Will Google penalize a site by changing from html to Wordpress?

TommyG · 01-30-2011, 09:26 AM

I have a 4 year old site that I'm redoing. It was my first site and I set it up as a html site. I want to set up a wordpress site.
It's on the bottom of page 2 now but I don't want it to be penalized by getting sandboxed for making a major change to the site.

Will changing it from html to a wordpress theme have any negative effects on google rankings?

automaton · 01-30-2011, 09:34 AM

Based on my experience, Google WILL sandbox your site for some time (in my case, it was 2 weeks) and not send you any visitors. Comparing to your site's age, my blog was very new. In trust rank age matters, so a 4 year old site would probably be sandboxed for a lesser time.

paulgl · 01-30-2011, 09:41 AM

That's crazy.

If you change anything related to site structure, links, content management,
etc., why would you think google would not re-evaluate your site?
That's not a penalty. It's called putting your site where they think it now
should now be. That is in now way, shape, or form, a penalty.

I guess the sandbox-crazies are out in full force.

Paul

MikeFriedman · 01-30-2011, 11:16 AM

Like paulgl said, there may be a reassessment period, but you do not get penalized for such a change.

TommyG · 01-30-2011, 05:16 PM

Thanks for the replies. I am concerned about how much re-evaluation it gets but I guess a short term change is better as I do think it will be much better for customers and for the search engines when I'm done.

theseoguys · 01-30-2011, 06:11 PM

Google loves Wordpress. You may actually come back stronger.

hotftuna · 01-30-2011, 06:31 PM

No- make the change but keep page url's the same.

Abledragon · 01-31-2011, 02:20 AM

The main thing to keep in mind is that your URLs will be different when you're using the WordPress platform, because the Permalink structure is different from the file structure that ends in .html (or .php).

So you need to set up your 301 (permanent) redirects from your old pages to your new pages carefully. If you do that and then resubmit your sitemap once your new site is up then you should not experience any deterioration in traffic from search.

Here's an article that goes into more detail:

Migrate an HTML Website to WordPress | WealthyDragon

Cheers,

Martin.

SMARTERSEOSUBMIT · 01-31-2011, 03:03 AM

No google won't penalize you because you are not violating TOS of google...

TommyG · 01-31-2011, 09:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Abledragon

The main thing to keep in mind is that your URLs will be different when you're using the WordPress platform, because the Permalink structure is different from the file structure that ends in .html (or .php).

So you need to set up your 301 (permanent) redirects from your old pages to your new pages carefully. If you do that and then resubmit your sitemap once your new site is up then you should not experience any deterioration in traffic from search.

Here's an article that goes into more detail:

Migrate an HTML Website to WordPress | WealthyDragon

Cheers,

Martin.

Good point about the redirects! I think there is a plugin that changes permalinks from .php to .html so that may be an option too.
The site only has 5 pages so there's not much to it and it will be easy to change over. I just wasn't sure if google frowns on major site structure changes for a long period of time.

I guess the best thing to do is to test it.

GeorgR. · 01-31-2011, 10:01 AM

I just converted www.1UP-SEO.com from Drupal to Wordpress. A major change. Rankings actually shot up. You just need to make sure your links stay the same if you change your site and Google can access the old links.

Otherwise there is nothing better than going with wordpress!

01-30-2011, 09:26 AM	#1
TommyG Active Warrior War Room Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Tampa, Florida, USA. Posts: 94 Thanks: 58 Thanked 13 Times in 13 Posts Contact Info	Will Google penalize a site by changing from html to Wordpress? I have a 4 year old site that I'm redoing. It was my first site and I set it up as a html site. I want to set up a wordpress site. It's on the bottom of page 2 now but I don't want it to be penalized by getting sandboxed for making a major change to the site. Will changing it from html to a wordpress theme have any negative effects on google rankings?

