How to Migrate a Website Without Losing SEO Rankings: WordPress to Laravel

Picture this: your WordPress site has been chugging along, but it’s starting to feel like a clunky old car—functional, sure, but not exactly turning heads or winning races. You’ve heard whispers about migrating to something sleeker, like Laravel, but the thought of losing your hard-earned SEO rankings keeps you up at night. Trust me, I get it—SEO is the lifeblood of online visibility, and no one wants to gamble with that. Good news: migrating your website doesn’t have to be a rankings apocalypse. With the right approach (and a stellar team like ours at Zaltsman Media), you can make the leap from WordPress to Laravel and come out shining. Here’s how we do it—step-by-step, with a little real-world proof to back it up.

Why Laravel? A Quick Story Before the Steps

Before we dive into the how-to, let’s talk why. WordPress is great for plug-and-play simplicity, but it’s not always the best fit for custom, high-performing tools. When we worked with Ruslan Gavrilov of GG Real Estate, he was stuck with a templated WordPress site that couldn’t keep up with his vision. After migrating his site to our Laravel-based platform and pairing it with our SEO magic, here’s what he had to say:

“Switching to Zaltsman Media’s Laravel platform was a game-changer. Not only did the migration keep our SEO intact, but their team built tools that made my site faster and easier to use. Now, we’re hitting the top lines of search results for tons of key queries—credit to their SEO specialists and that custom Laravel setup.” – Ruslan Gavrilov, GG Real Estate

That’s the kind of win we’re aiming for. Migration isn’t just about moving—it’s about upgrading. Now, let’s break it down.

Step 1: Plan Like Your Rankings Depend on It (Because They Do)

First things first: don’t wing it. Map out every page, URL, and piece of content on your WordPress site. Tools like Screaming Frog can crawl your site and give you a full inventory—trust me, it’s a lifesaver. Keep a spreadsheet of old URLs (e.g., yourwordpresssite.com/about) and decide where they’ll live on the new Laravel site. This prep work sets the stage for a smooth transition and ensures Google doesn’t get confused.

Step 2: Set Up 301 Redirects—Your SEO Safety Net

Here’s where the rubber meets the road. When you move from WordPress to Laravel, your URLs might change (especially if you’re ditching those messy WordPress permalinks). A 301 redirect tells search engines, “Hey, this page moved permanently—pass the SEO juice to the new spot!” For example, redirect yourwordpresssite.com/blog-post to laravelsite.com/blog/post. Our team at Zaltsman Media handles this with precision, testing every redirect to make sure nothing slips through the cracks.

Step 3: Preserve Your Content—and Make It Better

Content is king, right? When migrating, don’t just copy-paste. Export your WordPress posts, pages, and meta data (titles, descriptions) using a plugin like WP All Export, then import them into Laravel. But here’s where we shine: moving away from a templated WordPress setup lets us build custom features that boost user experience—like faster load times or slick search tools. For GG Real Estate, we crafted a property filter that clients loved, which kept them on the site longer—a big SEO win.

A Quick Opinion: Templates Are Overrated

I’ll be real—WordPress templates are fine until you outgrow them. Laravel lets us flex our creative muscles, building competen