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WordPress moves

WordPress migration services for host, domain and URL moves

For WordPress business sites changing host, domain, HTTPS or URL structure, where organic search brings in inquiries or sales.

For WordPress sites changing domain, HTTPS, www or URL structure: we map every URL on your signed inventory, move the site and crawl the list again on day 30, from $2,990 / £2,390. Changing host only, with the same URLs? That move needs little SEO work; the Launch Check, from $590 / £470, checks the launch.

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Day-30 URL Check: Final 40% invoiced only after our day-30 crawl shows every signed-list URL reaching its mapped, indexable page. Outages and others' changes excluded.

By SEO Migration StudioPublished

Permalink change map

Sample

example.com · /%year%/%monthnum%/%postname%/ → /blog/%postname%/

Old URLNew URLStatusCheck
/2021/04/permit-costs//blog/permit-costs/301 → 200Passed: One hop
/2020/11/roof-repair-faq//blog/roof-repair-faq/301 → 200Passed: One hop
/2019/06/spring-promo/–410Retired: Retired on the map
/category/news//blog/category/news/301 → 301 → 200Failed: Chain: two hops
/feed//feed/200Passed: Unchanged
Sample format with example.com rows. Real files go to the client.

Which WordPress move are you planning?

These WordPress migration services cover a business site that stays on WordPress while its host, domain or URL structure changes, including a change to HTTPS or between www and the bare domain. The number of URLs that change decides how much SEO work the move needs, and which package fits.

Your move What changes What fits
New host, same domain and URLs Only the hosting; every URL stays the same Your host’s migration, plus the Launch Check if organic search brings in revenue
New domain or rebrand Every URL changes, and Google Search Console needs a Change of Address1 URL-Verified Migration
HTTPS, www or permalink change The changed URLs need 301 redirects; no Change of Address1 URL-Verified Migration
A domain, HTTPS, www or permalink change that your developer or host runs The same URL changes, with someone else moving the site SEO Migration Package

The SEO Migration Package is for a URL-changing move that your developer or host runs: we hand over a map your developer can import and check the launch. In the URL-Verified Migration, we move the site as well. The price list below prints every package and size in the table.

Not on WordPress yet? A site on another platform belongs with switching platforms into WordPress. A new theme or a full rebuild is a WordPress redesign, even when the host stays the same.

If the move has already happened and clicks fell, start with a diagnosis of the drop.

What a URL change adds to a host move

A host move with the same URLs needs little SEO work. WordPress’s handbook says: “If database and URL remain the same, you can move by just copying your files and database.”2 A host’s migration copies the site as it is, so it fits that job. Once the domain, HTTPS, www or permalinks change, the same move picks up four more jobs.

Job Same-URL host move Domain, HTTPS, www or URL change
Old addresses inside the database Stay correct Replaced with a search-replace that keeps serialized data intact2
Redirects None needed One 301 redirect from each old URL to its mapped page
Google Search Console Same property New sitemap, plus a Change of Address for a new domain
After launch Watch crawling and server errors Day-7 and day-30 crawls of every URL on the signed inventory

The signed URL inventory lists every address with Search Console clicks or impressions, backlinks, an index entry or a sitemap entry. That catches what a list of pages misses: media and attachment URLs, category and tag archives, feeds, and old URLs that already redirect.

Ask your host which of these jobs its migration includes. If it handles the redirects and Search Console, the Launch Check may be the only extra you need.

On a domain change or rebrand

Keep the old domain registered: its host-level 301 redirects keep sending links and bookmarks to the mapped pages. Google asks for a Change of Address on “all verified variants of the old domain”1, and we submit one for each. We ask the owners of your top linking domains to update their links, and you get a list of the profiles and directory listings that still show the old address.

The domain stays, so there is no Change of Address to file; the work sits in the URLs themselves. Every changed URL gets one 301 redirect, and the canonical tags, the XML sitemap and the links inside your posts and menus switch to the new form. Google notes that “redirects are slow for users”1, so internal links should reach the new URL without a hop.

What you provide, and how the move runs

Launch Check timing: From 1-2 business days before launch to day 30.

Each fixed quote names a start date and the project length for your size, and we agree the launch window before work begins. Fixed quotes come back within 1 business day. Before the work starts, we need:

  1. Admin access to WordPress, plus hosting and DNS access, or your host’s help on launch day.
  2. Read access to Google Search Console, and to Google Analytics 4 if you use it. For a domain change, owner permission on both Search Console properties, old and new.
  3. The new domain or URL structure, and any pages you plan to retire.
  4. One person on your side who can sign the URL inventory and the redirect map, and approve staging.

