Moving websites from another platform to Duda allows your agency to focus on a single platform and lower the overall cost of ownership by saving on maintenance costs and staff hours. In addition you can enjoy Duda’ performance benefits including: SEO, Core Web Vitals, responsive pages, pagespeed, and schema.
Moving websites is completed by manually rebuilding websites using the Duda editor. Depending on the complexity of the original websites, this can take between 3-5 hours per site. This is the easiest option if you need to move 20 sites or less.
The features mentioned in this guide are available to users on any Duda plan, including our free trial. If you are on an Agency plan or higher, see Move Your Website to Duda for Agency Plan and Higher.
If you are limited on time or resources, you can hire a Duda Expert to move your sites. Our Experts who specialize in migration offer packages starting at $250 per site. Fill out the form on our website to receive a quote from an Expert.
Duda Resources
If you are new to Duda we recommend you take some time to become familiar with the editor and several key features mentioned in this guide.
Following are a list of video resources on Duda University:
If at any point you need help, you can ask our Community members for advice or contact support.
Review Existing Site Design and Content
Before moving your sites to Duda, we recommend you thoroughly review your existing site’s design and content. This will help you determine which Duda templates and features to use in order to move your sites most efficiently. In addition, it can help you identify upsell opportunities for your clients.
Design
Compare your current site designs to our extensive list of Duda templates. Ideally, you can find a template that most closely matches your existing design. If you can’t find a template that closely matches your existing design, or if your current site design is outdated, we recommend using this as an upsell opportunity by offering your clients a site redesign. In your redesign, you can leverage a Duda template to save yourself time.
Content
Review your site content to determine which assets (images, text, videos, etc) need to be moved to the new site. If you are doing a redesign, you might not need to include all the original assets in the redesign. Of the assets that need to be moved, determine where they are stored and how they are organized. This is a great time to consolidate or reorganize how assets are stored, to help save yourself time as you rebuild your sites.
Select Template
The first step in building a website on Duda is selecting a template to serve as your starting point.
To select a template:
- Log in to your Duda account to access the Dashboard.
- Click Create New Site.
- Browse the list of templates to find one you like. You can hover over a template and click Preview to view the template on desktop, tablet, and mobile screen sizes.
- Once you know what template you want to use, hover over it and click Start Building.
Add Content
To add content to the Content Library:
- In the side panel, click Content.
- Click Site Content, then click Manage Files.
- Click Upload New Files.
- Select how you want to upload files. You can upload files directly from your computer, a link, or you can connect to your Dropbox or Google Drive account. Once you have selected all the files to upload, click Upload.
Start Building
Now that your content is in the Content Library, you are ready to build your site. We recommend adding text first so you can ensure it fits within your design. If it doesn’t, make the necessary adjustments to the design. After all the text is added, start adding in images, videos, and any other content type.
If you need help using the editor, check out our support articles about the Website Builder and Widgets.
Get Client Feedback
If you offered your client a redesign, or any other service during the move, you will want to gather feedback from your client and make any requested changes.
Publish Your Site and Go Live
Taking your site live requires publishing your site, setting up your domain, and then setting up your domain through your domain host. To learn more about the process, see Go Live, Publish, and Set Up Your Domain.
Publish Site
For your site to show up at any domain, you first need to publish it.
To publish your site:
- In your editor, on the top right, click Publish. If your site was previously published, click Republish.
- If you have not already selected a Plan, a payment page appears. Select a plan, and continue.
Set Up Domain in Duda
After publishing the site, you are prompted to select from one of the following three domain options:
- Default Domain. This is a domain hosted by Duda, and is not good for your site’s SEO. The URL will be a subdomain of Duda’s with your custom naming, for example yoursite.dudasites.com. You may use the original default domain.
- Purchase a new domain for your site. Purchase a domain from Google Domains or Hover. When you type your domain into the field, a menu appears with suggestions. This domain will already be set up to work with Duda. For more detailed instructions, see Purchase a Custom Domain.
- Use a domain you already own. You may use a domain that you already own from the domain host you purchased it from. Ensure you add "www." to the URL.
Set Up Domain in Domain Host
This step is only relevant if you are using a domain you already own. If you are using the default domain or purchased a new domain, you can skip this step.
To connect a domain you already own:
- To connect your domain to your site, click Continue.
- Duda searches for your domain host provider, and prompts you to log in with your provider (for example, GoDaddy). If Duda cannot find your host provider, see Domain Host Provider Not Found.
- Type your login credentials for your domain host provider, and click Continue. Alternatively, if you do not own the login credentials, click Forward login to a colleague. Copy the link provided and send it to a colleague or your client to complete the setup.
- You will receive a confirmation message that your domain is now configured. Click Done.
Changes to your domain typically take less than a few hours to go live. However, it may take up to 48 hours.
Conclusion
Now that you have successfully moved your site to Duda, make sure to cancel your subscription and close your old site. In addition to the features mentioned in this guide, Duda offers many other features to help you work most efficiently. Check out the following resources to learn how to get the most out of the Duda platform: