How Long Does It Take to Move a Website to a New Platform?

Moving a website takes anywhere from a few days to several months, depending on how you do it. An automated move takes days. A DIY move takes weeks to months. An agency migration takes 2 to 8 weeks and typically costs between $3,000 and $10,000. Here is the honest breakdown.

What does a DIY website move look like?

If you move your site yourself, expect to spend time at every stage.

First you need to choose a new platform and set up an account. That is usually an afternoon. Then you need to move your content, which means recreating or importing each page. For a site with 20 to 30 pages, that is several days of work. Images need to be downloaded from the old site and uploaded to the new one. Fonts, colors, and layout need to be matched. Every page needs to be checked.

Then there is the redirect work. Every old URL needs to point to its new location. Miss these and you lose search rankings. Doing this thoroughly requires a spreadsheet, a redirect plugin or configuration, and testing.

Then there is DNS. The domain needs to point at the new server. This is a small task technically, but the timing matters.

Total: for a business owner doing this without technical help, 4 to 8 weeks is realistic.

What does an agency website move look like?

An agency will scope the project, assign a developer, and deliver a migrated site. Timelines range from 2 to 8 weeks depending on site complexity and how backed up the agency is.

The cost depends on the agency and the scope. For a small business site, $3,000 is a common floor. Complex sites cost more.

What you get: a professional managing the process, someone to call if something breaks, and accountability.

What you give up: time, money, and often the chance to influence timeline. Agency queues are real. If you need this done in two weeks and they are booked, it waits.

What does an automated move look like?

This is the option most owners do not know exists. Automated conversion means software reads your existing site, extracts your content, and builds a version of it on a new platform, without a designer, without a developer, without weeks of decisions.

With Basalt, the sequence is:

1. You enter your web address.
2. The conversion runs. Your pages, text, and images transfer.
3. You receive a link to the staged version and review it.
4. You approve it.
5. Your domain is pointed at the new site.
6. The old site stays live during DNS propagation.

The whole thing, from entering your address to going live, typically takes days. The work you need to do is one review session.

What is the actual timeline for Basalt?

Phase	Who does it	Time
Conversion	Automated	Hours
Your review	You	1 session
DNS switch	Basalt	Minutes
DNS propagation	Internet	Up to 24 hours
Old site down	You, when ready	Your call

There is no design phase. No copywriting phase. No back-and-forth on colors or fonts. Your site already looks like your site. The only decision is whether the converted version meets your standard.

What to expect if you decide to move

The most common reaction after a Basalt conversion is surprise at how little work it was. Most owners spend more time reading about moving their site than actually doing it.

The full step-by-step process is here. If you want to compare all your options before deciding, the full comparison of alternatives is here.

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