Moving your website
How to change web hosting without losing your SEO work
Key takeaway
Protect your SEO work during a hosting move by keeping useful pages and addresses, testing the replacement and checking search access after launch. If an address changes, arrange a relevant permanent redirect. Plan DNS and email separately, and keep the original service until the agreed handover has been checked.
In this guide
Separate a hosting move from a new set of addresses
You can change hosting while keeping the same public domain and page addresses. That is different from renaming the domain or replacing many old addresses during a redesign. Establish which kind of move you are planning before writing the brief.
Keep a record of important existing pages, including service details, downloadable documents and pages linked from other websites. Tell us which ones generate enquiries. The current website address is a useful starting point for our assessment.
See the website moving process
Sources: Google: a hosting move with the same page addresses (opens in a new tab)
Preserve useful content during the rebuild
Modernising the design does not require throwing out information that helps customers. Bring the existing services, answers and contact details into the brief, then improve what needs attention. A shorter navigation menu should not accidentally remove a useful public page.
Review the page list alongside the private proof. Check the pages customers reach from old emails, advertising and other websites, not only the route from the new homepage. Agree how any retired content will be handled.
Map changed pages to the right destination
If an old page moves to a new address, a relevant permanent redirect helps visitors and search engines reach its replacement. Avoid sending every old address to the homepage when a matching service page exists.
For example, if the old garden-maintenance page becomes a new gardening-services page, record that specific pair. The developer can implement and test the redirect, then update links within the new website to use the current address.
How hosting supports search visibility
Sources: Google: moving a website when addresses change (opens in a new tab)MDN: permanent and temporary redirects (opens in a new tab)
Keep the proof private and the live site public
Our proofs require authorised access while you review them. The approved public website needs the appropriate public access after launch. Check that preview restrictions have not accidentally been carried into the live version.
The review should include readable content, page titles, navigation and important actions. A proof that looks attractive is useful; a checked enquiry process and a complete page list make the handover more practical.
Arrange the switch, email and final data together
Google’s hosting-move guidance recommends preparing and testing the new setup before the switch. If your site receives orders or bookings, agree how information arriving during the handover will be retained. A copy from last week is not necessarily ready for today’s customers.
DNS changes for the website need to preserve the intended email route. Registration, hosting and email are separate decisions even when one provider currently supplies all three. Leave the old service available until the agreed checks are complete.
Keep email working through the moveUnderstand the DNS switch
Sources: Google: a hosting move with the same page addresses (opens in a new tab)
Check the public website after launch
Check important old and new addresses, enquiry routes and public search access. Update the sitemap if the page list changed and monitor relevant Search Console information as Google processes the site. Allow for search results changing while pages are recrawled.
Lightning Web Hosting assesses the transfer or rebuild before confirming the work. Thunder is NZ$55 + GST per website a month. Lightning is NZ$99 + GST and adds everyday Arc updates. Both include AWS hosting, CDN, SSL, platform security, daily website backups, domain registration and DNS. Hosting billing begins when the website is live with us; agreed one-off modernisation is separate.
Check the page experience after launch
Sources: Google: moving a website when addresses change (opens in a new tab)