Move platforms without losing your rankings.
Host-to-host moves, platform migrations from Wix, Squarespace, Shopify or Drupal, and rebuilds in place. Every URL mapped, every redirect tested, before we touch DNS.
The problem
Migrations go wrong quietly.
A migration rarely fails loudly. It fails quietly, weeks later, when someone notices traffic has dropped and can’t work out why. Usually it’s a batch of URLs that changed without a redirect, or a page that got left behind somewhere in the move.
The platforms make it worse. Wix, Squarespace and Shopify aren’t built to export cleanly into WordPress, so a rushed migration often means content gets copied by hand, structure gets lost, and nobody maps what used to link where. The same applies in reverse, moving a tired WordPress site to a new host, if the person doing it hasn’t done one properly before.
Rebuilding a site in place carries a quieter version of the same risk. It’s tempting to treat a rebuild as a clean slate and start fresh, but every page that used to rank for something is a page that needs a plan, even if the new version looks completely different.
Done properly, none of this happens. The old site gets audited first, every URL gets a plan, and the new site goes live only once it’s been checked against the old one, not the other way round.
What you get
What’s included in a migration.
Full site audit
Every page, post, image and URL on the current site catalogued before we move anything, so nothing gets missed or forgotten in the process.
Staging copy
The new site gets built and tested on a private staging copy first. The live site keeps running normally until we’re ready to switch.
Content and structure
Text, images, products and custom content moved across and rebuilt natively in WordPress, not force-fitted into a template that doesn’t match.
Redirect mapping
Every old URL mapped to its new address with proper redirects, so search engines and anyone with an old bookmark or link land in the right place.
DNS cutover
The switch to the new host or platform handled carefully, timed to keep downtime to a minimum and checked immediately after it happens.
Post-launch checks
Rankings, traffic and key pages checked in the days after launch, so if anything did slip through, we catch it early rather than a month later.
Process
How a migration runs.
Audit
We catalogue the current site: every page, every URL, every integration, and anything unusual the old platform is doing that needs a plan.
Staging build
The new site gets built on a staging copy while the live site keeps running and taking traffic as normal.
Redirect map and content check
Every URL gets mapped to its new address, and content gets checked against the original so nothing is missing or broken.
DNS cutover
We switch the domain over at a planned time, usually with a few minutes of downtime at most, and confirm the new site is live and working.
Post-launch monitoring
We watch rankings, traffic and error logs in the days after launch, so any issue gets caught and fixed quickly.
Why Maku
Why businesses trust us with a migration.
A migration is one of the riskiest things you can do to a website’s search visibility if it’s rushed. We treat the redirect map as the most important deliverable in the project, not an afterthought.
- Every URL gets a documented redirect plan before launch, not a guess afterwards.
- Content mapping and post-migration checks run with AI assistance, so checking a thousand URLs against the old site is realistic, not theoretical.
- You own the resulting WordPress site outright, with no dependency on the platform you’re leaving.
- Need somewhere for the new site to live? See our hosting page, or our audit page if you want a technical review before deciding whether to migrate or rebuild.
Rebuild in place
Sometimes the move is staying put.
Not every migration is about leaving a platform. Some are about staying on WordPress but replacing a tired theme, a pile of unused plugins or years of accumulated shortcuts with something built properly. We treat a rebuild in place with the same discipline as a full platform move: audit first, staging copy, content checked against the original, and a launch that doesn’t touch a URL your customers or Google already know. If your current WordPress site works but feels slow or dated, this is usually a cheaper path than starting again from scratch, and worth raising during the audit.
Will migrating or rebuilding our site hurt our search rankings?
Not if it’s done properly. Rankings usually drop when URLs change without redirects, or when content quietly disappears during the move. We map every URL, build a full redirect plan, and check rankings and traffic after launch to confirm nothing broke.
How much downtime should we expect?
Usually a few minutes at most, during DNS cutover. We build and test the new site on a staging copy first, so the live site keeps running right up until we’re ready to switch over.
Can you migrate our site from Wix, Squarespace or Shopify to WordPress?
Yes. Content, images and structure move across, and we rebuild the design and any store or booking functionality natively in WordPress rather than trying to force the old platform’s layout into a new one.
What happens to our email during a migration?
If your email runs through the same host as your website, we plan that separately so it keeps working through the move. This is one of the most common things people forget until it breaks, so we check it early rather than after cutover.
How long does a migration take?
A straightforward host-to-host move can happen quickly. A full platform migration, like moving from Shopify to WooCommerce, takes longer because the site is effectively being rebuilt. We’ll give you a timeline once we’ve reviewed what you’re moving from.
Can you migrate a site from an old or custom-built platform?
In most cases, yes, including legacy PHP sites, old Drupal installs and platforms that have gone out of support. We’ll assess what’s actually recoverable during the audit stage before quoting anything.