How to move your website without losing your Google rankings

In short: you can move to a new website, a new host or a new domain name without losing your Google rankings. The rule is simple: every old page address must lead permanently to its new equivalent, nothing that earns you visitors goes missing, and Google is told about the move. Expect rankings to wobble for a few weeks while Google catches up. Lasting losses almost always come from mistakes made during the move, not from the move itself.

A new website is exciting. It is also the moment many small businesses quietly lose the Google rankings they spent years building, usually because nobody planned what would happen to the old page addresses. This guide explains what counts as a website move, where the risk comes from, and the checklist we follow to protect your rankings.

What counts as a website move?

Google treats any change to the address where your pages live as a site move. Some moves are much riskier than others, and the difference comes down to whether your page addresses (URLs) change.

Type of move	Example	Do page addresses change?	Risk to rankings
Changing hosting company	Moving your WordPress site to a faster host	No	Low
Switching to HTTPS	http://yourbusiness.co.uk to https://yourbusiness.co.uk	Yes	Low to medium
Redesign with new page names	/services.html becomes /boiler-servicing/	Yes	Medium
Changing platform	Moving from Wix or Squarespace to WordPress	Usually	Medium to high
Changing domain name	A rebrand to a new .co.uk or .com	Yes, every one	High

Google’s advice is to change one thing at a time where you can. If you combine a domain move with a redesign of your content and page structure, Google warns you will probably see some traffic loss while it relearns and reassesses each page.

Why rankings drop after a new website goes live

Google ranks individual pages, not whole websites. When a page’s address changes, Google has to discover the new address and work out that it is the same page. If nothing tells it, the old page simply disappears, and so does its ranking.

The mistakes we see most often on small business websites:

• No redirects. Old addresses return a “page not found” error, so every link from Google, other websites and old emails leads nowhere.
• Everything redirected to the homepage. It feels tidy, but Google can treat lots of old pages pointing at one unrelated page as broken.
• Pages quietly dropped. A service page or popular article that brought in visitors isn’t rebuilt on the new site.
• The new site left hidden from Google. The “discourage search engines” setting used while building the site is never switched off.
• Content cut back. Long, detailed pages are replaced with short, design-led ones that no longer answer what people searched for.
• Old links left everywhere else. Your Google Business Profile, social media, directories and adverts still point at addresses that no longer exist.

Before the move: list every page and map where it’s going

The most important document in any website move is a simple spreadsheet with two columns: every old page address, and the new address it will move to. Google calls this a URL mapping.

1. List every page on the old site. Start with the pages that matter most: your sitemap, the pages with the most visitors in Google Analytics, and the pages other websites link to (Google Search Console shows these). Include PDFs and images that people find through search.
2. Give each one a new home. Match each old page to the closest page on the new site. If two old pages are being merged into one, both can point to the merged page.
3. Decide what is genuinely going. A page with no equivalent and no visitors can be removed. It should show a proper “not found” (404) or “gone” (410) response, not a redirect to something unrelated.
4. Take a snapshot of today. Note your main search positions, monthly visitors and enquiries before the move, so you can measure the result honestly.
5. Build and test on a staging copy. Keep the new site private or hidden from Google until it is ready.

Carry over what’s already working

A new design is a chance to improve your website, but some of what Google already rewards should move across almost unchanged. Before launch, check the new version of each important page against the old one:

• Page titles and meta descriptions. Copy across the ones that already bring in visitors, then improve the weak ones. These are the headline and summary people see in Google.
• Headings and wording. Keep the headings and the questions each page answers. Rewriting a page that ranks well can mean starting its ranking again.
• Images and alt text. Keep the descriptions on images, and keep any images that people find through Google Images.
• Structured data. If your old site told Google your business name, address, opening hours or reviews behind the scenes, make sure the new one does too.
• Speed and mobile. Test the new site on a phone before launch. A slower or clumsier site can lose ground even with perfect redirects.
• Tracking and forms. Move your Google Analytics and Search Console code across, and send a test enquiry through every form.

Redirects: the part that protects your rankings

A redirect automatically sends anyone who visits an old address, including Google, to the new one. Done properly, it carries the old page’s ranking signals across.

• Use permanent redirects. Google recommends permanent server-side redirects (301 or 308). On WordPress these are usually set up with a redirect plugin or in your hosting settings.
• Go straight to the final page. Avoid chains where page A redirects to B, which redirects to C. Google can follow several steps, but advises sending people straight to the final address.
• Match like with like. Each old page should redirect to its closest equivalent, never everything to the homepage.
• Keep them for at least a year. Google says to keep redirects for as long as possible, and generally for at least a year. If you are changing domain, keep the old domain registered too, so nobody else can buy it and use your old links.

