Websites
Website migration
(WHAT IT IS)
Southern Exposure Media Group (SXMG), an Atlanta marketing and creative agency, moves business websites off platforms such as WordPress, Wix, Squarespace and Webflow, onto custom code we look after. The pages, the old web addresses and the search history the business has built go with them. We work with businesses of all kinds across metro Atlanta and North Georgia.
We can copy a site page for page, so visitors see exactly what they saw before, or redesign it on the way over. Old addresses get permanent redirects to their new pages, and we check the new site on launch day and again afterward.
(IN PLAIN WORDS)
What migrating a website means
Migrating a website means moving it to a new platform without losing what it already has: its pages, the words and pictures on them, its forms, and the web addresses that Google and other sites already send people to. Sometimes the domain changes too, when a business moves to a new web address.
The addresses are what most often gets lost. If a page moves and its old address stops working, links from Google, old social posts, printed QR codes and bookmarks lead to an error page. A permanent redirect sends each old address to its new page in one step, so people and search engines still land in the right place.
(PLATFORMS)
Platforms we have moved sites off
We have moved sites off the platforms below, and off a hosted site builder, onto custom code (Next.js).
- WordPress
- Wix
- Squarespace
- Webflow
(THE WORK)
Website migrations we can show
Oculare
Atlanta, Georgia
The eye care practice's WordPress site, copied page for page onto custom code and matched against the original, went live on October 22, 2026, with its old addresses kept as single-hop permanent redirects. We also built a back office with a blog editor and staff accounts, and in November 2026 set up new analytics in accounts the practice owns.
Chattahoochee Food Works
Upper Westside, Atlanta
Moved off WordPress to a new custom site in early October 2026. Old event and kitchen directory pages were redirected to their new pages at launch, the rest of the old archive addresses later that month, and we fixed the last redirect hop in November 2026.
CHR Steak
Gainesville, Georgia
Moved off Wix between June and September 2026, with permanent redirects for old Wix and blog addresses. After launch we fixed the old Wix paths that Search Console still reported, and the last redirects went in on September 23, 2026.
Frazie's Meat & Market
Riverside, Atlanta
Moved off WordPress in July 2026 with every page kept at its original address, then leftover WordPress addresses redirected in August and old event addresses in October 2026.
We also moved S&S Rug Cleaners off a hosted site builder in July 2026, with every page kept at its original address. Phoenix Parking Solutions USA's site came off Webflow: we rebuilt it and checked it page by page against the original, then moved it to a new domain in August 2026, with each old address sent to the same page on the new one. And since October 1, 2026, Penny Patrol's site has run on our code, a page-for-page copy of its Squarespace site with its old addresses redirected in a single hop.
(WHAT'S INCLUDED)
What a website migration includes
- 01.
Access first
We collect the domain, hosting and site builder logins before work starts, so nothing is lost in the handoff.
- 02.
A full inventory
Every page, image, form and old address on the site, old event and blog pages included.
- 03.
A page-for-page copy, or a redesign
A copy matched against the original page by page, or a new design if you want one.
- 04.
Permanent redirects
Each old address goes to its new page in a single hop.
- 05.
Forms that keep working
Forms rebuilt or repointed, so inquiries keep arriving.
- 06.
Tracking
Analytics carried over, or set up fresh in accounts your business owns.
- 07.
A new domain, if you want one
A move to a new web address, with each old address sent to the same page on the new one and your business email kept running.
- 08.
Checks at launch and after
A crawl of the new site at launch, then Search Console checks, with any old address Google still asks for redirected.
- 09.
Loose ends, in writing
A plain list of anything still tied to the old platform, such as an email list.
(HOW WE WORK ON IT)
How a website migration runs
- 01.
Access and inventory
Logins first, then every page and every old address on the current site.
- 02.
Build and match
We rebuild the site and compare it with the original page by page.
- 03.
Map the redirects
Each old address points to its new page, and we test the map before launch.
- 04.
Launch and crawl
The new site goes live, and a crawl confirms that pages, links and redirects work.
- 05.
Watch and fix
We watch Search Console after launch and redirect any old address Google still asks for.
(WHO IT IS FOR)
Who we move websites for
Any business that wants to leave its platform without losing what it has built. So far that has meant a steakhouse and a food hall, a butcher shop and market, an eye care practice, a rug cleaning company, a bookkeeping firm and a parking management company.
(QUESTIONS)
Questions about website migration
How do you keep anything from getting lost or broken when a site changes hands?
Southern Exposure Media Group gets access first, then checks every page and address. Before work starts we collect the domain, hosting and site builder logins, so nothing goes missing in the handoff. Then we list every page and old address, rebuild and match the site, point each old address at its new page and crawl the new site at launch. After launch we watch Search Console and redirect any old address Google still asks for, as we did for CHR Steak in August 2026.
What happens to our email list, past campaigns and templates tied to the old site?
It depends on where the list lives, and SXMG lays out the options before you choose. Some site builders tie email to one site: on Squarespace, email campaigns are an add-on tied to a single site, so the contacts, past campaigns and templates stay with the old one. You can then keep sending from the old site for a while with every link pointed at the new one, move the contacts and campaigns to the new site knowing some history may not carry over, or switch to a dedicated email service. A list kept in its own platform moves as a list: when Nan Thai Buckhead's newsletter moved to OpenTable in August 2026, its subscriber list went over for import.
Where do sign-ups collected in the store go after the move?
To one list you choose: SXMG's advice is to pick one home for the list and send every sign-up there, whether it comes from the website form or the guestbook in the store. If an old and a new site both stay open on the same builder, sign-ups that staff import from the store can land on either one. Website forms move with the site: when S&S Rug Cleaners' site moved in July 2026, its quote and contact forms were switched over to the new site's own form system.
What becomes of the old site and its subscription once the new site is live?
That is the owner's call, and Southern Exposure Media Group explains what each choice means. Some owners keep the old site private for a short time so they can switch back, which means paying for two subscriptions for a while. Others close it once the new site is live: Penny Patrol's new site went live on October 1, 2026, and its Squarespace subscription ended on October 20, 2026.
How long does a website migration take?
Two of SXMG's recent page-for-page moves went live within two weeks of the build starting: Oculare's took 13 days, from October 9 to October 22, 2026, and Penny Patrol's took eight, from September 23 to October 1, 2026. A move that comes with a new design and a staff back office takes longer: CHR Steak's new site was built between June 13 and July 28, 2026. Waiting on logins or content adds time, which is why we ask for access first.
(RELATED SERVICES)
Services that go with a website migration
- Website design and developmentWhen the move comes with a new design, a staff dashboard or online ordering, it is a website build as well, and we handle both as one project.
- SEO, AEO and Google Business ProfileA migration is where the SEO work starts: the redirects, titles and structured data that go live with the new site carry its search history forward, and SEO care keeps it showing up in Google Search, Maps and AI answers after that.
(INDUSTRIES)
Let's work together
Southern Exposure Media Group (SXMG) is a full-service creative agency in Atlanta, working with businesses of all kinds. Tell us what you want to grow.