Short answer: A website migration changes the addresses of your pages, for example a new domain, a move to HTTPS or a new URL structure. To keep your Google traffic, map every old URL to its new one and redirect each with a permanent 301. Then update canonicals, internal links and the sitemap, and watch Search Console. Google says the switch can take a few weeks or more.
What counts as a website migration
Google’s guide to site moves covers three kinds of URL change: from HTTP to HTTPS, a new domain name or merged domains, and new URL paths on the same site. For the move to HTTPS, our SSL certificate guide covers the certificate itself. If only the hosting changes and the addresses stay the same, Google has a separate guide.
Google recommends changing only one thing at a time. If you want a new domain, a new content management system and a new layout, do them one after the other.
The stages of a migration
| Stage | What to do | What Google says |
|---|---|---|
| Plan | Change one thing at a time | Domain and layout one after the other, not together |
| Map | List every old URL and its new one | Prepare the mapping before the move |
| Redirect | Permanent server-side redirects | They don’t cause a loss in PageRank |
| Update | Canonicals, internal links and the sitemap | Each new URL should have a canonical pointing to itself |
| Tell Google | New sitemap; Change of Address for a new domain | A sitemap helps Google find the new URLs faster |
| Wait and watch | Search Console for old and new URLs | A few weeks or more for a medium-sized site |
From Google Search Central, “Site moves with URL changes”, read November 3, 2026.
Avoid sending many old URLs to one unrelated page, such as the new home page. Google says that can confuse users and might be treated as a soft 404. Pages you don’t move should answer 404 or 410.
How to migrate your website
- List every old URL, from your sitemap, Search Console and any archive of the old site.
- Map each old URL to its closest new page, and mark the ones with no new page.
- Build and test the new site, and remove any noindex or robots.txt block you used while building it.
- Set up permanent 301 redirects on the server for every old URL in the map, and test them.
- Point canonicals, internal links and the sitemap at the new URLs.
- Submit the new sitemap and, if the domain changed, use the Change of Address tool once the redirects are live.
- Watch both sets of URLs in Search Console, and keep the redirects for at least a year.
Our guides to the 301 redirect, redirect chains and the XML sitemap go deeper into steps 4 and 6.
How our own migration holds up
When we rebuilt our site in October 2026, the old site’s addresses got a redirect map of 218 entries. On November 3, 2026, at 1:32 PM, we requested all of them as a visitor. Each answered a single 301 and landed on a page that loads.
198 land on the page the map names. The other 20 now reach a more specific page we added after the rebuild. An old article on Facebook ads, for example, goes to our Meta Ads page instead of the general advertising page.
55 of those entries, mostly old image and portfolio addresses with no matching page, still go to our home page, the pattern Google warns about. Search Console doesn’t know 51 of them at all, so for now they cost us nothing, and it shows none of the other 4 as a soft 404.
Before you call your migration done
- Every old URL is in your map.
- Each one answers a single 301 to a live page.
- Nothing important redirects to the home page.
- Canonicals, internal links and the sitemap use the new URLs.
- Search Console shows both old and new properties, if the domain changed.
- The redirects are set to stay for at least a year.
RememberA migration keeps its traffic when every old address leads straight to its closest new page. Map before you move, redirect everything with a 301 and give Google weeks, not days.
If you’re planning a move and want it mapped and checked, see our technical SEO service.
Quick answers about website migrations
How long does a website migration take in Google?
For a medium-sized site, Google says it can take a few weeks or more to start showing the new URLs instead of the old ones. Larger sites take longer. The move is complete when Googlebot has visited every old and new URL at least once.
Will I lose rankings when I migrate my site?
Expect some movement. Google says rankings can fluctuate while it recrawls and reindexes a site after any significant change. Careful planning, complete redirects and changing one thing at a time keep the swings small.
Do 301 redirects lose link value?
No. Google says 301 and other permanent redirects don’t cause a loss in PageRank. Keep them for as long as possible, generally at least a year, so links from other sites keep reaching the new pages.
Do I need the Change of Address tool?
Only when you move to a new domain or subdomain, such as example.com to example.net. Google says not to use it for HTTP to HTTPS moves, www changes or new paths on the same domain.
Is changing hosting a migration too?
It’s a different kind of move. When only the hosting changes and the addresses stay the same, Google has a separate guide: prepare the new servers, switch the DNS and watch traffic on both.
Sources
Read on November 3, 2026. Google Search Central: Site moves with URL changes and Changing your web hosting. Search Console Help: Change of Address tool. Our own case: the redirects of our site’s rebuild, November 3, 2026.