Launch day checklist

• Switch off any “hide from search engines” setting and remove temporary robots.txt blocks or noindex tags.
• Turn on the redirects, then test a sample of old addresses, especially your most visited pages.
• Check each new page’s canonical tag points to its own new address.
• Update internal links in menus, buttons and text so they point straight to the new addresses rather than relying on redirects.
• Submit the new sitemap in Google Search Console.
• Make sure Search Console is verified for the new site, and keep the old site verified too.
• If you have changed domain name, use the Change of Address tool in Search Console. Google now asks for a request for every version of the old domain, including the www and non-www versions.
• Update your website link on your Google Business Profile, social media profiles, directories such as Yell, your email signatures and any adverts.

Moving hosting company without changing addresses

If your page addresses stay exactly the same and only the hosting changes, the risk is much lower. Google’s advice for this kind of move:

• Copy the site to the new host and test it fully before switching.
• Lower your domain’s DNS “time to live” setting to a few hours, at least a week before the move, so the change reaches everyone faster.
• Point the domain at the new host, then keep the old hosting running until its traffic drops to nothing.
• Don’t worry if Google crawls the site a little less for a few days afterwards. Google says that dip is normal and should recover steadily.

How long does it take to recover after a website move?

There is no fixed timeline. Google says a medium-sized website usually takes several weeks or more for most pages to move across in its index, and larger sites take longer. A move only counts as complete once Google has visited every old and new address at least once.

Rankings often fluctuate during that period. Google describes this as normal and temporary. A drop that is still there after a couple of months is a sign that something in the move needs fixing.

It matters beyond Google’s ordinary results, too. Google says the same SEO basics apply to its AI Overviews and AI Mode, which draw on pages in its search index, so a move that loses pages in Google can also lose you a place in its AI answers.

After the move: what to check, and when

When	What to check
Launch day	Redirects work, new pages load, forms send, the site is visible to Google
First week	“Page not found” errors in Search Console, new pages starting to be indexed
Weeks two to six	Old addresses dropping out of Google, new ones taking their place, visitors and enquiries compared with your snapshot
Three months on	Rankings back to where they were, or better; any remaining problem pages fixed
A year on	Redirects still in place; old domain still renewed

We’re doing this ourselves

In November 2026 we’re moving our own website, eseyo.com, to our new name, dotscott.ai, after 16 years on the old domain. You can read why eseyo became DotScott separately. For the move itself, we followed the steps in this guide:

• We listed all 183 live addresses on eseyo.com, including 61 town pages, 34 help articles and 31 client review pages.
• We matched each one to its closest page on dotscott.ai and approved or rejected every suggestion by hand, rather than sending everything to the homepage.
• We set up 75 permanent redirects in advance and tested them before the switch. Pages that keep the same address, such as our About page and client reviews, carry across automatically.
• Our most useful older articles are being moved across in full rather than redirected.

Once the move has settled, we’ll publish what happened to our rankings and enquiries, good or bad.

FAQs

Will a new website lose my Google rankings?

Not if the move is handled properly. Rankings often wobble for a few weeks while Google catches up, but lasting drops usually come from missing redirects, deleted pages or a new site left hidden from Google.

How long does it take Google to recognise a website move?

There’s no fixed timeline. Google says a medium-sized website usually takes several weeks or more, and larger sites take longer, because Google has to visit every old and new address at least once.

How long should I keep 301 redirects after moving my website?

Google recommends keeping redirects for as long as possible, and generally for at least a year. If you’ve changed domain name, keep the old domain registered too, so nobody else can use it.

Should I redirect all my old pages to the new homepage?

No. Each old page should redirect to its closest equivalent on the new website. Google can treat lots of old pages redirected to one unrelated page, such as the homepage, as broken.

Do I need Google’s Change of Address tool?

Only if you’re changing your domain name, for example after a rebrand. Google says not to use the Change of Address tool for moving to HTTPS, switching between www and non-www, or changing page addresses on the same domain.

Need a hand?

Every new website we build includes the move: we list your existing pages, map and test every redirect, and check Google has picked up the change afterwards. If you are planning a new website, see our website design service or our guide to what a website costs in Essex.

Already moved and lost rankings? Our SEO and AI visibility audit finds the pages that went missing and what to fix first. Once you’re settled, a website care plan keeps the site updated, backed up and checked.

Call Scott on 07812 738844 or email scott@dotscott.ai.

DotScott: joining the dots on your web & AI journey.

Sources

• How to move a site with URL changes, Google Search Central
• Move a site with no URL changes, Google Search Central
• AI features and your website, Google Search Central
• Change of Address tool, Google Search Console Help
• Google: keep redirects for at least a year, Search Engine Roundtable, July 2021
• Google’s site move guide now covers www and non-www domain variants, PPC Land, June 2026