You sign the URL inventory and the redirect map before launch; the day-30 crawl checks that same list. The migration process sets out each phase, from the inventory to the day-30 crawl, and what each one produces.

After launch: the day-30 crawl and Redirect Guard

Where a page ranks after a move is up to Google, and no one can promise a ranking. The day-30 crawl checks the part we control: whether each URL on your signed inventory reaches its mapped, indexable page. On the URL-Verified Migration, that crawl is the Day-30 URL Check, set out under Terms with its conditions, remedy and limits.

Redirects matter for longer than launch week: Google advises keeping them “generally at least 1 year”1. For a rebrand, read the domain-change plan before you pick a launch date.

A deleted page, an edited permalink or a redirect plugin update can break a redirect long after launch. Redirect Guard keeps checking the signed list in the months that follow, at $149 / £119 a month.

URL-Verified Migration prices and options

Founding-Client 3-Week URL-Verified Migration Sprint for WordPress Business Sites

Businesses moving another platform into WordPress, or changing domain or URL structure on WordPress

Price by size
SizeUSDGBP
Size S: up to 50 pages, 500 URLs$2,990£2,390
Size M: up to 200 pages, 2,000 URLs$5,490£4,390

Includes

  • Signed inventory, redirect map and platform pattern map
  • Content moved into WordPress with titles, meta and images (S: up to 50 pages and 500 URLs; M: up to 200 pages and 2,000 URLs)
  • 30-Day Launch Check
  • 90 days of Weekly Redirect Guard
  • Handover Pack
  • For rebrands, a Domain-Change Kit: change of address, old domain kept live with host-level 301s, and a list of profiles and citations to update
  • Link Reclamation for the top 20 linking domains

Not included

  • Paid plugins the old platform used
  • New copywriting (we move your existing content)
  • Hosting and domain renewals
  • Premium theme or plugin licenses
  • Stock images
  • Ad spend
  • Translation

SEO Migration Package

Relaunches built by a developer or agency that want the full SEO layer without the build

Price by size
SizeUSDGBP
Size S: up to 500 URLs$1,980£1,560
Size M: up to 2,000 URLs$3,280£2,600
Size L: up to 10,000 URLs$5,280£4,180

Includes

  • Everything in the Migration Map and the 30-Day Launch Check
  • 90 days of Weekly Redirect Guard (monitoring plus alerts to you and your developer)

Not included

  • The WordPress build (your developer or agency does it)
  • Copywriting
  • Design

30-Day Launch Check

Sites launching with a redirect map, written by us or by their developer

Price by size
SizeUSDGBP
Size S: up to 500 URLs$590£470
Size M: up to 2,000 URLs$890£710
Size L: up to 10,000 URLs$1,390£1,090

Includes

  • Staging crawl against the map 1-2 business days before launch
  • Launch-day verification in the agreed window (robots.txt, noindex, canonicals, redirects, sitemaps, Search Console including change of address for domain moves, analytics firing)
  • Day-7 and day-30 crawls with a fix list
  • Up to 2 hours of hands-on fixes if given access

Not included

  • Hands-on fixes beyond 2 hours
  • Writing the redirect map (that is the Migration Map)

Weekly Redirect Guard

Any relaunched site (built by us or by another builder) that wants redirects and indexing watched for the year Google recommends

Price, per month
SizeUSDGBP
Up to 2,000 URLs$149£119

Includes

  • Weekly crawl of the signed list (up to 2,000 URLs), plus a Search Console coverage and 404 watch
  • Alert by the next business day
  • Up to 2 fix hours a month
  • One-page monthly report by the 5th business day

Not included

  • Fix hours beyond 2 a month
  • Signed lists over 2,000 URLs

See the migration process

Terms for URL-Verified Migration and options

Day-30 URL Check

Condition
The final 40% of the project fee is invoiced only after our day-30 crawl shows every URL on your signed list reaching its mapped, indexable page: the old URL returns one 301 to its mapped target, the target returns 200, is not noindexed or blocked by robots.txt, and its canonical points to itself; an unchanged URL returns 200; a URL the signed map retires returns 410. Your part: sign the URL inventory and the map before launch, keep our WordPress admin and hosting/DNS access through day 30, and tell us before changing URLs, permalinks, redirect rules or redirect plugins in those 30 days.
Remedy
We fix every failure at no charge and re-crawl within 2 business days of each fix; the 40% is invoiced on the first passing crawl.
How to claim
Automatic: day 30 is 30 calendar days after the launch time in the launch log, and we run the crawl within 2 business days after it. The report and CSV are shared with you, and you can re-run the same list.
Limit
Once per project. If the crawl cannot run because access was removed or the site is down for reasons outside our scope, the 40% is invoiced on day 37. Not covered: host, CDN or DNS outages; changes made by you or anyone else; URLs added after you signed the list.

