Move from WordPress to Astro without losing rankings
Every old address redirects to the new one, so Google finds your pages again. Posts, pages and images come along, and afterwards nobody has to install plugin updates any more.
What comes along and what gets rebuilt
EmDash imports your content straight from WordPress. Anything tied to your theme and plugins I rebuild, leaner than before.
- Posts and pagesto: Content in EmDash, with drafts and earlier versionscomes along
- Categories and tagsto: the same categories and tagscomes along
- Custom post types and ACF fieldsto: Content types with their own fieldscomes along
- Images and mediato: Media library in your Cloudflare accountcomes along
- Titles and descriptions from Yoast or Rank Mathto: SEO fields in EmDashcomes along
- Theme and page builderto: Design in Astro, as finished HTMLrebuilt
- Form and cookie banner pluginsto: EmDash forms and Cloudflare Zaraz, tracking only after consentrebuilt
- Every addressto: the same, or a 301 redirect to the new onecomes along
What exactly comes along for you I'll see after a look at your WordPress. I handle the export.
What can go wrong in a move, and how I prevent it
The four worries I hear most on intro calls.
Rankings drop
I list every address beforehand, including images and PDFs, and 301-redirect every one that changes. Afterwards I check in Search Console that Google finds everything.
Forms or tracking stop working
I test every form before the domain switches. Tracking gets set up again with Cloudflare Zaraz, measuring only after consent.
The site is down for days
The new site is ready on a preview address. Only the domain gets switched, and the old site stays online until then.
The team can't find its way around
I show your team how to change pages, images and posts. Editing feels like WordPress, just tidier.
How your move works
You see every stage on a preview address before the domain moves.
- 01InventoryI list the pages, posts, plugins and every address of your WordPress site.
- 02ImportEmDash takes content and media from the WordPress export or via the EmDash Exporter plugin.
- 03RebuildThe design is built in Astro, plugin features are replaced by EmDash or custom code.
- 04Redirect and hand overEvery old address redirects, the domain moves, and your team gets to know the new interface.
Fixed price after our intro call
You get the price for your move in writing before I start. EmDash itself is free, and simple sites run on Cloudflare's free plan.
Moves where no address got lost
From three client projects. No names, just the results.
All 570 old addresses still work
An art studio moved its shop to Astro. Regular customers and Google land on the right page.
More than 250 pages in two languages moved
A Berlin software company left its old CMS behind. Marketing now builds its own landing pages.
New website, old links still lead on
A leather workshop in Bremen got a new website with a redirect for every old address.
From client projects
“Christian Schmitt masterfully handled the challenge of migrating our extensive website content from WordPress to Webflow in just 12 weeks. […]”
When you're better off staying on WordPress
A move doesn't pay off for every site. Here I'd advise against it.
Your business depends on one plugin
A shop with many WooCommerce extensions, a members' area, a booking system: without an EmDash equivalent, the move gets expensive.
Your team builds its own layouts
If you click new page layouts together every week, the WordPress block editor serves you better.
Your site runs and is maintained
If updates are installed reliably and your team is happy, there's no reason to rush a move.
Questions about moving from WordPress
Christian Schmitt answersAstro serves every page as finished HTML, and JavaScript only loads where an element needs it. So the page opens fast, even on a phone, and there's no PHP server full of plugins that someone has to update. Your team edits content in the EmDash CMS.
Christian Schmitt answersNo, plugins don't move. EmDash has first-party plugins for forms and SEO, I set up the cookie banner with Cloudflare Zaraz, and I rebuild anything else with custom code. We go through your plugins one by one on our intro call.
Christian Schmitt answersContent and addresses stay the same or get redirected. I set up a 301 redirect for every changed address, carry over titles and descriptions, and check in Google Search Console afterwards that Google finds every page.
Christian Schmitt answersHow long a move from WordPress to Astro takes depends on the number of pages and plugins. You get the schedule together with the fixed price in the written quote, before I start.
Christian Schmitt answersNo. I build the new site on a preview address. Only once everything is checked does the domain move. Until then your WordPress site runs as usual.
Christian Schmitt answersYes. Your team changes text, images and posts in the browser, with drafts, scheduled publishing and earlier versions. Sign-in works with a passkey, no password.
