TL;DR
- A simple WordPress to Webflow migration for a small marketing site typically takes two to three weeks from start to launch.
- A larger site with a significant content library, custom integrations, or a full redesign alongside the migration takes six to eight weeks.
- The most common causes of delay are incomplete content audits at the start, scope changes during the project, and redirect mapping that is left too late.
- Rushing a migration to hit an arbitrary deadline is the most reliable way to cause the SEO and functionality problems people fear.
When you decide to migrate from WordPress to Webflow, the first question is usually about risk. Will I lose my SEO rankings? Will the site break? Those are valid concerns and they have clear answers.
The second question, which comes up almost immediately after the first, is how long this is actually going to take. Not the sanitised agency answer. The real one.
Here is an honest breakdown by site size and complexity, including what each phase involves and where projects typically slow down.
Small site migration: two to three weeks
A small site in this context means ten to twenty pages, a limited blog, no complex custom integrations, and a relatively straightforward URL structure. This is the most common type of migration for small businesses and service companies.
Week 1: Audit and prep. Crawl the existing site to document every URL, export content, audit what actually needs to be migrated versus what can be left behind, and document the current URL structure. Set up the Webflow project, configure basic settings, and decide whether the URL structure will stay the same or change.
Week 2: Build. Develop the core pages in Webflow. Transfer content. Build CMS collections for blog posts or other repeating content types. Set up forms and any third-party integrations. Configure SEO settings: meta titles, descriptions, canonical tags, redirects for any changed URLs.
Week 3: Review, test, and launch. Internal review and client review. Cross-browser and mobile testing. Final redirect checks. Sitemap submission. Domain switch. Post-launch monitoring.
This timeline assumes the design is either staying similar to the current site or has been decided before the migration starts. If design work is happening alongside the migration, add one to two weeks.
Medium site migration: four to five weeks
A medium site has twenty to fifty pages, a more substantial blog, possibly some custom post types or more complex content structures, and may require a few third-party integrations like a booking system, CRM connection, or event listing.
The additional time goes into content migration (more pages means more transfer work), CMS architecture decisions (more complex content types require more careful structure planning), integration testing, and a more thorough QA process before launch.
Redirect mapping also takes more time on a larger site. Every URL needs to be accounted for, and on a site with hundreds of blog posts, that is a document that requires real attention.
Large site migration with redesign: six to eight weeks
A large site, or any migration that includes a significant redesign alongside the platform change, should be budgeted at six to eight weeks minimum. The two workstreams, design and migration, need to be sequenced carefully to avoid building something that then needs to be redesigned.
The standard approach is to complete the design phase first, with all key page layouts approved in Figma before any Webflow development begins. This prevents the expensive rework that happens when design decisions change after pages have already been built.
For sites with hundreds of blog posts or pages, content migration itself becomes a substantial task. Not all of it can be automated, particularly if content formatting needs cleaning up or images need re-optimising for the new platform.
What actually causes delays
In our experience, most migrations that run over time do so for a handful of predictable reasons.
An incomplete content audit at the start. When the full scope of what needs to be migrated is not documented before the project begins, new pages keep appearing during the build phase. This pushes the timeline and often the budget.
Design decisions that are not finalised before build starts. Every time a page layout is changed after it has been built in Webflow, it costs time. The cleaner the design sign-off before development begins, the smoother the build phase.
Redirect mapping left until the end. Redirect mapping is not glamorous work, but leaving it until the final week creates a bottleneck. For large sites especially, it should start during the audit phase and be completed well before launch day.
Third-party integration surprises. A form connected to a CRM, a booking system, or a custom API integration that was not fully scoped at the start can add unexpected time. Identify every integration at the beginning of the project, not halfway through.
The question worth asking before you start
Before beginning a migration, the most useful thing you can do is get a proper audit of your current site. How many pages are there? Which ones are worth migrating and which can be archived? What is the current URL structure and how much of it needs to change? What integrations does the current site have?
With those answers in hand, a realistic timeline becomes straightforward to estimate. Without them, any timeline you are given is a guess.
If you are worried about what happens to your search rankings during the migration, read our post on whether you will lose SEO rankings when moving from WordPress to Webflow. It covers the specific steps that protect your rankings through the transition.
If you would like a scoping call to understand what a migration from your specific WordPress site to Webflow would involve, get in touch and we will give you a realistic estimate with no obligation.
