Service · Website Migration
Website migration:
no address left behind.
Changing hosts, platforms or websites? We take an inventory of every address on your current site, keep the ones that can stay, set up a 301 redirect for each one that changes and, with your approval, retire the ones not worth keeping. The new site is checked on a test version, then every address is checked after the switch. After that, we host your website, with managed hosting and maintenance included.
- Every address checked
- Test version before launch
- Managed hosting included
The risks
What a poorly planned migration costs you
Google already knows the addresses of your website. When they change without a plan, the pages your clients used to find can drop out of search results. Here is what Google describes in its documentation:
- Old addresses that answer "not found" (404): Google stops indexing them and removes the ones that were indexed
- Every old address sent to the home page: Google may treat them as "soft 404" errors
- Redirects to addresses that do not exist on the new site
- A noindex or robots.txt block from the test version left in place at launch
What a migration covers
From the inventory to the final check
Whether you are only changing hosts or moving to a new website, the method is the same. The price is set by scope, as explained in our approach and pricing.
An inventory of every address
Before we touch anything, we list the addresses of your current site from its sitemap, 12 months of Search Console data, its existing redirects, its access logs when they exist and the main links it receives.
A 301 redirect for each address that changes
By default, your addresses stay the same. One that has to change points to the closest page through a permanent server-side redirect. A page with no clicks and no links that you are not keeping answers with a 410 error, with your approval, rather than being sent to the home page.
A separate test version
Before launch, your new site runs on a separate test version that search engines are told not to index. There we compare every address with the old site: response, redirect, title, description, canonical tag, hreflang, H1 and structured data.
Forms, tracking and email
A real submission of the request forms, in each language, before and after the switch. Your tracking tags checked on the live site. Your email records inventoried beforehand: the switch moves the website, not your mailboxes.
Switch day
Every DNS change is read back at the domain's servers before the next step. Then we check the main pages, every address in the sitemap and the redirects. The old hosting stays in place for 14 days, ready for a rollback.
After the switch
On pages that get clicks, titles, H1s, addresses and text stay unchanged for 28 days, except to fix a problem. We compare Search Console data with the starting point on days 1, 7, 14 and 28, and we watch not-found pages and redirect hits.
Priced by scope
After the free diagnostic, in a detailed quote. Managed hosting and maintenance are included afterward, under the terms of your quote.
Get my free diagnosticThe SEO checks
Before and after the switch
Before the switch, we measure the starting point: clicks, impressions and positions for each page in Search Console over 12 months, and requests received per form over 90 days. That starting point is what we compare the new site against.
After the switch, the new sitemap is submitted in Search Console, and key pages are checked with the URL Inspection tool. If your domain name changes, Google also asks you to use its Change of Address tool, and your Google Business Profile link has to point to the new address: we prepare both with you, since both steps are done with your account.
Google warns that rankings can fluctuate during a migration while it recrawls the site (Google's guide to site moves). Nobody can prevent that. What the method avoids are the avoidable losses: not-found pages, wrong redirects, forgotten forms and tags.
Who delivers the work
Steven Lefebvre, founder
Steven leads the strategy, delivery and follow-up of every mandate. One person, here in Quebec, accountable for your migration, who answers at 438-376-6494.
How it works
Three steps, one address at a time
The free diagnostic
We look at your current site, its platform and what has to follow: pages, forms, tracking, the French and English versions. You then receive a detailed quote, and the work starts when you accept it.
The inventory and the test version
We list every address, decide with you what stays, what is redirected and what is removed, then compare every address on the test version.
The switch and the checks
We make the switch, check the addresses, the forms and the tracking, then follow the site for 28 days. After that, we host and maintain it.
Frequently asked
What SMBs ask us about migration
Free resources
Latest blog articles
Related services
Explore the rest of the system
A planned move, address by address
Start with the free diagnostic of your current website, or book a discovery call with Steven Lefebvre to talk about your migration, at no cost and with no obligation.
A complete acquisition system for Quebec SMBs: website, SEO and automation.