Website rebuilds
Rebuilding a Wix website without losing your search visibility
We have nothing against the website that got a business through its first years. Wix can be a perfectly sensible way to get online. The problem comes when the monthly cost grows, editing feels like moving furniture through a narrow doorway, or the site no longer fits the business it helped create. Rebuilding is possible without throwing away everything Google already understands.
Do not cancel the current site first
Keep the existing website online while its replacement is planned and built. It is a useful record of current URLs, content, search titles, images, forms, and integrations.
The domain and the website subscription are separate considerations. Confirm where the domain is registered, who controls it, and which email or DNS services depend on it before changing anything.
Create an inventory of pages and URLs
Export or record every public URL, then compare that list with Search Console and analytics. Pages that attract search visits, earn links, or generate inquiries deserve special attention even if the design looks dated.
Decide whether each page will be kept, combined, replaced, or retired. This becomes the redirect plan and prevents useful pages from disappearing accidentally.
Preserve intent, not every old sentence
A migration is a chance to improve information architecture and rewrite unclear content. You do not need to reproduce the old site exactly, but the new page should continue to answer the search need that made the old page valuable.
For a bilingual tourism site, this is also the right moment to plan English information around international visitors instead of treating it as an afterthought. We would rather preserve the useful truth of a business than carefully migrate ten years of vague marketing copy.
Redirect changed addresses one by one
When an old URL changes, add a permanent redirect to the most relevant new page. Do not send every retired address to the homepage. A precise redirect helps both visitors and search engines understand what replaced the old information.
Keep the redirect list after launch and test it. Links from Google, maps, social posts, printed QR codes, and other websites may continue pointing to old addresses for years.
Launch with measurement in place
Carry over analytics and verify the new domain property in Search Console. Submit the updated sitemap, inspect the most important pages, and watch indexing, traffic, forms, and server errors during the following weeks.
Some fluctuation is normal after a substantial rebuild. Missing redirects, accidental noindex tags, incorrect canonicals, and broken navigation are not. A launch checklist makes those issues preventable.
Only close Wix when the move is confirmed
Once the replacement is live, redirects work, the domain resolves correctly, email is unaffected, and the team can manage the new workflow, the old website plan can usually be cancelled.
Save a copy of useful text, images, invoices, and account details first. The objective is a controlled handover—not a hurried switch.