Leaving Wix (or WordPress) Without Losing Google: the Migration Guide

There is a moment in nearly every platform-change conversation where the owner stops: "but the site already ranks on Google — if we move, do I lose everything?". The fear is legitimate, because it happens: hastily migrated sites lose positions that took years to earn. But the cause is never "changing platforms" — it is changing addresses without leaving a trail. Done with method, Google follows the move within weeks; in some cases positions even improve, because the new site is faster.

We have already covered why and when to leave each platform; this guide is the how.

The principle that saves everything: Google follows addresses

To Google, your site is not "the site" — it is a collection of addresses (/services, /prices, /blog/article-x), each with its own accumulated reputation. Migrations destroy rankings when those addresses stop answering. The tool that prevents it is the 301 redirect: a permanent instruction saying "this page moved here", which transfers the reputation along with the visitor.

Every serious migration boils down to: inventory the old addresses, decide each one's destination, and make sure none dies silently.

The process, step by step

1. Inventory what you have. Before touching anything: the complete list of current pages. Sources: the old site's sitemap, Search Console's pages report (what Google knows), and Analytics (what people actually visit). Also save the titles and descriptions of your best-performing pages — they took time to get right.

2. Know what is exportable — and what is not. Platforms differ enormously here. WordPress exports content reasonably well. From Wix and Squarespace, text and images come out with manual work or third-party tools, the design does not come out at all — and one detail catches many people: if the old blog generates its own URL patterns, every article needs its own individual redirect. Budget time for this; it is the most underestimated part.

3. Build the new site in parallel. The old one stays live, untouched, until switch day. You never turn off the old before the new is ready — obvious, and yet.

4. Build the redirect map. A two-column table: old address → new address. Every page with traffic or rankings gets an explicit destination. Golden rules:

• An equivalent page exists? Redirect to it — not to the homepage. Redirecting everything to the homepage is the classic mistake Google reads as "these pages ceased to exist".
• A page you decided to drop? Redirect to the nearest parent (a discontinued service → the services page).
• Keep addresses identical where you can — the perfect redirect is the one you never need.

5. Switch day. The domain points at the new site, the redirects go live at the same moment, and the new sitemap is submitted in Search Console. If you changed platform but kept the domain, Google only has to digest the addresses; if you changed domain too, additionally use Search Console's change-of-address tool.

6. The two-week watch. In Search Console, the not-found (404) report is your radar: every old address that shows up there is a redirect that failed — fix it that day. Also verify the new site is not accidentally blocking search engines (it happens more than it should: the "hide from search" option used during construction that nobody switched off).

What really changes, and what is myth

• Myth: "changing platforms resets your SEO." Google ranks pages, not platforms. Preserved addresses + preserved content = preserved reputation.
• True: speed counts. If the new site is visibly faster — and speed weighs on rankings and conversions — the migration tends to gain ground once the dust settles.
• True: there is a temporary wobble. Days to a few weeks of ranking dance while Google reprocesses. Normal; panic only if the 404s pile up.
• Myth: "launch the new site and we'll see." The redirect map is built before launch. Afterwards you are stemming losses, not planning.

This process is first cousin to what we described for redesigning without losing SEO — the difference is that in a platform change the addresses almost always change, so the redirect map goes from precaution to centrepiece.

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In the migrations we do, the inventory, the 301 map and the post-launch watch are part of the job — the difference between moving house with professional movers and throwing furniture out of the window. If you are stuck on a platform you have outgrown and SEO is what keeps you there, describe the site in our estimate form: you get a concrete figure and our frank read on how much of your current traffic is transportable (usual spoiler: nearly all of it).