Leaving WordPress: how to move without losing your Google rankings

Leaving WordPress doesn't mean starting from scratch. Done in the right order, your content, URLs and Google rankings come with you. This guide follows the order we used when moving Sankotek's site.

1. Measure and take inventory first

Record where you stand before the move; it will be the answer to "what did we gain?" afterwards.

• Speed: Google PageSpeed Insights for the home page and a few key pages, mobile and desktop.
• Content: pages, posts, custom content types (projects, product showcases), categories, menus, images and files.
• URLs: every address in your sitemap and in Search Console.
• Third parties: which domains are called when a page loads (fonts, video, analytics, spam filters).
• Forms: which form emails whom.

2. Copy content without touching WordPress

The WordPress REST API is open on most sites; pages, posts, categories and media can be read from it without changing anything. Images are downloaded separately. Your old site stays online throughout; visitors notice nothing.

3. Keep your URLs

Google rankings are tied to URLs. There are two ways:

• Same URLs: the new site uses the old URL structure as is (the safest).
• Permanent redirects (301): if URLs change, each old URL redirects to its new equivalent. Unmatched URLs should land on a proper 404 page, not the home page.

Page titles and descriptions should move too, and pages without a description should get one.

4. Don't forget email

On many WordPress sites, email lives with the same host (check your MX record). Don't close the old hosting until email has moved. With SPF, DKIM and DMARC set up correctly on the new mail server, messages don't land in spam.

5. Preview, then switch

1. The new site is prepared behind closed doors (maintenance mode); you review and approve it.
2. The domain points to the new server; an HTTPS certificate is issued.
3. Old URLs are tested (do the redirects work?).
4. The new sitemap is submitted in Search Console; if the domain changed, a change of address is filed.
5. Speed is measured again and compared with the first test.

How long does it take?

It depends on the size of the site and whether the design is kept or refreshed. For simple business sites, the longest part is not the content but checking the design and the forms.