Moving a website? Here's what you need to know
Moving a website can be an exciting process, but there are many mistakes that you may not know about. Check this for more details on the reasons why doing so is sometimes necessary.
Also, learn how to keep your site's traffic and SEO rankings high by avoiding these mistakes when moving domains and web hosts. Read on to find out more!
1. Ensure the New Web Hosting Company is Reliable and Reputable
One of the most common mistakes that website owners make is not researching their new web hosting company before signing up. When you transfer your site to a new server, it's crucial to know the company’s service and reputation.
You may also research how reliable the servers are: whether or not there have been previous outages, and how quickly they can recover. Obviously, the last thing you would want is your website going down for any time whether while moving or just on regular days. That's why it's so important to be very thorough in planning out and executing this undertaking – it needs to go smoothly!
Another thing you can do is check out the company's reviews on social media sites, as well as customer testimonials that are posted online. You'll also want to find out if there will be a contract-signing fee for this service.
2. Ensure Mobile Accessibility
Your site's accessibility is vital even after shifting to a new server. If you want to make sure that it will be usable on any type of device, it's best to work with an expert specializing in mobile web design.
3. Test your Website for Performance Before Launching it
After moving your site, you may want to test your website for performance to ensure it loads quickly.
If it doesn’t, start optimizing the site using SEO (search engine optimization) strategies. You may also check if all web pages have at least one image with descriptive alt text. This strategy helps search engines understand what they are about, so they can be easily searchable.
4. Be Aware Of Any Changes in Google Search Results Rankings After The Move
As you transfer your website from one URL to another, be aware of any changes in Google search results rankings after moving that may happen. For example, once a site is transferred onto a sub-domain, there’s a possibility that it will no longer be “ranked” for the previously relevant keywords on its original domain.
If the process requires changing to a new URL or sub-domain, update any SEO information (keywords, meta descriptions) and taglines if necessary. This can help to reflect the new domain name. This step is crucial when the website has previously been translated into a different language.
5. Check For Broken Links, 404 Errors, or Bugs On The New Site
Before the website transfer is complete, the last step should be to check for any broken links or 404 errors on the transferred site. This may require a manual review of all pages and images, but it's worth checking to avoid user frustrations down the line.
Other things that you can do to check the links are:
- Search in your browser to see if links on other sites are linking back to you.
- Check for 404 errors by checking through website analytics data.
- Consider having a professional SEO audit done before moving your site to be a comprehensive review of the website content, links, and other SEO aspects.
The final thing worth mentioning is bugs – these should be fixed before proceeding with any changes in a site location or design.
