What it costs to move your website to a new platform

Key takeaways

Moving a small business website to a new platform typically costs £1,000 to £10,000 in the UK, depending on page count, content and features. The cost covers rebuilding the design, moving content, setting up redirects to protect search rankings and testing. Builder sites usually need a full rebuild because their designs cannot be exported.

• Small site, 5 to 15 pages: about £1,000 to £4,000.
• Larger site or online store: about £4,000 to £10,000 or more.
• Redirects and SEO checks: essential, often £300 to £1,500.
• Builder sites: usually a full rebuild.

How much does a website platform migration cost?

A website platform migration typically costs £1,000 to £4,000 for a small brochure site and £4,000 to £10,000 or more for larger sites or online stores, based on UK quotes. The price depends on how much content moves, whether the design is rebuilt and how many features need recreating.

• Leaving a proprietary website platform safely
• How much does a business website cost in the UK?

What does a migration include?

A migration includes rebuilding or adapting the design on the new platform, moving pages, images and products, recreating forms and features, mapping old URLs to new ones with redirects, and testing. Without redirects, links and rankings built over years can be lost.

• Design rebuild or adaptation.
• Content, image and product moves.
• Forms, booking and integrations recreated.
• URL mapping and redirects.
• Testing and Search Console checks.

• Website migration SEO checklist

Why do builder sites cost more to move?

Builder sites cost more to move because their designs and code cannot be exported to another platform. Text and images can be copied, but layouts must be rebuilt. Some builders also make bulk content export difficult, adding manual work.

• Paying a designer to build on Wix or Squarespace

What hidden costs come with a migration?

Hidden costs include lost rankings if redirects are missed, rewriting content that no longer fits, retraining staff, and running two platforms during the switch. Budget about 10% to 20% extra and keep the old site live until the new one is tested.

When is migration not worth the cost?

Migration is not worth it if the current platform still meets your needs and the problem is design, content or speed. Those can often be fixed in place for less. Move when the platform itself blocks growth, features or ownership.

• How much does it cost to fix bad website design?

What does this look like in practice?

At Global Bridge Labs (GBL), a UK florist moved from a builder to Shopify for better delivery options. The site had 140 product URLs. Mapping each to its new address with redirects cost about £600 of the £5,500 project, and search traffic held steady through the switch.

• See client work
• Website Design & Development for UK businesses

Migration checklist

• Confirm the platform is really the problem.
• List every page and its URL.
• Map old URLs to new ones.
• Recreate forms and features.
• Keep the old site until testing is done.
• Check Search Console after launch.

• Headless websites: do small businesses need one?
• What an online booking system adds to website cost

Next step

Export a list of every URL on your current site. That list is the starting point for an accurate migration quote.