01-30-2011, 09:34 AM	#2
automaton Active Warrior War Room Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Posts: 67 Thanks: 5 Thanked 10 Times in 9 Posts	Re: Will Google penalize a site by changing from html to Wordpress? Based on my experience, Google WILL sandbox your site for some time (in my case, it was 2 weeks) and not send you any visitors. Comparing to your site's age, my blog was very new. In trust rank age matters, so a 4 year old site would probably be sandboxed for a lesser time.
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01-30-2011, 09:41 AM	#3
paulgl Plundering the Web War Room Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: , , . Posts: 4,849 Thanks: 804 Thanked 1,199 Times in 886 Posts	Re: Will Google penalize a site by changing from html to Wordpress? That's crazy. If you change anything related to site structure, links, content management, etc., why would you think google would not re-evaluate your site? That's not a penalty. It's called putting your site where they think it now should now be. That is in now way, shape, or form, a penalty. I guess the sandbox-crazies are out in full force. Paul
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01-30-2011, 11:16 AM	#4
MikeFriedman Don't Drink and SEO War Room Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: York, PA Posts: 2,009 Thanks: 207 Thanked 551 Times in 393 Posts Social Networking Contact Info	Re: Will Google penalize a site by changing from html to Wordpress? Like paulgl said, there may be a reassessment period, but you do not get penalized for such a change.
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01-30-2011, 05:16 PM	#5
TommyG Active Warrior War Room Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Tampa, Florida, USA. Posts: 94 Thanks: 58 Thanked 13 Times in 13 Posts Contact Info	Re: Will Google penalize a site by changing from html to Wordpress? Thanks for the replies. I am concerned about how much re-evaluation it gets but I guess a short term change is better as I do think it will be much better for customers and for the search engines when I'm done.

01-30-2011, 06:11 PM	#6
theseoguys Jordan K War Room Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Canada Posts: 833 Thanks: 18 Thanked 92 Times in 80 Posts Social Networking Contact Info	Re: Will Google penalize a site by changing from html to Wordpress? Google loves Wordpress. You may actually come back stronger.
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01-30-2011, 06:31 PM	#7
hotftuna Directory Veteran War Room Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: South Florida Posts: 654 Thanks: 72 Thanked 65 Times in 47 Posts	Re: Will Google penalize a site by changing from html to Wordpress? No- make the change but keep page url's the same.
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01-31-2011, 02:20 AM	#8
Abledragon Advanced Warrior Join Date: May 2007 Location: Hong Kong. Posts: 982 Thanks: 3 Thanked 181 Times in 159 Posts Social Networking Contact Info	Re: Will Google penalize a site by changing from html to Wordpress? The main thing to keep in mind is that your URLs will be different when you're using the WordPress platform, because the Permalink structure is different from the file structure that ends in .html (or .php). So you need to set up your 301 (permanent) redirects from your old pages to your new pages carefully. If you do that and then resubmit your sitemap once your new site is up then you should not experience any deterioration in traffic from search. Here's an article that goes into more detail: Migrate an HTML Website to WordPress \| WealthyDragon Cheers, Martin.
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01-31-2011, 03:03 AM	#9
SMARTERSEOSUBMIT Best SEO & Niche Services Join Date: Jan 2011 Posts: 249 Thanks: 14 Thanked 16 Times in 15 Posts Social Networking Contact Info	Re: Will Google penalize a site by changing from html to Wordpress? No google won't penalize you because you are not violating TOS of google...
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01-31-2011, 10:01 AM	#11
GeorgR. Senior Warrior Member War Room Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Earth Posts: 6,061 Blog Entries: 16 Thanks: 72 Thanked 915 Times in 602 Posts Social Networking	Re: Will Google penalize a site by changing from html to Wordpress? I just converted www.1UP-SEO.com from Drupal to Wordpress. A major change. Rankings actually shot up. You just need to make sure your links stay the same if you change your site and Google can access the old links. Otherwise there is nothing better than going with wordpress!
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