Website migration cost depends mainly on what moves. Moving a small site to a new host is usually a short, low-risk job. Moving platforms, such as WooCommerce to Shopify, involves products, customers, orders, URLs and redirects, and takes much longer. Risk items such as email, payments and SEO need testing. Store rebuilds start at Rs 157,500.
Key Takeaways
- Host moves keep the same site; platform moves rebuild it elsewhere, which costs far more.
- The risk items are email, DNS, payments, forms, SEO redirects and customer accounts.
- Agree the scope in writing: what data moves, what is rebuilt and what is tested.
- A full backup before the move and a testing checklist after it protect you from losses.
- Plan the switch-over for a quiet time and keep the old setup running until the new one is confirmed.
Two Kinds of Migration
People use "migration" for two very different jobs. A host migration moves the same website, such as a WordPress site, from one hosting company to another. The site looks and works the same afterwards. A platform migration moves the business to different software, such as from WooCommerce to Shopify or from Wix to WordPress. That is effectively a rebuild with data transfer. Website migration cost differs enormously between the two, so be clear which one you need. Our guide to moving a website to new hosting covers the first, and our guide to migrating between WooCommerce and Shopify covers a common platform move.
What Separates a Small Migration From a Large One?
| Factor | Small migration | Large migration |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Same platform, new host | New platform |
| Size | A few pages, a small database | Hundreds of products, thousands of orders and customers |
| Email stays with its current provider | Mailboxes move too | |
| URLs | Stay the same | Change, so every one needs a redirect |
| Integrations | A contact form | Payments, couriers, ERP, marketing tools |
| Design | Unchanged | New theme, rebuilt on the new platform |
Which Risk Items Need the Most Care?
- Email: changing DNS can interrupt email if MX records are not copied exactly.
- DNS and SSL: the domain must point to the new server with HTTPS working from the first minute.
- Payments: gateways may need new credentials or approval on a new platform.
- Forms and notifications: contact forms and order emails often stop working after a move until mail settings are fixed.
- SEO: changed URLs without redirects lose rankings; Google's site move guidance explains the steps.
- Customer accounts and passwords: on platform moves, passwords usually cannot be transferred, so customers need a reset invitation.
What Should Be Tested After a Migration?
- Every page template loads on mobile and desktop, with HTTPS.
- Forms send to the right inbox and WhatsApp.
- Test orders go through with each payment method, and order emails arrive.
- Old URLs redirect to the right new pages.
- Email sends and receives on the business domain.
- Analytics, Search Console and pixels record visits.
Our testing checklist before sign-off covers more checks.
What Should You Agree Before Starting?
Write down what data moves (pages, products, customers, orders, reviews, blog posts), what is rebuilt, which integrations are reconnected, who handles DNS and email, how long the old site stays live, and what testing happens before switch-over. A full backup must be taken before anything changes. Agree a quiet time for the switch, such as early in the week, outside your sales peaks.
What Drives Website Migration Cost?
Host migrations of small sites are usually short jobs, often included for clients on maintenance from Rs 7,200 a month. Platform migrations are priced like a new build plus data transfer: store migrations start from our store package at Rs 157,500, and business sites from our business package at Rs 85,500. Very large catalogues, custom integrations or complex customer data add time. We quote after reviewing the current site and the target platform. See our published prices.
Choosing When to Switch
Avoid switching during your busiest periods, such as Eid sales for a clothing store or admissions season for a school. Lower DNS time-to-live settings a day before the switch so the change spreads quickly, make the switch early in a working week, and have the developer available for the first days afterwards. For stores, pause new product uploads during the final data transfer so nothing is missed, and announce a short maintenance window if orders must be paused.
After the Migration
Keep the old hosting for a short period until everything is confirmed, then cancel it. Watch Search Console for crawl errors, check orders and enquiries daily for the first two weeks, and fix any missed redirects quickly.
Frequently Asked Questions
How We Researched This Guide
We separated host and platform migrations, used Google's site move documentation and WordPress's migration and backup guides, and listed the risk items we check on every move. Prices come from our published packages rather than market rates. Sources checked on 3 November 2026.
Sources
- Google Search Central: Site moves with URL changes
- Google Search Central: Site moves without URL changes
- WordPress Developer Resources: Moving WordPress
- Google Search Central: Redirects and Google Search
- WordPress Developer Resources: Backups
Disclosure: Kamboh Associates sells the web development services discussed here. Other providers' prices are quoted from their own public pages on the dates shown and may have changed. We correct errors as soon as they are reported. First published ; last reviewed .
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