Website migrations are high-risk operations — moving domains, changing URL structures, switching CMS platforms, migrating from HTTP to HTTPS or moving hosting servers all present opportunities for catastrophic ranking loss if not executed correctly. The most common migration mistakes include not setting up 301 redirects from old URLs to new URLs, launching the new site without removing noindex tags placed during development, updating canonical tags to the new domain incorrectly, and not submitting the new sitemap to Google Search Console before decommissioning the old site. At Chulbul Design, we have completed 100+ website migrations — including domain changes, WordPress to Laravel migrations, shared hosting to VPS migrations and HTTP to HTTPS migrations — all with documented zero ranking loss outcomes.
Domain Migration — Every Ranking Signal Transferred
Moving from one domain to another (rebranding, .in to .com, old domain to new) requires transferring every ranking signal from the old domain to the new one via 301 redirects. A 301 redirect passes approximately 90-99% of the link equity (PageRank) from old URLs to new URLs — but only when implemented correctly. We crawl the entire old website, map every URL to its corresponding new URL, implement 301 redirects in the .htaccess or server configuration, verify redirect chains (no 301→301→301 chains), update all internal links on the new site to point directly to new URLs, update the sitemap and robots.txt, submit a change of address request in Google Search Console, and monitor GSC for 30 days post-migration to catch any indexation issues immediately.
- Full URL mapping — every old URL to new URL
- 301 redirects with no chains — direct old to new
- GSC change of address request submitted
- Internal links updated to new URLs on new site
- 30-day post-migration GSC monitoring
CMS Migration — WordPress to Laravel, Joomla to WordPress & More
Migrating from one CMS to another is one of the most technically complex migrations — the URL structure changes, the database schema is completely different, and content must be migrated with all formatting, images, metadata and SEO settings intact. We have migrated websites from Joomla to WordPress, WordPress to custom Laravel, Magento 1 to Magento 2, Blogger/Wix/Squarespace to WordPress, and various custom-built CMS platforms to modern frameworks. For every CMS migration, we export all content with metadata (titles, meta descriptions, featured images, categories, tags, publish dates), migrate media library with correct file names, rebuild all page templates, set up 301 redirects for any URL structure changes and verify all content migrated correctly before switching DNS.
- Content migration with all metadata intact
- Media library migration with correct file names
- URL structure preservation or redirect mapping
- Pre-migration content audit — find and fix issues before moving
- Parallel run testing before DNS switch
Hosting Migration — Zero Downtime with Full Data Integrity
Moving from shared hosting to VPS, from one data centre to another, or from on-premise to cloud (AWS/DigitalOcean/Google Cloud) requires careful orchestration to avoid downtime. We clone the entire website — files, database and email configuration — to the new server, run comprehensive testing on the new server using the hosts file to preview without changing DNS, verify all functionality including forms, payments and third-party integrations, then switch DNS with a TTL pre-reduced to 300 seconds so propagation happens within minutes. The old server is kept live for 48 hours as a fallback, and we monitor both servers during the transition to catch any missed configurations.
- Full site clone — files + database + configuration
- Hosts file testing — verify before DNS change
- TTL reduced before migration — fast DNS propagation
- 48-hour parallel run — old server live as fallback
- HTTP to HTTPS migration with HSTS and canonical updates
100+
Migrations Completed
0
Ranking Losses
Zero
Downtime Policy
10+
Years Experience
Migration Services We Handle
Domain Migration
Full URL mapping, 301 redirects, GSC change of address, sitemap update and 30-day monitoring — all ranking signals transferred.
CMS Migration
WordPress, Joomla, Wix, Squarespace, Blogger, Magento — content and media migrated with all SEO metadata intact.
Hosting Migration
Shared to VPS, India to cloud, any hosting provider change — zero downtime with parallel run and instant rollback capability.
HTTP to HTTPS
SSL installation, 301 redirects for all HTTP URLs, canonical update, HSTS implementation and mixed content resolution.
URL Structure Change
Restructuring URLs (adding /blog/, removing /category/, changing slug patterns) with comprehensive 301 redirect mapping.
Post-Migration Recovery
Diagnose and recover from a botched migration — identify missing redirects, fix canonical errors and submit for re-crawl in GSC.
Our Migration Process
Pre-Migration Audit
Crawl all URLs, document current rankings and traffic baselines, identify high-value pages requiring priority redirect mapping.
URL Mapping
Every old URL mapped to its new equivalent — 1:1 redirects where possible, best-match redirects for consolidated or restructured pages.
Staging Test
New site set up on staging, noindex on staging, redirects tested with Screaming Frog, functionality verified on staging before DNS change.
Go-Live
noindex removed, DNS switched, redirects live, new sitemap submitted to GSC, GSC change of address filed if domain change.
30-Day Monitoring
GSC coverage, ranking positions and organic traffic monitored daily for 30 days — any issues caught and fixed before they compound.
Migrate Your Website
Without Losing a Single Ranking.
Tell us about your migration — what you are moving from and to. We will assess the risk, create a migration plan and give you a fixed price quote. No surprise costs, no ranking drops.