Move your store without losing your search rankings
Google already knows your pages. A move that changes addresses without redirects throws that away. We plan the move around your existing addresses, redirects, sitemap and structured data, and check the result before and after the switch.
Live on The Porch Swing Store: its old and new addresses, redirects and sitemap were handled this way. We describe the work, not a ranking result.
How migrations lose pages
Product, collection and blog addresses are how search engines and other sites find you. When they change without a redirect, links break, pages drop out and the work that earned them is lost.
The order of the move matters too. If the checkout links point at the address that is moving, shoppers can end up in a loop and unable to pay. The plan has to account for both.
What we do
Inventory every live address
We list what is live from Shopify's own sitemaps and make sure each one resolves on the new site, either as a page or as a redirect.
Keep addresses where we can
The new site uses the same product, collection, page and blog addresses, so most pages need no redirect at all.
Carry over and clean up redirects
Existing Shopify redirects move across. Redirects that point at a deleted page are re-pointed to the closest relevant page instead of a dead end.
Fix dead links in old content
Links inside old blog posts and descriptions that lead to deleted products are repaired, redirected or removed.
Order the cutover safely
Shopify moves to its own subdomain first so checkout links cannot loop, then the main domain moves, with a rollback step written down.
Rebuild sitemap and markup
A fresh sitemap, canonical tags and structured data on the new pages, and the sitemap resubmitted in Google Search Console.
What to check at every move
- Every live address resolves, as a page or a redirect
- No internal links lead to a 404
- Old product and sitemap addresses redirect with a permanent redirect
- Canonical tags point at the address you want ranked
- Checkout, accounts and policy pages still work
- Search Console shows the sitemap read and indexing coverage after launch
No one can promise search rankings after a move. A careful plan reduces the risk of losing pages; it does not guarantee a result.
- Crawl the old storeWe collect every live address and redirect so nothing is left to memory.
- Map old to newEach address is matched to a page, a redirect or a deliberate removal.
- Build and checkWe run a link check against the live Shopify addresses and fix what does not resolve.
- Switch and watchWe move the domain in the planned order, verify real pages and redirects, resubmit the sitemap and watch coverage.
For The Porch Swing Store, the migration notes record 4,491 of 4,491 live Shopify addresses resolving on the new site, with 555 redirects in the redirect map. We checked on the live site that an old collection-path product address redirects to the clean product address, and that the old product sitemap redirects to the new one.
Questions about this playbook
Will I lose my Google rankings?
A careful migration is built to avoid that, by keeping addresses, redirecting the rest and checking coverage. We cannot promise rankings, so we describe the work and show you the checks.
Do I need to change my domain?
Not usually. Shopify can move to a subdomain for checkout and accounts while the main domain serves the new front end, so shoppers keep the address they know.
What about my sitemap and Search Console?
We build a new sitemap on the same property, submit it, and watch indexing after launch.
Can you migrate from another platform to Shopify?
Possibly, but our verified migration work is a Shopify front-end rebuild. Tell us the platform and we will say what we would do and what we have not done before.
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Consultants In A Box is an independent consultancy. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by Shopify or Google. Product names belong to their owners.
Want this for your online store?
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