Prevent drops in your SEO ranking by matching site URLs or setting up redirects.

Squarespace includes built-in tools that can mitigate the effect a site redesign or migration has on your SEO ranking.

Also try: Increasing your site’s visibility to search engines

Does switching website platforms affect my SEO ranking?

Switching platforms or rebuilding a site can affect your SEO ranking if your URL structure changes. Search engines use your old sitemap to find content. If other sites link to your original URLs, the links will break and your ranking may drop. This is true no matter what platform you choose, Squarespace or otherwise.

Track your old sitemap and create 301 redirects

Before you migrate platforms, record your old site’s URLs in each row of a spreadsheet. Then, add the new URLs in the last column as you create your new pages.

If the new Squarespace URLs in your spreadsheet don't match your old site's URLs, set up 301 redirects to send visitors to your new pages.

Keep your domain name

To ensure search engines and visitors can still find your site, we recommend you keep your current domain name. If your domain is hosted by another provider, you can either transfer the domain to Squarespace, or keep it with your current provider and connect it to your Squarespace site.

You can also register new Squarespace domains, including a free domain for the first year of service on an annual plan.

Prevent broken links after migrating

Matching URL slugs ensures your old links direct visitors to your new pages. For example, if the URL of your About page on your old site was yourdomain.com/about, use this same URL on your new site.

Create a custom 404 page

To let visitors know you recently moved your site, Squarespace includes a 404 page. You can customize this page to let your visitors know you recently changed platforms and direct them to your new site.

Request an index of your site

After you've migrated your content and created redirects for your URLs, you can use Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools to request an index of your site. This helps you identify any errors that you need to address.