The strategic migration: 4 technical steps for moving to Squarespace

Let’s minimize the time that fish is out of water.

Lots of website designers will design a beautiful site for you. But when changing from one platform to another, we need to think about the website in the context of your entire marketing system.

A website migration to a platform like Squarespace is a significant opportunity to build a better digital presence that is more secure and more easily managed. However, your website is not just a brochure; it is the central hub for your SEO, paid advertising, lead generation, and analytics.

That means taking steps to preserve your existing search authority, ensuring every conversion path remains intact, and guaranteeing that your crucial performance data is immediately and accurately collected on the new platform.

In many ways, changing platforms is a more technically challenging process than simply building a new site, and therefore it’s not recommended as a DIY project. This isn't about simply constructing a new site; it’s about executing a technical strategy for confident growth in continuity with your previous work. Here are 4 key tasks I complete to make sure your new site launches with maximum power and zero interruption to your business momentum.

1. The SEO Lifeline: Comprehensive URL Mapping (301 Redirects)

This is the single most critical step in any site migration. When you move from a platform like WordPress or Joomla to Squarespace, your URL structure (slugs) is almost guaranteed to change. A blog post previously at /2023/04/post-title might move to /blog/post-title.

Every single old URL that has built up link equity (SEO authority) through backlinks, bookmarks, or social shares must be redirected to its corresponding new URL.

• The Technical Risk: If an old URL results in a 404 error (page not found), Google views the content as gone, and your link equity is permanently lost.

• The Strategic Solution: I create a full list of all existing URLs, map them to the new Squarespace URL structure, and implement a 301 permanent redirect for every change using the Squarespace URL Mappings feature. This tells Google: "The content permanently moved here, transfer the authority."

2. The Content Audit: Pruning, Optimization, and Inventory

A migration isn't just about moving data; it's an opportunity to optimize your content strategy and implement a critical AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) step: pruning.

Before moving your content, we strategically review:

• Content Pruning: Identify thin, low-traffic, or outdated pages in Google Analytics and Google Search Console. Instead of migrating these pages, they should be deleted and their URLs redirected to a relevant, high-quality page (or simply allowed to 404 if they have no authority). This removes "dead weight" and boosts the overall quality signal of your site.

• SEO Inventory: Document all existing Page Titles and Meta Descriptions for your top pages. This critical metadata needs to be manually carried over and optimized on your new Squarespace pages, as automatic exports often fail to preserve this data.

• URL Structure: Plan the new, clean, keyword-optimized URL slugs before publishing to minimize the redirect headache later.

3. The Media Mountain: Image Migration and Optimization

While the mass export/import process handles text relatively easily, retrieving image assets from your old CMS can be slow and difficult.

More importantly, images pose the greatest threat to Site Speed and Accessibility, which are core technical SEO and User Experience factors.

• The Retrieval Challenge: We must ensure all images are downloaded from your old server.

• The Optimization Mandate: Every image must be reviewed for size and naming conventions:

  • File Size and type: Images should be compressed before upload to prevent slow page load times (a major ranking and UX factor). High resolution files can be scaled down and optimized as .webp files without losing any noticeable quality.

  • Alt Text: Crucially, the descriptive Image Alt Text used by search engines and screen readers must be preserved or re-written on every image in Squarespace.

4. The Tracking Hub: Reconnecting All Integrations

The migration isn't successful until you can prove it with data. The moment the new site goes live, it must be tracked and monitored for technical errors.

• Google Search Console (GSC) & Re-Indexing: Your new Squarespace sitemap must be submitted immediately after launch to GSC. This is the official notification to Google that your site structure has changed. Crucially, post-launch, I prioritize the new site structure by submitting key landing pages directly for re-indexing using GSC’s URL Inspection Tool to accelerate the discovery of new URLs and confirmed 301 redirects.

• Google Analytics (GA4): The new GA4 tracking code must be installed and tested on the new Squarespace site.

• Marketing Pixels: The Meta Pixel (Facebook/Instagram) and any other critical advertising integrations (LinkedIn, TikTok) must be re-installed and validated to ensure no gap in audience building or conversion tracking.

• CRM/Email Integrations: Hubspot, Mailchimp, etc., must be reconnected to your Squarespace forms to maintain lead flow continuity.

There may be other tasks that need to be a part of a changeover, such as migrating email from an old system to a platform like Google Workspace. While not directly connected to the website migration process, I can help you think through those needs and guide you through those processes, as well.

Migrating your website is a strategic opportunity. By partnering with the right agency, you gain the technical expertise needed to execute these critical checks flawlessly, ensuring your next digital chapter is built on a foundation of growth and preserved authority.

Want to learn more about my Squarespace website development services? Click the link below.