We ask first.

This website works without cookies. If you agree, we will also use cookies for measuring visits and our advertising. You can change your mind at any time from “Cookie settings” at the bottom of every page. Cookie policy

On a limestone wall, an old brass number plate points to a new door a little further along, in the same morning light.

ServicesWebsites

A new website, without losing what the old one had earned.

Moving a site without losses

A new website, without losing what the old one had earned.

Google rankings are not lost because a site looks different. They are lost when page addresses change and the old ones lead nowhere. With an inventory of every old address, a permanent redirect to the right new page and careful monitoring after launch, the move follows the method Google itself describes. Some temporary fluctuation is normal; no one can guarantee zero loss.

Tell us about yours
1 year
at least: that is how long Google says to keep redirects from the old addresses, and longer if possible.Google Search Central, site moves with URL changes
301 or 308
Permanent redirects tell Google the new page should take the old one's place. Temporary ones, 302 and 307, do not.Google Search Central, redirects and Google Search
180 days
is how long Search Console's Change of Address tool forwards signals. It is only for a new domain or subdomain, not for HTTPS or path changes.Search Console Help, Change of Address tool
404 = 410
For indexing, Google treats every 4xx code except 429 the same way: the page does not exist and leaves the index.Google Search Central, HTTP status codes

Last updated:

Two kinds of move, two different risks.

Google separates two cases. In the first, only the infrastructure changes: new hosting or a new server, while page addresses stay the same. The risk there is small. Google writes that after the switch it is normal for the crawl rate to drop for a while and then rise steadily over the following days.

In the second, the addresses themselves change: a new domain, a move from HTTP to HTTPS, or a new page structure, as nearly always happens when a site leaves WordPress, Joomla or an old e-shop for a new platform. Over the years, each old address has gathered links, bookmarks and a place in the results. If it answers “not found” after the move, all of that goes with it.

Google suggests one more thing: if you want a new domain, a new platform and a new design, do them one at a time, so that if something goes wrong you can see what caused it. In practice many small businesses do them together. Then the preparation has to be all the more careful.

  • New hosting, same addresses

    Test the new infrastructure before the DNS changes, check that Googlebot can read it, watch the logs, and switch off the old hosting only once it receives no more visits.

  • New structure on the same domain

    The usual case in a redesign: paths change, for example from /services/ai/ to /en/services/ai. It needs a complete redirect map.

  • From HTTP to HTTPS

    For Google this is a change of addresses: every http page redirects permanently to its https version. The Change of Address tool is not used here.

  • A new domain

    All of the above, plus the Change of Address tool in Search Console, with both the old and the new domain verified.

First, a list of everything that already exists.

You cannot redirect a page you forgot existed. So the work starts with a list of every address on the old site that has value: those in the index, those that bring visits, those linked from other sites, and files such as PDFs and images that people share.

Google suggests the same sources: the sitemap, server logs or analytics software, and the links report in Search Console. No single source is complete. A WordPress sitemap often leaves out old pages, and Search Console only shows pages that appeared in the results.

Alongside the list we keep what earned each page its place: the title, the description, the copy and the queries that bring people to it. A page that moves with its content has a much better chance than one rewritten from scratch without knowing what it used to answer.

  • Search Console

    Pages with impressions and clicks, the queries that brought them, and addresses linked from other sites.

  • Analytics

    Landing pages of recent months, and the pages that bring enquiries or sales.

  • Sitemap and crawl

    The old site's sitemap and a full crawl, for pages that show up nowhere else.

  • Server logs

    Which addresses are actually requested, by people and by bots, including old ones nobody remembers.

  • Files and images

    PDFs, catalogues, logos in email signatures, and addresses printed on cards or QR codes.

Every old address, in its right new place.

A redirect map is a table with two columns: the old address and the new one. Every row is a decision: which new page answers the same thing. Google asks for permanent server-side redirects, 301 or 308, straight to the final destination, without chains.

Anything with no real successor is retired openly, with a 404 or 410. The mistake worth avoiding is sending every old address to the home page: Google writes that such a redirect may be treated as a soft 404, as if the page did not exist, and the visitor loses whatever they were looking for.

On the new site, every page declares itself canonical, internal links point straight to the new addresses, and on a multilingual site hreflang annotations join each language version to the others, with full addresses, in both directions.

  • Same content

    A one-to-one redirect to the new page that answers the same question, with the title and copy that earned the ranking.

  • Merging

    Several small old pages into one new page, only if the new one really covers what they said.

  • Retiring

    410 for content deliberately retired, such as tag pages, test posts and old tools. Never a redirect to an unrelated page.

  • Variants

    With and without a trailing slash, http and https, with and without www: all in one hop to the same destination.

  • Languages

    Each language version names itself and the others with hreflang, and old pages go to the language they were in.

The day the new door opens.

The new site is prepared in a separate staging environment, closed to search engines with noindex or a password. Google warns about a mistake that is easy to make on the day: leaving in place the noindex or robots.txt block that was only needed for testing.

On the day of the switch we check the redirect map row by row on the live server: every old address must reach a page answering 200 in one hop, or deliberately answer 410. Then we submit the sitemaps in Search Console. Google suggests submitting two: the new one, and one with the old addresses, so it re-reads the redirects quickly.

Bing follows the same permanent redirects. Its own blog post on site migrations says they should stay live for at least one to two years. The new site is verified in Bing Webmaster Tools with its sitemap, and if IndexNow is set up, it notifies Bing and the other participating engines of every new or changed page straight away. Google does not use IndexNow.

