Migrating from another CMS to WordPress can be a growth move—better design flexibility, easier publishing, stronger plugin ecosystem, and simpler maintenance. But if your site is generating leads, bookings, or sales, the #1 fear is valid:

“Will my website go offline during the migration?”

The good news: true “no downtime” migration is absolutely possible—if you stop thinking of migration as a single switch and treat it as a parallel build + controlled cutover.

This guide gives you a proven, step-by-step workflow to migrate from any CMS (Wix, Squarespace, Joomla, Drupal, Webflow, custom CMS, static HTML) to WordPress without downtime—while protecting SEO, links, and tracking.

What “without downtime” really means (important)

A zero-downtime migration isn’t “move everything instantly.” It means:

• Your old site stays live and working while the new WordPress site is built in parallel.
• The cutover uses DNS propagation, so visitors move gradually from the old working site to the new working site—no broken in-between state.
• You thoroughly test the WordPress site before the DNS switch (ideally on the same production stack you’ll launch on).

The Zero-Downtime Blueprint (overview)

You’ll do this in 6 phases:

1. Audit & planning (inventory + URL map + SEO baseline)
2. Build WordPress in parallel (staging/prod-like environment)
3. Migrate content + assets (posts, pages, media, users, forms)
4. SEO preservation (URL matching + 301 redirects + metadata)
5. Pre-launch QA (speed, forms, tracking, mobile, security)
6. DNS cutover + monitoring (TTL, final sync, launch checklist)

This approach is consistent with best-practice migration playbooks: audit, staging build, backups, DNS planning, and thorough testing.

Phase 1: Audit & Planning (the part that prevents disasters)

1) Create a migration “runbook”

Before you touch WordPress, document what exists today:

• Page types (home, services, blog, product pages, landing pages)
• Blog/posts count + categories + tags
• Media library (images, PDFs, video embeds)
• Forms (contact, quote, booking, newsletter)
• Integrations (CRM, email marketing, chat widget, pixels, GTM)
• DNS records (A/AAAA, CNAME, MX, TXT, SPF/DKIM/DMARC)
• SSL setup and CDN (Cloudflare? host SSL?)
• Email hosting location (same host or separate?)

This “runbook” approach is explicitly recommended as a way to avoid missing dependencies.

2) Make a URL map (SEO survival tool)

The URL map is a simple spreadsheet that prevents traffic loss.

Create columns like:

• Current URL
• New WordPress URL
• Status (same / changed / removed)
• Redirect needed? (Y/N)
• Redirect target
• Notes (page template, content owner, priority)

Later, this becomes your 301 redirect plan (more on that below).

3) Record your SEO baseline

Before migration:

• Export top landing pages (from analytics)
• Export top queries/pages (from Search Console if you have it)
• Crawl your site with a crawler tool (to collect URLs, titles, meta descriptions, H1s)

Phase 2: Build WordPress in Parallel (no one sees it yet)

4) Choose hosting that supports a safe migration

For clean migrations, you want:

• Staging environment
• Automated backups
• Security/firewall
• Performance stack (caching/CDN support)
• Easy SSL provisioning
  These are common criteria in managed WordPress migration checklists.

The Web Designer tip: this is exactly why we provide managed WordPress hosting plans built for migrations—staging, backups, and support—so you can build safely before launch.

5) Set up the new WordPress environment (production-like)

The cleanest approach for zero downtime is to build the WordPress site on the final production hardware, accessed via a temporary URL, IP, or local hosts file entry—while the old CMS remains live.

Do not build on a random staging environment that won’t match production. “Staging gap” issues happen when caching layers, PHP versions, or server configs differ between staging and production.

6) Lock down staging (important)

Before indexing becomes a problem:

• Put staging behind basic auth or noindex
• Prevent accidental indexing of your staging URLs

Phase 3: Migrate Content from Any CMS (without breaking structure)

There are 3 practical ways to move content from another CMS:

Option A: Export/Import (best when your CMS supports it)

• Export posts/pages via XML/CSV
• Import into WordPress (native importer or a migration tool)
• Then map fields (author, date, categories, tags)

Option B: API migration (best for structured platforms)

For CMSs with APIs, you can migrate:

• content types
• metadata
• authors
• media references
  This is more technical but produces the cleanest results.

Option C: Rebuild + copy (best for small sites or messy CMSs)

For small brochure sites, a rebuild can be faster and cleaner than force-importing.

