How I Migrated a Growing Website From a Free Host to Its Own Domain Without Losing Search Visibility
Over the past year, I built FreeTV Garden, a web application that helps users discover publicly available live TV channels from around the world.
As the project grew, I realized hosting it on a free website platform was becoming a limitation. I couldn't configure server-side redirects, customize the server, or fully optimize performance.
The Challenge
Normally, when moving a website to a new domain, you would configure HTTP 301 redirects.
Unfortunately, that wasn't possible on my hosting platform.
I needed a way to:
- Keep existing users from getting lost
- Help search engines understand the new location
- Avoid losing search visibility during the migration
My Approach
Since I couldn't configure server-side redirects, I used the tools available to me.
1. Cross-domain Canonical Tags
Each migrated page points to its new version using a canonical tag.
<link rel="canonical" href="https://freetvgarden.com/" />
This helps search engines understand which URL is the preferred version.
2. User Redirect
Visitors are redirected to the new domain after a short delay while displaying a message explaining the migration.
3. Google Search Console
After launching the new site, I submitted the new sitemap and monitored indexing, crawl status, and canonicalization in Google Search Console.
What I Learned
- Plan migrations carefully.
- Verify canonical tags.
- Monitor Search Console daily after launch.
- Test every important page before switching traffic.
- Free hosting platforms can become limiting as projects grow.
The Result
The migration is complete, and I'm continuing to improve the website's performance, search experience, and overall user experience.
If you're interested, you can check it out here:
I'd love feedback from other developers on the migration process or ideas for improving the project.
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