How to Migrate Off WordPress Without Losing SEO

Short summary

This article walks through migrating a WordPress site to a static stack without losing organic search rankings, emphasizing that a meticulous 1:1 redirect map is the single most critical factor. It includes Python code for generating redirect maps from XML sitemaps and Netlify _redirects file examples, plus post-launch audit scripts for verifying on-page SEO elements. The author demonstrates the approach via a real migration of a Lisbon-based label's website with zero ranking shifts, though the piece leans into promoting their migration service.

• •Build a 1:1 redirect map CSV from your sitemap before any code changes; every old URL must map to an identical new URL with a 301
• •Preserve exact slug structures, trailing-slash conventions, and on-page SEO elements (titles, meta descriptions, JSON-LD) to avoid silent ranking loss
• •Audit top-traffic pages post-launch with curl/grep and Search Console; watch the first 48 hours closely for unexpected 404s

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