  • Redirects

    Every row of the map, with and without the slash: one hop, the right code, the right destination.

  • Indexing

    No forgotten noindex, a robots.txt that allows crawling, a sitemap of pages answering 200 only.

  • Canonical and hreflang

    Every page points to itself, and the language versions find each other.

  • Titles and descriptions

    Pages that ranked keep the title and copy that earned it, or something better, never something generic.

  • Search Console and Bing

    Verification, sitemaps, and Change of Address only if the domain changed.

What to expect while Google re-reads.

Google writes that you should expect temporary fluctuation in rankings during a move, while it recrawls and reindexes the site. For a medium-sized site it can take a few weeks or more before the new addresses show in the results, and longer for larger sites. No one can guarantee that every ranking will stay the same.

In Search Console's page indexing report you will often see “Discovered - currently not indexed” in the first weeks. It means Google has found the page but not crawled it yet. Google itself writes that you should not expect every address to be indexed, only the canonical pages.

What matters in the first weeks is the logs. They show which old addresses are still requested, by people, by old emails or by other sites. Any that should have had a successor and did not get a redirect at once.

  • First days

    Logs and Search Console every day: 404s on addresses that should not have them, redirects that fail, pages blocked by mistake.

  • First weeks

    Impressions and clicks per page compared with before, and the indexing report for the new addresses.

  • First months

    Old addresses leave the results gradually. The old sitemap is withdrawn once Google is using the new one.

  • A year and beyond

    The redirects stay. In practice, best kept for good: they cost almost nothing, and old links go on existing.

The order, from inventory to the first year.

  1. Before

    An inventory of every old address, the redirect map, a copy of the old site and its Search Console data, testing in a closed environment.

  2. The day

    Redirects live, the staging noindex removed, a row-by-row check, sitemaps to Google and Bing, Change of Address if the domain changed.

  3. Weeks

    Logs and Search Console: old addresses still requested without the right destination get one. Ranking fluctuation is expected.

  4. 1 year +

    Redirects stay live for at least a year, as Google writes, and preferably for good.

Before you press publish.

In the order that matters. The first three happen before the first new page is designed.

  1. Verify your site in Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools if you have not, and export the pages, queries and links of the last 16 months.

  2. Make a list of every old address that has value: from Search Console, analytics, the sitemap, the logs and external links.

  3. Note for each what kept its ranking: title, copy, queries. Do not rewrite them without a reason.

  4. Write the redirect map: one new address for each old one, or a deliberate retirement with 410. Never everything to the home page.

  5. Test the new site closed to search engines, and check canonical, hreflang and internal links.

  6. On the day of the switch, remove the staging noindex, check every redirect on the live server and submit the sitemaps.

  7. For at least a month, check the logs and Search Console every week, and keep the redirects for at least a year.

We move your rankings along with the page.

Every new website we build in place of an old one goes through the same process we followed for noria.gr. We do not promise that no ranking will move; no one can. We do what Google describes, we check it, and we show you what happens next.

  • Inventory

    Every address on the old site that is indexed, brings visits or has links, from Search Console, analytics, the sitemap and external links.

  • Redirect map

    One by one, each decision checked by a person: the new page with the same content, or 410 only for what is deliberately retired. You see it and approve it.

  • Content that keeps its place

    Titles, copy and queries of the pages that ranked are carried over or improved, not lost in the new design.

  • Closed testing

    The new site runs first in a closed environment, out of the indexes, until it is approved.

  • Launch-day checks

    Redirects, canonical, hreflang, robots and sitemap, on the live server. Submission to Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools, and IndexNow where it is set up.

  • The first weeks

    We watch the logs for old addresses still being requested and fix them, and show you on one page how indexing is progressing.

Start with usPart of Websites

The questions we hear.

Not necessarily. Rankings are lost mainly when addresses change without permanent redirects, or when the content that earned them disappears. With an inventory, a 301 or 308 redirect map and checks after launch, Google transfers the old pages to the new ones. Google itself writes that temporary fluctuation is to be expected, and no one can guarantee every ranking will stay the same.

The platform does not matter to Google; the addresses and the content do. List every WordPress page, post and file that has value, keep addresses the same where you can, and where they change, redirect permanently to the new page with the same content. Do not forget the WordPress sitemaps, images under wp-content, and tag and category pages, which are usually retired with a 410. The same applies to Joomla and old e-shops.

Google writes: as long as possible, and generally at least one year. Bing, in its blog post on migrations, suggests at least one to two years. In practice, if you keep the domain, leave them for good: old links on other sites, in emails and in print go on existing.

No. Google writes that redirecting many old addresses to one irrelevant page, such as the home page, may be treated as a soft 404, as if the page did not exist. Each old page goes to the new one that answers the same question. Anything with no successor is retired with a 404 or 410.

A 404 says “not found”, a 410 “permanently gone”. For indexing, Google writes that it treats every 4xx code except 429 the same way: the page leaves the index. A 410 is clearer for people and for other tools, though, so we use it for content that is deliberately retired.

Only if the domain or subdomain changes, for example from example.gr to example.com. It is not used for HTTP to HTTPS, for www versus non-www, or for path changes on the same domain. You must own both properties in Search Console and permanently redirect the old home page to the new one. Signals are forwarded for 180 days.

It means Google has found the page but not crawled it yet, usually to avoid overloading the server. After a move this is common for several weeks. Google writes that you should not expect every address to be indexed. It is worth worrying only if important pages stay out for a long time.