Staging sign-off

Second 30% due when you approve staging, or 5 business days after we send it unless you list in-scope fixes.

Applies to
Projects bill 30% to book, 30% at staging sign-off and 40% under the Day-30 URL Check.
How it is billed
Staging counts as approved when you approve it, or 5 business days after we send it unless you list in-scope fixes in that time.
How it runs
List the in-scope fixes in writing within the 5 business days.
Limit
In-scope fixes only; new requests are quoted as extra hours.

Founding-Client bonus

Projects signed by 29 January 2027, 11:59 p.m. ET get 9 more months of Redirect Guard (sold separately at $149 / £119 a month).

Who qualifies
A Migration, Redesign, Intensive, SEO Migration Package or Recovery Fix signed before 29 January 2027, 11:59 p.m. ET.
What you get
9 more months of Weekly Redirect Guard after the included 3, starting after your own launch.
How it is applied
Included in the order form when it is signed before the deadline.
Limit
Once per project. The window runs once and closes at 29 January 2027, 11:59 p.m. ET.

SEO-only billing

50% to book; 50% invoiced when the map covers every signed-list URL.

Applies to
Migration Map and SEO Migration Package.
How it is billed
The second 50% is invoiced only when the map covers every URL on your signed list.
How it runs
Automatic: you receive the map with its coverage against the signed list.
Limit
The signed list is the URL inventory you signed before mapping started.

Map fix commitment

90 days post-launch: each signed-list URL broken by a map error gets a corrected map entry within 1 business day of your claim.

Condition
A map error: the map sends a signed-list URL to the wrong target, to no target, or omits a URL on the signed list. Your developer implements the map as written, and you send the launch date.
Remedy
A corrected map entry within 1 business day of your claim.
How to claim
Email the URL list within 90 days of launch; we confirm within 2 business days.
Limit
Once per URL. Not covered: the map not implemented as written; server, CDN or plugin rules outside the map; URLs added after sign-off; changes after launch by others.

Launch Check billing

50% to book, 50% when the day-30 report is delivered.

Applies to
30-Day Launch Check.
How it is billed
The second 50% is invoiced when the day-30 report is delivered.
Limit
One launch per Launch Check.

Cancel at month-end

Month to month; cancel anytime, effective at the end of the paid month.

Applies to
Weekly Redirect Guard.
What happens
Cancellation takes effect at the end of the month you have paid for.
How to cancel
Email a cancellation before the next month starts.
Limit
No refund for a part month.

Frequently asked questions

My host migrates for free. Why pay?

If only the host changes and every URL stays the same, you may not need to: the host’s migration does the move, and the Launch Check, from $590 / £470, checks the launch. Pay for the URL work when the domain, HTTPS, www or permalinks change, because each URL that changes then needs a mapped page and a 301 redirect. If clicks fell after a host move, start with a diagnosis of the drop.

Do you move WordPress.com sites to self-hosted WordPress?

Yes, as a URL-Verified Migration, from $2,990 / £2,390. WordPress.com says its export file holds “your posts, pages, comments, categories, and tags, plus links to your media files (not the actual files)”, so the media library moves as its own step. A WordPress.com site redirect sends a .wordpress.com address and its permalinks to the new domain, but works beyond the homepage only when the new site keeps the same permalinks.

Does changing hosts affect SEO?

Google describes a temporary effect on crawling when the URLs stay the same. Google’s guidance on changing hosts calls a drop in Googlebot’s crawl rate after launch normal, followed by “a steady increase over the next few days”. The Launch Check looks for what a host move can break: robots.txt rules, noindex tags, old server redirect rules and server errors.

Can you take over a move that is already half done?

Yes, if the old site or a full backup of it still exists. We crawl the old and new versions against the URLs that earned clicks in Google Search Console, list what is missing, and send a fixed quote for the rest. If the new site is already live and clicks have fallen, the diagnosis comes first, so the fix starts from a named cause.
Sources (5)
  1. How to move a site Google Search Central. Accessed .
  2. Migrating WordPress (Advanced Administration Handbook) WordPress.org. Accessed .
  3. Changing your hosting Google Search Central. Accessed .
  4. Export WordPress Content WordPress.com. Accessed .
  5. Redirect a WordPress.com site address WordPress.com. Accessed .

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