How to leave Wix without losing your Google rankings

Why rankings drop in a migration

Google knows your site by its URLs. If you change platforms and the addresses change, every old URL without a redirect becomes a 404 error: the visit is lost, and over time the links others gave you stop counting for you.

The same applies whether you are coming from Squarespace, WordPress or an abandoned custom build. The platform changes; the method does not.

Step 1: inventory every URL

Before you touch anything, list every address that exists today. Google recommends building that map from several sources, not just one.

• The site's current sitemap.
• Google Search Console: indexed pages and the ones getting clicks.
• Your analytics: pages with visits in recent months.
• The platform's dashboard: pages, blog posts, products.
• Links other sites have given you, if you know them.

Step 2: the 301 redirect map

Every old URL is assigned to its equivalent new page. Google recommends permanent server-side redirects, such as 301 or 308, and avoiding chains of several hops.

If an old page has no equivalent, point it to the closest page by topic, not to the homepage by default.

Step 3: keep the content that already works

Pages that bring in visits today are not the place to rewrite everything from scratch. Improve the design and speed, but keep the topic, the main headings and the information Google already associates with that page.

• Titles and descriptions of the important pages.
• Copy and headings on the pages that get clicks.
• Image alt text.
• Internal links updated to the new URLs, not the old ones.

Step 4: launch day

• Verify the site in Google Search Console before the switch.
• Publish the new site with redirects live from the first minute.
• Test the most important old URLs one by one: each should land on its new page.
• Submit the new sitemap in Search Console.
• If you are also changing domain, Search Console has a Change of Address tool. It does not apply if you keep the same domain.

Step 5: the domain, in your name this time

If your domain was bought inside Wix or registered by someone else, this is the moment to put it in your name. A transfer is started by whoever is listed as the owner, so check who that is before you begin and have access to that account.

With us, the domain is registered in your name from day one.

After launch, and timing

Google warns that rankings can fluctuate while it recrawls the site, and that on small and medium sites it can take a few weeks or more to start showing the new URLs. It recommends keeping redirects as long as possible, generally at least a year.

In the first weeks, check Search Console for 404 errors and pages that dropped out, and fix any missing redirects. The overall timeline depends on how many pages you have; if the migration comes with a new site, it follows the package timeline: 2 to 4 weeks for a Professional Site.