WordPress migrations

Move your site to us without going offline

You already have a WordPress site. Somewhere else is looking after it — or nobody is. We take it on as it stands: the files, the database, the domain, the plugins and the mess nobody documented. The switch happens with your site up the whole time.

Zero
Downtime at cutover
Rankings
URLs and redirects preserved
Yours
Domain, hosting and site stay in your name
What we take on

The whole site, not just the pretty parts

A migration isn't a file copy. It's inheriting every decision someone else made — and being straight with you about which ones we'd change. Here's what moves across and what we take responsibility for once it has.

Files, database and media

Every post, page, product, user, upload and setting comes across intact — including the custom fields and post types a plain export tends to drop.

URLs, redirects and rankings

Your URL structure is preserved. Anything that has to change gets a permanent redirect, so the pages Google already knows about keep working.

Domain, DNS and email

We handle the DNS cutover and leave your mail records exactly where they are. Moving the site does not move, pause or break your email.

An honest audit of what's there

Abandoned plugins, nulled themes, PHP versions years out of date, code nobody can explain. We find it, write it down and tell you what it would take to fix.

Speed and SSL on arrival

Certificates, caching and image handling are set up as part of the move — most sites are measurably faster on day one without anything being redesigned.

Access and documentation

Logins, licences, registrar and host accounts collected and written down in one place — in your name, handed to you at the end whether you stay or not.

How the switch works

Your site stays up the entire time

Nothing points at the new site until it has been built, tested and signed off by you. The live site keeps serving visitors right up to the moment we flip DNS — and if anything looks wrong afterwards, the old one is still there to switch back to.

  1. 01

    Audit and access

    We take a read-only look at what you have — host, PHP version, plugins, theme, traffic, integrations — and list anything that needs a decision before the move. Nothing on your live site changes at this stage.

    Nothing touched
  2. 02

    A full copy, running in parallel

    Files, database and uploads are cloned onto the new hosting and run on a private URL. Your live site carries on untouched, taking orders and enquiries as normal.

    Live site unaffected
  3. 03

    Test it like a visitor

    We walk the copy: forms submit, checkout completes, logins work, emails arrive, redirects resolve. You get the private URL and check it yourself. Nothing moves until you say it's right.

    You sign off
  4. 04

    Sync, then cut over

    We drop DNS time-to-live in advance, re-sync anything that changed on the live site since the copy, then point the domain at the new one. Both servers answer during propagation, so no visitor hits a dead site.

    Zero downtime
  5. 05

    Watch, then hand over

    We monitor errors, forms and search console for the first stretch after cutover, keep the old environment available as a fallback, and hand you documented access to everything.

    Rollback stays available
What it costs

One fixed price, agreed before anything moves

Migrations are quoted from the audit, not from a guess. We look at your site first, then give you a single number and a date. It doesn't move unless you change the scope.

Straightforward

A brochure or marketing site on standard hosting, with a mainstream theme and plugins that are all still maintained.

Fixed price Quoted from audit

  • Full copy, test and cutover
  • SSL, caching and redirects
  • Usually done inside a week

Complex

Multisite, membership, heavy custom code, an unsupported PHP version, or a site that needs repair work before it's safe to maintain.

Fixed price Quoted from audit

  • Everything in Standard
  • Remediation quoted separately and clearly
  • Staged cutover where the risk warrants it

What moves the number

  • How many pages, products and users are coming across
  • Whether the current site is healthy or needs fixing first
  • Integrations that have to be re-authorised and re-tested
  • Whether URLs change, and how much redirect mapping that needs
  • How much of the current setup is documented — or has to be reverse-engineered

Send us the URL and we'll come back with the audit, a fixed price and a date — usually within one working day. The audit costs you nothing.

Questions

The things people actually worry about

Will my Google rankings drop?

They shouldn't. A migration only hurts rankings when URLs change without redirects or the site goes down long enough to be crawled while broken — and we do neither. Your URL structure is preserved, anything that has to change gets a permanent redirect, and we watch Search Console after cutover to catch anything unexpected.

Will my email stop working?

No. Email lives on separate DNS records from your website, and we don't touch them. If your mail happens to sit on the same host as the site, we plan that move deliberately and separately — never as a side effect of moving the site.

How long is the site actually offline?

It isn't. The new site is built and tested on a private URL while the old one keeps serving visitors. At cutover both servers answer requests during DNS propagation, so there's no window where someone hits a dead site. Worst case a visitor sees the old version for a few hours.

What if something breaks after the switch?

The old environment stays up as a fallback, so we can point the domain back at it while we fix whatever surfaced. Fixing migration problems is part of the migration — it isn't a separate invoice.

Am I locked in once you've moved it?

No. There's no contract term on the migration itself, and our care plans are rolling and monthly. If you leave, you leave with the site, the backups and every login — handed over properly rather than made difficult.

Who owns the site and the domain?

You do, throughout. Domain, hosting and plugin licences stay in accounts registered in your name with you as the owner. We work inside your accounts rather than holding them — you can revoke our access at any point without losing anything.

Do I have to tell my current provider first?

Not to start. The audit and the copy need read access, which you can usually grant yourself. It's worth checking your notice period before cutover so you're not paying two providers longer than necessary — we'll flag it if it looks likely.

My site is a mess. Will you still take it?

Usually, yes — most sites we inherit have something awkward in them. The audit tells you honestly what state it's in and what it would take to make it maintainable. If we think a rebuild is the better spend than a migration, we'll say so rather than take the smaller job.

Start a project

Tell us what you're launching.

Send over what you're trying to build and we'll come back with a scope, a fixed timeline and a fixed price — usually within one working day. No pitch deck, no discovery invoice, no obligation to proceed.

  • Reply within one working day
  • Fixed timeline and price
  • No obligation to proceed