The latest articles on DEV Community by Abhijeet (@abhijeet_2b2022a9ebb5c7a4). https://dev.to/abhijeet_2b2022a9ebb5c7a4 https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=90,height=90,fit=cover,gravity=auto,format=auto/https:%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fuser%2Fprofile_image%2F3925445%2F8e403567-66a2-4a0d-b567-8dfafc346119.jpg https://dev.to/abhijeet_2b2022a9ebb5c7a4 en Abhijeet Fri, 31 Jul 2026 17:16:37 +0000 https://dev.to/abhijeet_2b2022a9ebb5c7a4/how-i-migrated-a-growing-website-from-a-free-host-to-its-own-domain-without-losing-search-visibility-2kmj https://dev.to/abhijeet_2b2022a9ebb5c7a4/how-i-migrated-a-growing-website-from-a-free-host-to-its-own-domain-without-losing-search-visibility-2kmj <h1> How I Migrated a Growing Website From a Free Host to Its Own Domain Without Losing Search Visibility </h1> <p>Over the past year, I built <strong>FreeTV Garden</strong>, a web application that helps users discover publicly available live TV channels from around the world.</p> <p>🌐 <a href="https://freetvgarden.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://freetvgarden.com</a></p> <p>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.</p> <h2> The Challenge </h2> <p>Normally, when moving a website to a new domain, you would configure <strong>HTTP 301 redirects</strong>.</p> <p>Unfortunately, that wasn't possible on my hosting platform.</p> <p>I needed a way to:</p> <ul> <li>Keep existing users from getting lost</li> <li>Help search engines understand the new location</li> <li>Avoid losing search visibility during the migration</li> </ul> <h2> My Approach </h2> <p>Since I couldn't configure server-side redirects, I used the tools available to me.</p> <h3> 1. Cross-domain Canonical Tags </h3> <p>Each migrated page points to its new version using a canonical tag.<br> </p> <div class="highlight js-code-highlight"> <pre class="highlight html"><code><span class="nt">&lt;link</span> <span class="na">rel=</span><span class="s">"canonical"</span> <span class="na">href=</span><span class="s">"https://freetvgarden.com/"</span> <span class="nt">/&gt;</span> </code></pre> </div> <p>This helps search engines understand which URL is the preferred version.</p> <h3> 2. User Redirect </h3> <p>Visitors are redirected to the new domain after a short delay while displaying a message explaining the migration.</p> <h3> 3. Google Search Console </h3> <p>After launching the new site, I submitted the new sitemap and monitored indexing, crawl status, and canonicalization in Google Search Console.</p> <h2> What I Learned </h2> <ul> <li>Plan migrations carefully.</li> <li>Verify canonical tags.</li> <li>Monitor Search Console daily after launch.</li> <li>Test every important page before switching traffic.</li> <li>Free hosting platforms can become limiting as projects grow.</li> </ul> <h2> The Result </h2> <p>The migration is complete, and I'm continuing to improve the website's performance, search experience, and overall user experience.</p> <p>If you're interested, you can check it out here:</p> <p>👉 <a href="https://freetvgarden.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://freetvgarden.com</a></p> <p>I'd love feedback from other developers on the migration process or ideas for improving the project.</p> webdev seo javascript frontend Abhijeet Mon, 11 May 2026 17:02:12 +0000 https://dev.to/abhijeet_2b2022a9ebb5c7a4/tv-garden-a-world-map-of-free-live-tv-channels-38oa https://dev.to/abhijeet_2b2022a9ebb5c7a4/tv-garden-a-world-map-of-free-live-tv-channels-38oa <p><a href="https://freetool.odoo.com/tv-garden" rel="noopener noreferrer"></a></p> productivity Abhijeet Mon, 11 May 2026 17:01:09 +0000 https://dev.to/abhijeet_2b2022a9ebb5c7a4/explore-tv-garden-for-watching-world-all-free-tv-channel-fep https://dev.to/abhijeet_2b2022a9ebb5c7a4/explore-tv-garden-for-watching-world-all-free-tv-channel-fep <p><a href="https://freetool.odoo.com/tv-garden" rel="noopener noreferrer"></a></p> productivity