How We Rehearse a Website Migration

Moving a website from one platform to another is one of the most stressful things an organization can do online. Years of pages, images, posts and forms need to arrive intact. Links need to keep working. The site needs to look right on phones as well as laptops. And the old platform will eventually be switched off, so anything left behind is lost.

Our platform, VoVo, can import websites from WordPress, Wix and Webflow. We have learned that the import itself is only one step. What makes a migration trustworthy is the loop around it.

Step 1: Start with a verified backup

Every import in our platform begins with a full backup of the destination account, prepared automatically and verified before anything is written. If the import goes wrong, there is a known good state to return to. The backup is not a reminder or a suggestion; the import waits for it. We explain the reasoning in why every import starts with a backup.

Step 2: Import into native building blocks

Imported pages arrive as native elements in our visual page builder, not as one giant block of copied HTML. That matters for the owner: native elements can be edited, styled and reused like anything else they build. A page that is just pasted code looks fine on day one and becomes impossible to maintain on day two.

Every asset comes home during the import: images, videos, fonts and documents are downloaded into the customer's own media library, and every reference is rewritten to point there. Nothing is left loading from the old host. Our article on why importers never hotlink explains why this is non-negotiable.

Step 3: Compare the old and new sites screen by screen

Once the import finishes, we compare the source site and the new site side by side at desktop and phone sizes. We capture screenshots of each page, look for missing sections, broken layouts, overflowing text, wrong fonts and missing images, and save the evidence for that run.

Comparing at phone width is especially important. Many sites were built for desktop first, and their mobile versions hide or rearrange content in ways that only show up on a small screen.

Step 4: Fix the importer, not just the page

When the comparison finds a problem, the tempting fix is to correct that one page by hand. We try not to. If the importer mishandled a gallery, a font or a navigation pattern, it will do the same thing for the next customer. So we fix the importer itself, in a way that works for every site with the same pattern.

This is slower for the first site and much faster for every site after it. It is also why our importers improve with every rehearsal.

Step 5: Back up and run it again

After the importer is fixed, we take a fresh backup and run the import again from the start. Then we compare again. The loop repeats until the result meets the bar: every page in the visual builder, no critical findings, every page loading successfully, no references to the old host and no layout overflow on phones, with screenshots kept as evidence.

Running the whole import again, rather than patching the previous result, proves the fix works from scratch. It is the same import the customer will get.

Step 6: Keep the old links working

Old addresses are mapped to their new homes with permanent redirects, so bookmarks and search results keep leading people to the right content. We describe that in keeping old links alive with redirect maps.

Security plugins and source access

Importing content from a WordPress site often requires an application password, which some security plugins disable by default. Rather than asking an owner to turn their security off, we ask them to allow that one feature, and we confirm access with a simple authenticated request before the import begins. Credentials for each source site are stored encrypted and kept separate per website.

What we do not claim

A completed rehearsal proves the importer handles a site well. It does not mean the organization has moved. The real move still needs the owner's approval, final content checks, form delivery tests and the domain switch. We keep those as separate steps, and we never describe a site as migrated until all of them are done.

Frequently asked questions

Can VoVo import my existing website?

VoVo can import sites from WordPress, Wix and Webflow. Each import starts with a verified backup and brings images and files into your own media library.

Will my old links still work after moving?

They can. Old addresses are mapped to new pages with permanent redirects so saved links and search results keep working.

Why compare the site on phones as well as desktops?

Many sites behave differently on small screens. Comparing at phone width catches hidden or broken content that a desktop check would miss.