Don’t forget these content types

Most migrations fail because they only move “pages” and forget:

• Media: keep filenames where possible, preserve alt text where relevant
• Forms: rebuild and test email deliverability
• Users: you may need password reset emails (many CMSs don’t allow password migration securely)
• Blog categories/tags: keep taxonomy consistent for SEO
• Downloads/PDFs: migrate files + update internal links

Well-managed migrations often focus on minimizing disruption and keeping the site live during the transition.

Phase 4: SEO Preservation (how you don’t lose rankings)

1) Keep URLs the same where possible

The simplest SEO win: match old URLs (slugs, folder structure) in WordPress.

If URLs must change, do 301 redirects for every changed URL. 301 redirects are widely recommended as essential for preserving SEO value and preventing 404s.

Practical redirect tooling

Use a dedicated redirect manager. The “Redirection” plugin is a popular option for managing 301s and tracking 404 errors at scale.

2) Preserve metadata

Ensure these migrate or are recreated:

• Title tags
• Meta descriptions
• Canonical tags (especially if your CMS previously used them)
• Open Graph tags (social previews)
• Structured data (if you had schema)

3) Submit new XML sitemap after launch

Make sure WordPress generates a sitemap and you submit it in Search Console (and Bing tools if relevant).

Phase 5: Pre-Launch QA (test like revenue depends on it—because it does)

Your test checklist should cover:

• Page load speed + Core Web Vitals
• Mobile responsiveness
• Forms (contact, quote, booking)
• Email delivery (SMTP if needed)
• Ecommerce checkout (if applicable)
• Login flows (if applicable)
• Media links (images, PDFs)
• Internal links (no broken URLs)
• SSL validity and mixed content
• Tracking: GA4/GTM, pixels, conversions
• Cookie banner + consent logic (if you use analytics/ads)

These are standard “test before and after migration” items recommended in migration guides.

Also consider temporarily disabling aggressive caching during migration/testing, because caching can hide issues.

Phase 6: The Zero-Downtime DNS Cutover

Step 1: Lower DNS TTL (24 hours before)

Reduce TTL to something like 300 seconds at least a day before launch. This speeds up propagation and reduces risk during cutover.

Step 2: Freeze “moving parts” briefly (optional but smart)

If your site has frequent updates (blog posts, inventory, bookings):

• schedule a short content freeze window
• do a final “delta” sync of new content right before DNS switch

Step 3: Switch DNS (A record or nameservers)

Once the new WordPress site is verified:

• update A record to the new server IP or change nameservers (depending on your setup)

Step 4: Why this is zero downtime

During propagation:

• Some visitors still see the old working site (cached DNS)
• Others see the new working WordPress site
  Since both are functional, there’s no “broken moment” for users.

Step 5: Monitor live traffic + errors

For the first 24–72 hours:

• watch 404s (redirect missing)
• watch form submissions
• watch checkout events (if ecommerce)
• watch server logs and uptime

Post-Migration (the part that helps you outrank competitors)

A migration is also a chance to improve performance and SEO:

• improve internal linking
• refresh titles/meta on top pages
• add FAQ sections for “People Also Ask”
• optimize images + lazy-load
• add schema where relevant
• request re-indexing for top pages if needed
• keep weekly backups and update routines

Ongoing monitoring, updates, security hardening, and optimization are often highlighted as key post-migration wins.

Common mistakes that cause “downtime” (even if the site is technically up)

• DNS switched before the new site was fully tested on production-like setup
• Missing redirects → users hit 404s (feels like downtime)
• Forms not sending (lost leads)
• Mixed-content errors after SSL
• Tracking broken (no analytics, no conversions)
• Email DNS records (MX/SPF/DKIM) accidentally changed

Quick Zero-Downtime Migration Checklist (copy/paste)

• Inventory site + integrations + DNS + email
• Export URL list + build redirect map
• Build WordPress in parallel (production-like)
• Import content + media + rebuild forms
• Match permalinks or prepare 301s
• QA: speed, mobile, SSL, links, forms, tracking
• Lower DNS TTL to 300 (24h before)
• Final sync + switch DNS
• Monitor 404s + leads + analytics + uptime
• Submit sitemap + monitor indexing

FAQ

Can you migrate to WordPress without downtime?

Yes—by building WordPress in parallel while keeping the old site live, then switching DNS after full verification so users transition during propagation.

Will a CMS to WordPress migration hurt SEO?

It can if URLs change without redirects or metadata gets lost. Use URL matching and 301 redirects to preserve traffic.

How long does the cutover take?

The DNS switch itself is quick, but propagation varies. Lowering TTL beforehand reduces the risk window.