How To Change Your WordPress Websites Domain Name
Posted in Performance, WordPress by Abe Selig
Well state right off the bat that frivolously changing your domain name especially on an established WordPress website is not recommended. However, there are legitimate reasons for doing so, and if the need arises youll want to get the job done correctly.
Fortunately, the process is actually surprisingly simple if youre just changing the primary WordPress URL. While youll need to alter some WordPress settings in two different locations, each will be a breeze to deal with.
This post will look at how to change your existing domain name within WordPress, and will also touch on some crucial pointers for doing so successfully. Lets get started!
Research Your Desired Domain Name
Once you pick a good domain name, youll want to check if the domain is already registered. You can use Shopifys Domain Search tool to see a custom domains availability. Another common way to do this research is through a WHOIS lookup.
Before committing to a domain name, youll want to make sure that no other business is using the same one. There are three ways to check:
- Run a trademark search. Head to USPTO.gov and search the trademark database to see if anyone registered a similar name.
- Check social media. Search Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and other relevant social media channels to check your names availability. This will come in handy when you go to create your accounts, too.
- Do a Google search. Last but not least, type your desired name into Google to see if anyone is closely tied to your brand.
Choose A Com Domain Name
When it comes to choosing your domain extension, theres debate on which one gets you more traffic. The .com extension is the most established and most credible, with over 78% of businesses using it. Many smartphones also have a .com key, which makes it easier to type your domain name.
That said, its not the end of the world if you have to settle for .co or .net. If for example, you can purchase the .net but the .com is selling for hundreds of thousands of dollars, it may make sense to go with the latter. Of course, you do want to ensure youre not infringing on any copyright laws where applicableits better safe than sorry!
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Change The Domain Name Through The WordPress Admin Panel
The easiest way to change your domain name is to log in to your WordPress admin account and navigate to the General Settings page. Youll see two options called WordPress Address and Site Address .
Change these two URLs to your target domain name. In most cases these two URLs will be the same, but theyll be different if youre storing your WordPress files in a different directory than the domain used to access the site. If this is the case, make sure you edit the WordPress Address option to reflect the directory where your WordPress files are. The Site Address URL is the address you want people to type in to access your website.
This option will work if you have no problem accessing your admin dashboard. If you cant access your admin dashboard, the next option will help.
Rebrand Your Websites Design
Depending on your choice of domain, youll likely need to update aspects of your sites design to reflect it. For example, your logo will likely need an update, but the same goes for any other element that alludes to your former domain name. For example:
- Your About page if your site has one.
- Your websites footer, which often includes copyright information.
- The tagline of your site, which is the text that appears on a browsers tab when you open it.
- Any miscellaneous references within your content.
Fortunately, making these changes is relatively straightforward, although youll need to make sure youve removed all references to your previous domain on your site before pressing ahead.
Youll also need to let visitors know about these changes so they arent left scratching their heads. Well talk about that shortly, but before that, lets talk about redirects.
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How To Change Your Domain Name & Url And Keep The Seo Ranking
In this article, well guide you through the process of changing your domain name and explain how to do it properly, so you dont lose your SEO ranking.
Changing the domain name is a relatively complex task. It requires some technical and SEO knowledge. If you dont take the time and effort to make this move properly, you might end up with unwanted issues and a drop in your SEO ranking.
This guide covers multiple aspects of site migration, keep reading if you plan to do any of the following:
- change the domain name
- redesign your website
Weve seen multiple examples when users rebranded their business, launched a new website, and partially lost their organic search traffic. This happened because of improper migration.
To avoid this, you need to make sure that you carefully plan the migration in advance and perform the domain switch in a proper way.
Here are the steps you need to follow, to ensure that you migrate your website to a new domain correctly.
What Does Changing Primary Domain Do
When you change your primary domain, you are essentially changing the address of your website. This can be beneficial if you want to change your websites name or if you want to move your website to a new domain. Changing your primary domain will also change the links to all of your websites pages. So, if you have a lot of inbound links pointing to your old domain, you may want to redirect those links to your new domain.
