Best way to update existing site to WordPress?

  • I have an old static website with that I want to upgrade to wordpress. I don’t want to loose incoming links to old content and their google ranking. I’ve done some research would like to see if my assumptions are correct on the best way to migrate:

    1. Leave my existing pages alone to retain links from google and other sites
    2. Create a temporary folder with the wordpress install and transfer/create the content for the new site there.
    3. Once the new site is ready, move it to the root directory OR point the domain to the wordpress directory
    4. Use 301 redirects on the old static pages to their new versions on the wordpress site.

    Is this the best way to migrate to a new wordpress site without losing too much? Is it better to move the wordpress files to root directory or point the domain. I want the best practice for SEO.

    Thanks,
    Chris

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  • Dear greymann,

    I think you have the right ideas and strategy to start moving your site.
    I would also recommend reading up on this article about moving a site written by Google.

    Whenever you move a website you may see a (temporarily) drop in traffic coming from search engines etcetera. However by carefully thinking the process through and using proper redirects the bad effects can be kept to a minimum.

    If possible I would just put the WordPress site on the root domain as that will be your new and full website (presumably). Unless you are ‘just’ putting a blog in a WordPress CMS environment the root would be my preferred option of choice.

    Hope this helps. If it does, please mark this topic as resolved.

    Kind regards,

    CS_WordPress

    Thread Starter greymann

    (@greymann)

    Thank you. That helps a lot.

Viewing 2 replies - 1 through 2 (of 2 total)
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