How to Run a Framer Migration Without Downtime

The moment a large site switches to a new platform is the part that keeps teams up at night. It does not need to. A zero-downtime cutover is mostly preparation, not luck. Here is the sequence experienced teams follow so the switch itself is uneventful.

Build in parallel, not in place

The new Framer site should be fully built and reviewed on a staging domain while the old site stays live and untouched. Nothing about the switch should involve building under pressure. By cutover day, the new site is already done and signed off.

Finalize the redirect map first

Every URL that changes needs a tested 301 redirect. Build the full old-to-new map, test a sample across page types, and have it ready to apply the instant you go live. Redirects are the single biggest protector of search traffic during a migration.

Lower the DNS TTL ahead of time

A day or two before cutover, reduce the TTL on your DNS records so the change propagates quickly. This small, often-forgotten step shrinks the window where visitors might hit stale routing.

Cut over in a low-traffic window

Choose a quiet time based on your real analytics. Point DNS at the new site, apply the redirects, and watch. Because the site was already built and tested, this step is a switch, not a scramble.

Verify immediately

Right after cutover, check the key templates, test a range of old URLs to confirm redirects fire, and watch analytics and error logs. Catching an issue in the first hour is easy. Catching it a week later, after search engines have recrawled, is not.

Keep a rollback ready

Have a clear, tested way to revert if something serious appears. You will almost never use it, but knowing it exists changes how calm the cutover feels. For the full migration playbook, see migrating to Framer for enterprise teams, and the wider context in the complete guide to Framer for enterprise.