How much damage in search rank will my site suffer during an upcoming cms migration?

[amit2076]

Hello,

This is my first time on the seomoz forums and I hope I can get a real answer from this community of experts. I am migrating an existing site from an older cms (modx) to a newer cms (expression engine).

The domain name isn't changing and neither will the keywords and keyphrases for existing pages. What is changing, however is the url suffix. This means I am going from www.domain.com/page-name.html to www.domain.com/page-name

I can't seem to replicate the html sufffix in the new urls. Now this is the only reason why I will be setting up 301 permanent redirects from the old urls to the new ones.

My question is: Will the domain suffer a loss in page rank or a substantial decline in search engine position as a result of this migration process? How fatal will it be? When can I expect my rankings to recover?

[BenFox]

1. Changing the information architecture could cause issues - I'm assuming that you're not doing it lightly and that you're making changes for the best. So long as you're aware of what you're doing then you should be fine.

2. Tons of new content is good- if it's good content.

3 & 4. Sounds exciting!.

[amit2076]

Hey Mat,

Thanks for replying. I think I should add in a few details in response to your internal query observations:

1. The sitemap and information architecture is changing. Will that make a difference?
2. Tons of new content is being added. I assume that's a good thing. Is it?
3. The old cross-linking will still remain the same - I'll make sure of it
4. On-page elements will be better than on existing setup

What do you think?

[matbennett]

Changing the extension of the page will, in itself, not damage or the rankings of pages. The main issue is, as you have identified, to ensure that the old pages 301 to the new ones. With that in place you should not notice much difference.

On paper the only difference should be a tiny (virtual imperceptible) drop in PR gained from external links pointing to the old pages.  try to get the major external links updated if you can, but I wouldn't sweat that.

However... it is rarely that simple.

Watch out for changing in internal linking: If the structure changes at all (it usually does if changing CMS) that can make a big difference as internal link equity is funnelled around in different directions.  Likewise be certain that the on page elements add up to a page that is at least as good as the ones it replaces.

In short: changing the extension shouldn't be an issue, however watch out for other pitfalls. Hope that helps a little.