Publication reports improved search visibility and site authority within days of transition
Presence News has confirmed the successful migration of its website to a new hosting provider following what the organization described as “ongoing and unresolved technical issues” with its previous provider, Kinsta.
The transition, completed approximately two days ago, comes after multiple reported concerns involving SSL certification errors, web application firewall behavior, and site indexing performance. According to internal statements, the decision to migrate was driven by both technical reliability concerns and measurable impacts on audience reach.
Ongoing SSL and Security Concerns
In a prior internal update, Presence News cited repeated attempts to resolve SSL-related issues:
“SSL certificate issue has been raised with the hosting provider on five separate occasions over the past two months. Each time, Presence News was informed that the issue had been resolved. However, reader reports of ‘Not Secure’ and ‘Invalid Certificate’ browser warnings continue.”
Such warnings can affect user trust, browser access, and search engine crawling behavior—factors that are critical for digital publishers reliant on consistent traffic and discoverability.
Migration and Immediate Performance Changes
Following the migration away from Kinsta, Presence News reports early signs of improvement.
According to internal analytics and third-party tracking via SEMrush, the publication’s authority score has increased by two points within two days of the transition. Additionally, early indicators show a return of organic search traffic from Google.
Prior to the migration, the publication noted a significant indexing discrepancy, with hundreds of articles not appearing in search results.
Reported Technical Barriers
Founder Kasdyn Click described several technical challenges encountered during the period with the previous hosting setup:
“Their process is very complex—too complex for a simple website like ours. They manage your account with Cloudflare and do not provide direct access. My technical team identified issues with WAF (Web Application Firewall), SSL certificates, and failed to properly save approximately 800 redirects from HTTP to HTTPS.”
These redirect configurations are essential for ensuring that search engines correctly index secure versions of pages and preserve existing rankings.
Impact on Visibility and Revenue
Presence News estimates that the technical limitations had broader implications beyond site performance.
According to internal reporting, the publication previously had approximately 800 articles appearing in search results. During the period of technical disruption, that number dropped significantly, at time of leaving migration it showed only one indexed result on Google Search Console. Around Christmas 2025 – We had a malware security issue at Presence, fixed migrated to Kinsta around January 1st – went in with a couple hundred indexed articles – left Kinsta when it showed only 1 indexed page for over 30 days. Had to double check their work multiple times – they failed to save work after being on customer service for hours – resulting having to check their work again. Customer service “agent” uses a fake name unverified & seems to be non-US based labor. (Overseas customer service it seems like)
The organization states that this decline contributed to measurable business impact:
- Reduced advertising revenue
- Decreased visibility for featured businesses and partners
- Potential downstream effects on client sales and local economic activity
“For our publication, it cost the company thousands of dollars in lost ad revenue,” said Click. “But more than that, it cost our customers visibility—which means lost sales for their business, reduced wages, and real impact on families.”
Billing Dispute and Requested Resolution
Following the migration, Presence News has requested a partial financial adjustment from Kinsta, including:
- A one-month service credit of approximately $90
- Prorated reimbursement for the unused portion of the current billing cycle
Customer service responded with saying no money can be refunded.
Looking Ahead
Presence News states that it will continue monitoring indexing recovery and traffic performance in the coming weeks. The organization views the migration as a step toward stabilizing its publishing infrastructure and restoring consistent audience reach.
The publication also indicated that future updates may include transparency reports on technical performance and search visibility trends.