freeehouse Test phase
DEENESFR

Move your website without losing your Google rankings

For a moved website to keep its rankings, redirect every old address to the matching new one with a permanent 301 redirect and submit the new sitemap in Google Search Console. Google recommends keeping these redirects in place for at least a year.

Your spot on the waiting listTest phase: we're taking on projects gradually.

Test phase

When you send this, we process your details in order to reply to you. More in the privacy policy.

You're on the waiting list.

Maurice, Jan or Jule will look at your current site and get in touch as soon as we can take on your project.

Maurice, Jan & Julewill get back to you personally.
No minimum-term contract No obligation Source code is yours

Last updated: 22 October 2026 · By Maurice, freeehouse team · About 3 minutes to read

What happens in a move

Google has stored every page of your old website under a specific address. If those addresses change, Google can no longer find the old ones. Without a redirect, visitors and the search engine land on an error page.

According to Google, expect fluctuations. With mid-sized websites it can take a few weeks or longer for the new addresses to appear gradually. After that, rankings settle again according to Google.

If the domain stays the same, it is simpler

When switching from Wix or Jimdo to a new website, the domain usually stays the same. Then only the paths change, for example from yourbusiness.de/leistungen-1 to yourbusiness.de/leistungen. According to Google, you only need the change of address tool in Search Console when the domain itself changes.

If you change the domain, you submit the change of address for every verified variant of the old domain.

Step 1: Collect all old addresses

Before anything changes, you need a complete list. Sources for it:

  • The sitemap of the old website, often at /sitemap.xml.
  • The Pages report in Google Search Console.
  • The Search Console performance report, sorted by clicks. The pages with the most clicks matter most.
  • Pages that other websites link to, such as business directories.

Step 2: Assign a target to every old address

Create a table: old address on the left, new address on the right. Every old page gets the new target that matches it in content. Do not redirect everything to the homepage. Visitors do not find the content they were looking for there.

Google recommends permanent redirects with status 301 or 308 and advises against chains. Every old address should point directly to the final target, not via stops in between.

Step 3: Take content and signals with you

Carry over the texts that already rank today and improve them only carefully. Page titles, headings and descriptions of the most important pages should keep the same topic.

Make sure the content is in the HTML. According to its own documentation, Google renders JavaScript in a later step, and not every other bot runs JavaScript.

Step 4: Switch and report

After switching the domain, you submit the new sitemap in Search Console. According to Google, a sitemap is a hint, not a guarantee, but it speeds up discovery. You can also add a line with the sitemap address to your robots.txt.

Then do spot checks: type old addresses into the browser and check whether they land on the right new page.

Step 5: Monitor

Google names these checks for the weeks after the move:

  • Sitemap report: how many old and new addresses are indexed? Warnings about redirected old addresses are normal.
  • Pages report: unexpected crawl errors.
  • Performance report: impressions and clicks on the new addresses.
  • Traffic should fall on the old addresses and rise on the new ones.

Checklist to tick off

These points should be done before you switch.

  • List of all old addresses saved.
  • Old-to-new mapping finished, without chains.
  • 301 redirects set up and tested.
  • New sitemap created, with new addresses only.
  • Search Console verified for the domain.
  • Redirects planned for at least a year.
  • Google Business Profile linked to the new website, if addresses change.
  • Old website cancelled only after the switch.

A word on timing

Do not switch in your busiest season. Plan a few weeks of buffer. At freeehouse, redirects and sitemap are part of the move, and the new site only goes live after your written approval.

If you are planning a move, you can have freeehouse check for free which of your current pages need redirecting.

If you want your current website rebuilt without paying for the build: freeehouse builds it by hand, and you only pay for hosting with care, cheaper than today. Claim your spot on the waiting list

Frequently asked questions

Which redirect is the right one?

A permanent server-side redirect with status 301 or 308. That is what Google's guide to moving a website says.

How long do the redirects have to stay in place?

Google generally recommends at least a year, so the signals transfer to the new addresses.

Will I briefly lose visitors in a move?

According to Google, fluctuations are normal. With mid-sized websites it can take a few weeks or longer for everything to settle.

Do I need the change of address tool?

Only if the domain changes, for example from example.de to example.com. With the same domain and new paths it is not necessary according to Google.

May I redirect all old pages to the homepage?

Better not. Every old page should point to the new page that matches it in content.

Sources

Providers' prices and terms change often. What counts is what's in your customer account and your contract. Not legal advice.

Read more

Having your website moved: costs, process, timingChange a DNS record without losing your emailMove a domain with AuthInfo301 redirects when moving a website
Maurice, Jan & Jule

Ready for a new website?

We're currently testing freeehouse with a first round of businesses. Claim your spot on the waiting list.

Claim your spot