Move your site
without losing anything
New host, new platform or a new domain — moved cleanly, with your rankings, emails and content intact. Planned properly so visitors never see a broken page or a moment of downtime.
What a rushed migration costs you
Copying files across is the easy part. These are the four things that actually go wrong — and they’re usually noticed weeks later, once the damage is done.
Traffic quietly disappears
URLs change, redirects are missed, and Google drops the pages it had ranked. Recovering those positions takes far longer than the move ever did.
Email stops arriving
Moving a domain’s DNS without preserving MX records kills business email mid-move — and nobody notices until a customer says they never got a reply.
Half the site 404s
Images, PDFs and internal links still pointing at the old domain. The homepage looks fine, so it passes a quick check while the rest quietly breaks.
Orders lost in the gap
If the site is live on two servers during the switch, orders and form submissions land on the one you’re about to delete.
Types of move
Fixed price, quoted before I start
I look at the site first and tell you which of these it is. No open-ended hourly billing on a job that should have a known scope.
Host to Host
- Full files & database moved
- DNS and SSL configured
- Email records preserved
- Tested before switchover
- Old host kept live until confirmed
Large or Complex
- Everything in Host to Host
- Large databases & media libraries
- WooCommerce orders & customers
- Multisite or subdomain setups
- Cron jobs and integrations re-pointed
Platform Migration
- Content rebuilt in WordPress
- Design matched or improved
- URL structure mapped one-to-one
- 301 redirects for every old page
- SEO metadata carried across
Moving a store to WooCommerce specifically? That’s a build as well as a move — those start at $600. See WooCommerce builds →
How I get to zero downtime
Copy, don’t cut
The site is rebuilt on the new host while the old one keeps serving visitors normally. Nothing is deleted or switched off.
Test on the new host
I check the new copy privately — pages, forms, checkout, logins — before a single visitor is sent to it.
Switch DNS at a quiet hour
TTL is lowered in advance so the change propagates quickly, and it’s done when your traffic is lowest.
Watch, then retire the old host
The old server stays up for a few days as a safety net. Only once everything is confirmed do you cancel it.
What actually happens to your rankings
If a domain or URL structure changes, Google has to re-learn the site. Anyone telling you that happens instantly is guessing. Here is what Google’s own documentation says to expect.
Guidance from Google Search Central, Site move with URL changes.
If your URLs stay exactly the same and only the server changes — the $60 job above — there is nothing for Google to re-learn. The expectation-setting here is for domain changes, platform moves and URL restructures, where the addresses themselves change.
This is the mistake that quietly undoes an otherwise clean migration. Redirects have to keep answering for a year or more, which means whatever serves them — old host, or the registrar holding the domain — stays paid for. I will tell you exactly what can be switched off and when, in writing.
Positions moving around for a few weeks after a URL change is expected behaviour. What is not expected is traffic that never comes back, and the difference is usually a redirect map with holes in it. That is why every old URL gets mapped and tested rather than spot-checked.
If your URLs are not changing, say so when you enquire — the job is simpler and cheaper than this page implies.
Frequently asked questions
Will I lose my Google rankings?
Not on a host-to-host move — your URLs don’t change, so Google sees the same pages on faster hardware. On a platform or domain change there’s usually a short wobble for a week or two while Google processes the redirects, then it settles. Skipping the redirect map is what causes permanent losses, and that’s exactly the part I don’t skip.
How long will my site be offline?
It shouldn’t be offline at all. Because the new copy is built and tested before the switch, the changeover is a DNS update rather than a gap. Some visitors reach the old server for a few hours while DNS propagates — both are working, so they see a normal site either way.
What about my email?
This is the one people forget. If your email is on the same domain, I preserve the MX and related records so mail keeps flowing. Tell me who provides your email before we start and it’s a non-issue.
Do I need to buy the new hosting first?
Yes, and buy it in your own name so you control the account. Tell me what kind of site it is and I’ll recommend something suitable at the right size — I don’t resell hosting, so there’s nothing in it for me either way.
What if something breaks after the move?
The old site is still there untouched, so the worst case is pointing DNS back — minutes, not a disaster. Beyond that, any issues caused by the migration get fixed at no extra cost.
Can you move a site you didn’t build?
Almost always — that’s the majority of migrations. I’ll look first and flag anything unusual (custom server config, hard-coded paths, licensed plugins tied to a domain) before quoting rather than after.
Other services
Not quite what you need? One of these may be a better fit.
WordPress Design & Development
Custom WordPress sites designed and built from scratch — fixed prices from $250, speed-tuned and handed over fully in your name.
See packages →WooCommerce Development
A store built to actually sell — from $800, payment-ready, fast and owned entirely by you.
See store packages →Hire a WordPress Developer
Work directly with the developer writing the code — fixed-price projects from $250, $25/hr, or a monthly retainer.
See how it works →WordPress Speed Optimization
Fix what is actually slowing the site down, from $80 — with measured before-and-after numbers you can check yourself.
See speed packages →WordPress Maintenance & Care
Tested updates, daily backups and monitoring from $39/month — the boring alternative to an emergency.
See care plans →Emergency WordPress Fix
Site down, hacked or locked out? Free diagnosis and a fixed price before any work starts, from $70.
Get it looked at →SEO, Blogging & AdSense Websites
A done-for-you site built to rank and earn — $70 one-time setup plus $70/month keyword-targeted blogging.
See how it works →Ready to move your site?
Send me the site address and where it’s going — I’ll confirm the price and a safe switchover time.