01First: should you switch?
One slow reply is no reason to leave. A pattern is. These are the signs it is time:
- Small changes take weeks or come with a separate invoice every time.
- You don't know where your site is hosted, whose name your domain is in, or what your monthly fee covers.
- The site isn't maintained: outdated plugins, an old theme or error messages that never go away.
- Your site is slow on mobile, you are hard to find, and nothing is being done about it.
- You want more than a digital business card, such as an enquiry flow, a client login or content management, and your current developer or platform can't deliver it.
If you are in doubt, talk to your current developer first. Sometimes the problem is mismatched expectations, and one good conversation is enough.
What is yours?
That depends on your agreements, which is exactly why you need to check before you switch. Go through these items:
| Item | What to check |
|---|
| Domain name | Whose name is the domain registered in, and with which registrar? If it is in your developer's name, have it put in yours first. |
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| Content | Copy, photos and documents. These belong to you; ask for an export or make sure you have them yourself. |
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| Design and code | Your contract or terms and conditions decide this. Often you get a right to use the work, not ownership of all of it. |
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| Accounts | Google Search Console, Google Analytics, your Google Business Profile and any ad accounts: make sure you are the owner, not just a user. |
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| Hosting and email | Where does the site run, and does your business email go through the same provider? That decides how careful the move needs to be. |
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| Licences | Paid plugins, themes or fonts are sometimes on your developer's account and don't move with you automatically. |
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What can you take with you? It depends on the platform
| Platform | What can move |
|---|
| WordPress | Almost everything: files, database and content. Another developer can take the site over or move the content to a new site. |
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| Wix | Not the site itself. Wix states that a site has to run on its own servers and doesn't support external hosting. Your domain and (manually) your content do move. |
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| Squarespace | Part of the content, as an XML file in WordPress format. Styles, custom CSS, store and portfolio pages don't move. |
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| Custom build | Depends on your agreements: the code made for you, the content and the database. Ask which parts remain the developer's own. |
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Moving from a website builder to a custom build therefore means rebuilding the site. That sounds like a downside, but it is also the moment to get structure, speed and copy right in one go.
How do you keep your Google rankings?
For a site move, Google recommends server-side permanent redirects from every old URL to the new one. According to Google, 301 redirects don't lose link value, but you should expect temporary fluctuations in rankings during the move. Google advises keeping redirects in place for at least a year; longer is fine.
If only your developer changes and your domain stays the same, you don't need the Change of Address tool in Search Console. That is meant for moving to a different domain. What does count: the same or better content on the new pages, good metadata and a fast site. At Vorteca, that technical SEO foundation is part of every build.
What does switching cost?
- Ongoing costs with your old provider until the end of your notice period or hosting subscription.
- Possibly handover costs, if your old developer charges for that under your contract.
- The new site. A custom website from Vorteca starts at €950 excluding VAT, a larger site with more pages from €1,950, plus Vorteca Core from €25 per month. See how much does a website cost.
Plan the switch so the new site goes live before your old contract ends. A straightforward business site from Vorteca is usually live within three to five weeks, so start well before the end date.
How we handle it ourselves
If you say switching should be easy, you have to live up to it yourself. Vorteca Core can be cancelled monthly, effective at the end of a calendar month. If you leave, we hand your environment over to your own accounts or to another party, or take it offline if you ask us to. The handover work is billed as additional work. What is yours and what remains Vorteca's is set out in our terms.
