Website Consolidations Explained
The first time I ever had to plan a website consolidation, the task was titled “website migration”. As this was my first consolidation it didn’t register at the time and I researched website migration strategies and put together a plan.
As I started to put the site migration plan into action, I came to realise that it needed a bit of a tweak here and there. In fact, by the end of the project it wasn’t a migration at all. We were merging two entities and it deserved its own name - a website consolidation or a website merger.
An AI generated visualisation of a website consolidation… and it’s strangely pretty accurate!
What is a website consolidation
A website consolidation is when you merge 2 or more websites, usually as part of a branded consolidation or merger and acquisition. Usually the smaller or lesser website is closed down and the remaining website absorbs the important pages from it.
Unlike a website migration, which is when you move one website from one domain to another, a site consolidation folds one website into another existing website and usually carries additional risks and pitfalls.
Why choose to consolidate websites
Let’s be honest, if you’re considering a website consolidation it’s probably because you have no other option.
When handled with care, consolidations are hugely beneficial, but as we mentioned previously they do have their own individual challenges and best done only when absolutely necessary.
If you have several websites within your portfolio, especially due to acquisitions, then you might be feeling the strain on resources. A site consolidation can help with:
Cost - Having just one website can save you a lot of money. Depending on how many websites you’re running, all that extra cost could be spent in much more beneficial places.
Maintenance - Keeping one website up to date and functioning at its best can be hard enough. Having more than one website quickly increases the chances of a poor user experience.
SEO - Focussing your time and energy on just one website is so much more rewarding from an SEO perspective. Creating original and high quality content for one website is much more efficient, as opposed to trying to recreate this content multiple times over making it difficult and tedious for your team.
Brand - Having one location for all your marketing efforts is another huge win. Acquisitions and other websites tend to create a nightmare for branding and we’ve seen many cases where one website links out to another, creating problems for attribution but also for website users who can easily become confused and lose trust.
Having more than one website can sometimes be of benefit, but after working with companies who have multiple, similar, websites in their portfolio, the positives of consolidating are far greater.
Should I DIY my website consolidation?
Not every business will require a professional service when it comes to a site merger. If you have experienced web developers and an SEO team that’s all you really need to make it a success from a technical aspect.
You’ll need a well thought out plan, involving the rest of the business to help support from product teams to digital and brand.
We’ll be creating a how to guide along with a checklist soon so please sign up to our newsletter where we’ll be sharing that soon.
But, even with all of the team above you may find working with an experienced site consolidation agency much more helpful.
If you would like to learn more about Site Move and our website consolidation services please get in touch.