Moving your website to a new platform can feel like moving houses. You're excited about the new space, but somewhere in the back of your mind you're worried about what might break, get lost, or end up in the wrong box.
That worry isn't unfounded. The biggest risk in a website migration isn't the design. It's losing the search rankings, links, and traffic you've spent years building. A site can look beautiful on launch day and still quietly disappear from Google because a few key steps got skipped.
The good news: with a plan, moving to Squarespace doesn't have to cost you anything. Here's the migration checklist I follow for all of my clients moving from a different platform. Broken into what to do before, during, and after the move.
Why So Many Businesses Move to Squarespace
Most of the businesses I work with come to Squarespace from Wix, WordPress, or Showit for the same reasons. They want a site that's easy to update without a developer, looks polished on every device, and doesn't need constant plugin updates to stay running.
Squarespace handles the techy things hosting, security, and SSL in one place, which means less maintenance and fewer surprises. If you're weighing the cost of the switch, our breakdown of Squarespace website pricing walks through every plan. The platform itself is only half the decision, though. How you move matters just as much.
Before the Move: Take Inventory of What You Have
The most important migration work happens before you build a single page on Squarespace. You need a clear record of your current site so nothing valuable gets left behind.
List Every Page and URL
Start with a complete list of every page on your current site, including blog posts, service pages, landing pages, old pages you hid or deleted, and even pages that aren’t in your main navigation. Put every URL in a spreadsheet, because you'll use it again when it's time to set up redirects.
Find Your Top-Performing Pages
Open Google Search Console and your analytics, and note which pages bring in the most traffic and which search terms they rank for. These are the pages you absolutely cannot afford to lose. Mark them in your spreadsheet so they get extra attention during the rebuild.
Save Your SEO Details and Content
Copy over the current SEO title and meta description for each page, along with image alt text and any copy you plan to keep. Squarespace can import blog content from WordPress, but most other platforms, including Wix, don't offer a direct import, so pages usually need to be rebuilt by hand. Having everything saved in one place makes that process much faster.
During the Build: Rebuild With Structure in Mind
A migration is the perfect time to improve your site, not just copy it. Keep the pages that perform well, tighten the ones that don't, and cut anything that no longer reflects your business. If your site needs more than a move, our post on the real benefits of a website redesign covers what a full refresh can do.
IMPORTANT: Keep your page URLs the same, especially for your top performers. If you are changing a url slug with your new build, it’s extremely important to create a redirect from the new to the old on the back end of your site. More information on this in the next section.
Rebuild every SEO title and meta description, compress your images before uploading, and check every page on mobile as you go. While you're working, keep the new site private or password protected so no one stumbles onto a half-finished build. Our guide to hiding your Squarespace site while you work walks through each option.
The Step That Protects Your SEO: 301 Redirects
If you only remember one thing from this checklist, make it this. Google ranks individual URLs, not your website as a whole. When a URL changes and nothing tells Google where it went, the ranking that page earned can disappear, and anyone who clicks an old link lands on an error page.
A 301 redirect is a permanent forwarding address. It tells browsers and search engines that a page has moved, and it passes along the authority that page built over time. In Squarespace, you add these in the URL Mappings panel, one line per page, in a simple format like /old-page -> /new-page 301.
This matters even when the page itself hasn't really changed, because different platforms structure URLs differently. A WordPress blog post might live at a date-based address, while the same post on Squarespace lives at /blog/post-name. Go back to the spreadsheet you made before the move and map every old URL to its new home.
Your rankings belong to your URLs.
Redirect them properly, and your SEO comes with you to Squarespace.
Moving Your Domain Without Downtime
Once your new site is ready, you'll either connect your existing domain to Squarespace or transfer it over completely. Connecting is often the simpler option, since your domain stays with its current provider and simply points to your new site.
Either way, plan for DNS changes to take up to 48 hours to fully take effect, so don't schedule your launch announcement for the same afternoon. And if your business email runs through your domain, make sure your email settings are carried over so messages keep arriving. Don't cancel your old platform until you've confirmed the new site, your redirects, and your email are all working.
After Launch: Protect Your Rankings
The first few weeks after a migration are when you catch anything that slipped through. Submit your new sitemap to Google Search Console so Google can start crawling your Squarespace site right away. Then keep an eye on Search Console's page reports for errors, and click through your old URLs to make sure each one redirects where it should.
A small dip in traffic right after a migration is normal while Google processes the changes. A big or lasting drop usually points to missing redirects or pages that didn't get rebuilt. If something feels off and you're not sure where to look, a website audit will pinpoint exactly what needs fixing.
Want Someone to Handle the Move for You?
Migrations are detailed work, and the parts that matter most for SEO are also the easiest to overlook. When we move a site to Squarespace, the inventory, rebuild, SEO setup, and redirects are all part of the process, so you get a new site without losing the visibility you've already earned.
Frequently Asked Questions
-
Not if the migration is done carefully. Keeping URLs where you can, rebuilding your SEO titles and descriptions, and setting up 301 redirects for every changed URL are what protect your rankings during the move.
-
No. There isn't a direct import from Wix, so pages need to be rebuilt in Squarespace. WordPress blog content can be imported, but pages and design still need to be recreated.
-
It depends on the size of your site and how much you're changing. A small site with a handful of pages moves much faster than a large site with years of blog posts that all need redirects.
-
No. You can keep your domain with its current provider and connect it to Squarespace, or transfer it if you'd rather manage everything in one place.
-
Your email can keep working as long as its settings are carried over when you connect your domain. Double-check this before you cancel anything on your old platform.
Ready to Make the Move?
Switching to Squarespace should feel like an upgrade, not a gamble. If you're ready for a site that's easier to manage and built to keep the visibility you've worked for, let's talk about your move.
