Wix · Moving to Wix, moving off Wix, URL prefix mapping and 301 redirects
Wix uses its own URL patterns for blog posts, products, services and events. Almost no other platform uses the same ones, so a migration in either direction changes most content URLs, and every one needs a mapped redirect.
The direction also decides where redirects live. Moving to Wix, you build them in the URL Redirect Manager. Moving off Wix, the old Wix redirects stop working the moment the domain points elsewhere, so the new platform has to carry all of them.
What can go wrong
The more URL patterns differ between platforms, the more the redirect map has to carry.
| Migration type | Risk level | What usually breaks |
|---|---|---|
| Wix site to a new Wix site | Medium | Redirects, page SEO and indexing settings stay with the old site |
| WordPress, Squarespace or another CMS to Wix | High | Old post and product URLs gain Wix prefixes, archives and tags have no equivalent |
| Wix to WordPress, Webflow or Shopify | High | Wix prefixes like /post/ and /product-page/ need pattern redirects on the new platform |
| Platform move plus domain change | Highest | All of the above, plus cross-domain 301s and a Search Console change of address |
Wix URL patterns to map
Crawl the live Wix site and the sitemap index to find every prefix in use. Do not rely on memory.
Before migrating
- Crawl the old site and save the audit. This is the baseline: URL count, status codes, titles, descriptions, H1s, canonicals, word counts and schema per page type.
- Build the old URL list. Combine the crawl, every child sitemap, Search Console's top pages and backlink targets.
- Write the redirect map. One row per old URL to its new URL. Removed pages go to the closest equivalent, not the homepage.
- Export the SEO that does not migrate. Page titles, descriptions, social images, custom canonicals and custom structured data rarely come across with content imports.
- Prepare redirects for the destination. Moving to Wix, format the map as a CSV for bulk import in the URL Redirect Manager. Moving off Wix, add the rules to the new platform before the domain moves.
- Crawl the new build. Compare against the baseline for content parity, and use redirect map validation to test the map before DNS changes.
- Lower DNS TTL a day or two before the cutover, and keep the old site live until traffic stops reaching it.
After launch: what to check
Run these within the first hour after the domain switches, then crawl the full site and compare against the baseline in Audit Comparison.
| Check | Expected result |
|---|---|
| Old URL list | Every URL returns 200 or a single 301 to its mapped page |
| Old Wix prefixes | /post/, /product-page/ and other prefixes redirect, not 404 |
| Primary domain | One version, HTTPS enforced, others redirect |
| Meta robots, sitewide | No noindex on pages indexable in the baseline |
| robots.txt | Production rules, no Disallow: / |
| Canonical tags | Self-referencing on the new URLs |
| Titles and descriptions | Match the baseline or planned values |
| Structured data | Rebuilt for posts, products and events |
| Old platform links | Zero links to wixsite.com or old hosts, via Custom Source Search |
| Tracking | GA4 and pixels fire once, via Tracking & Pixel Audit |
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How to identify the scope
Where the failures sit tells you what caused them.
How to validate the fix
- Fix settings and redirect rules first, then publish.
- Recrawl the old URL list and confirm each returns a single 301 or a 200.
- Recrawl the full site and compare against the baseline: every difference is one you planned.
- Submit the new sitemap, use URL Inspection on top pages, and file a change of address if the domain changed.
- Schedule weekly Scheduled SEO Audits for the first month and watch the Not found report in Search Console.
Before and after example
/product-page/gift-card → 200
/blog/categories/recipes → 200
/blog/spring-menu → 200
/product-page/gift-card → 404
Common mistakes
- Expecting Wix redirects to keep working after leaving Wix. They only run while Wix serves the domain.
- Redirecting everything to the homepage. Google treats mass homepage redirects like 404s.
- Forgetting app prefixes. Blog, store, bookings and event URLs each need their own rule.
- Importing content without SEO fields. Titles fall back to defaults across every post or product.
- Skipping the free wixsite.com address. Internal links that still point there send crawlers off your domain.
- Dropping default Wix schema. Wix adds blog and product schema automatically. Rebuild it on the new platform.
Related resources
Map every prefix
A migration to or from Wix is safe when every old URL, prefix included, has a planned destination and the crawl after launch matches the crawl before it. Save the baseline, map each pattern, put the redirects on the platform that will serve the domain, and compare.