your website.

1. Protocol Revision – Additional Layer Of Security

This is concerned with changing the “http” encryption of your website to “https.” You can attain this domain protocol with the help of SSL certification (Secure Sockets Layer). As it is more resistant to hackers, hence Google considers it to be a ranking factor too. But all versions of this protocol require a significant website revamp.

  • Install SSL certificate and add HTTPS website version to search console and analytics.
  • Use 301 redirects for older versions of webpages, and direct to the HTTPS version.
  • Change the URL on the domain hosting platform of your website.
  • Ensure there all pages in your website load from HTTPS, you can’t have mixed set of URLs.
  • If you had spammy backlinks in the past, then you may have to re-submit your disavow file to Google.
  • Strictly monitor the page speed and functionality of HTTPS pages till the time there’s no normalcy.

2. Domain Changes – Services, Country, Or Branding

Domain change here indicates any alteration to your website URL. It could be owing to various reasons, such as a geographical change, business change, rebranding, or page reorganization.

There are 2 types of partial domain changes:

  • Top-level Domain Revision: The last portion of your website URL is determined based on the countries your website caters to or the type of company you joined. For instance – www.example.in (India), www.example.in (UK), or www.example.com (worldwide).
  • Second-level Domain Revision: This modification concerns the creative part of your URL. Such as “promodome” in “www.promodome.com”

How domain change affects your SEO:

  • Create a backup of your older domain on the website backend.
  • Check the CPanel on your hosting website and register your sub-domains.
  • Also, change your domain URLs to Google properties, such as search console and analytics.

3. Site Structure Changes – Partial Migration For Enhanced UX

Structural site changes differ from other website migrations because you are still keeping your files and database intact. However, these are significant changes, so they still count as a website migration.

This migration entails:

  • Architectural Changes: Wireframes, Interactive elements, visuals, internal links, breadcrumbs, or Navigation and menu bars.
  • Subdirectory Revision: Your website will have a lot of pages, not every page will serve the same purpose. Some pages would be blog, few would be product/service pages, etc. This modification revises your URL in a way that you can tell the difference – For instance, www.example.com/blogs/ and www.example.com/products/

4. Replatforming – For Enhanced UX Or Growing Product Range

Let’s say you shift from WordPress to WordPress e-commerce, Shopify, Wix, or any other hosting platform. That will count as “re-platforming.” Each platform equips website owners with distinct features that improve user experience.

As a massive website migration, it will affect:

Is Website Migration Concerning In Terms Of SEO?

Website migration is a huge step, so it will involve many obstacles. But with the right decisions, you will be able to troubleshoot efficiently.

  • An opportunity window for improving page experience.
  • Your ranks will be retained if you seek professional guidance.

However, it is highly advised that you approach local experts so that you don’t destroy your SEO performance!

What Does A Website Migration Entail?

Here’s a comprehensive checklist of how to migrate a website. These are the activities to be performed during website migration.

  • Crawl and Map existing web page URLs.
  • Track page rankings and other user behavior through Google Analytics.
  • Carefully curate a list of pages to be deleted or redirected.
  • Announce on social media or your existing website that you are going to migrate soon.
  • Backup all your website content through the backend.
  • Prepare a list of all the outbound links you have.
  • Review the wireframes of your new website in the testing phase.
  • Conduct Technical SEO audits during and after website migration.
  • Update all your URLs on the HTML sitemap and XML sitemap.
  • Update the DNS TTL value of your website
  • Undergo ownership verification on Google Search console post website migration.

Considerations For Websites With International Audience

If you are planning on launching a website that specifically caters to your international audience, or if you already have a website that is accessible globally, then address these issues.

  • Ensure that the hosting service for your website is accessible by users belonging to the targeted countries.
  • You can either use country-specific top-level domains (ccTLDs) or have different subdomains to target different countries.
  • Utilize the hreflang tag to specify the languages and countries that different versions of your web pages will target.
  • Head to Google Search Console, and configure your website’s geo-targeting settings to convey that multiple versions of your pages exist and cater to users from different countries.
  • The keyword research for each version of your webpage would have to be conducted separately.
  • Build a local backlink base for each subdomain or top-level domain page, so that Google crawlers can register your website.
  • Each subdomain or top-level domain page targeting different countries will also have a separate XML sitemap and HTML sitemap.

Conclusion

Website migrations are costly and involve many changes. If not executed properly, they impact your visibility in search results and could also lead to a drop in traffic, rankings, or leads. But a carefully curated website migration strategy can make your efforts and investments worth the hustle.

Refer to our guide or consult a professional, but don’t shy away from migration if it’s urgently needed for your business set-up!

Author avatar
Samruddhi
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