The primary domain name associated with your HostPapa account can be changed at any time. Before you do, you should be aware of some critical information that will help you protect your servers access. There is no way to revoke your former primary domain. If you want both your old and new primary domains to display the same website, you can define Domain Alias. When you request a change to a primary domain name, you will be able to update all of the email addresses associated with the previous domain. Your account will be retained, and you will be able to log in to your webmail account with the same password and email address. If you retain the domain name, you can choose to have your old accounts forwarded by ccf under your old domain name.
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Make Sure The Destination Domain Has A Clean Past
Skip this step if youve just purchased an entirely new domain name. This information only applies when you bought an older domain from someone else or at a domain auction.
Switching to an existing domain that already has a past is like buying an old house. You first have to check for any structural damage and to make sure its not haunted 🙂
Youd search for the domain on archive.org to get a history of what actual website pages were displayed on it. If you do get results, take a close look at them. Any spam or low-quality content?
To be really thorough, you could also search for the domain using ahrefs Backlink Checker tool.
The free version of their tool allows you to see a small set of backlinks for that domain, and to get an idea of its overall history.
And if theres something live on the domain already , you could also . That will tell you how well its been indexed by Google and if there were any manual penalty actions taken against your domain .
If you do notice any manual actions applied to your domain name in the past, you have to stop here and address those problems first, and then file a reconsideration request to have Google lift those penalties.
Further reading on this sub-topic:
Keep Your Domain Name Short Brandable And Memorable
If youre fortunate to already have a brand name, youll definitely want to try and register it as your domain. This makes it easier for people to find you online and connect your business to your website. If possible, youll want to have the .com, but .co and .net maybe suitable alternatives.
Regardless of the name you choose, its incredibly important to keep it short, concise, and easy to remember.
Aim to:
- Keep your domain name under 15 characters
- Avoid words with complex spelling and meanings
For example, the Los Angeles County Museum of Arts online store could have used thelacountymuseumofartstore.org. Do you see something off here? Beside the domain being too long, what stands out are the words fart storenot the best look for a brand selling stuff online.
Instead, the brand chose thelacmastore.orga short, sweet, pronounceable domain name people will remember.
Some brands, like Biko, also get creative with their domain name by making it relatable, yet clear. The domain name ilovebiko.com puts shoppers in the right mindset once they land on the page.
You get the idea. Above all, make your domain name simple and brandable so people can find you online.
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Risks Of Changing Your Domain Name
Risk is inherent to the nature of business. However, theres never an excuse for exposing your business to more risk than necessary.
Changing your domain name can be a great boon for your business, but it comes with its fair share of risks. Lets explore what those risks are and address what you can do to change your domain name with as little risk as possible.
- Wasting time and money.
- Losing traffic or search rankings that have previously built up.
- Loss of your brand awareness.
- Losing backlink traffic and rankings.
How To Connect Domain With Hosting In Namecheap
Namecheap is one of the most popular domain registrars and web hosting providers on the internet. They offer a wide variety of services, including domain registration, web hosting, email hosting, and more. They are known for their low prices, great customer service, and easy to use interface. To connect your domain with hosting in Namecheap, you will first need to create an account with them. Once you have created an account, you will need to login to your Namecheap account and click on the Domains tab. Next, you will want to click on the Transfer tab and enter your domain name in the search bar. Once you have found your domain, you will need to select the Transfer to Hosting option. Finally, you will need to select your hosting plan and enter your payment information. Once your domain is connected with your hosting, you will be able to access your website and email accounts through Namecheap.
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Download Your Backup File To Your Computer
It is always a smart idea to download all the files you backed up before changing your domain. This way, you can host them yourself or just have a copy if anything goes wrong, and you need to revert to the old version of your website.
Pro tip: Saving your backup to multiple places might be a good idea.
For example, saving it to your computer, and to a cloud storage provider gives you two fail safes just in case the unthinkable happens. While rare, Ive heard horror stories of people losing years of work because they didnt have redundancies in place before transitioning to a new domain.
While some hosting and domain providers will keep a copy for you on your behalf, it never hurts to have a backup for yourself.
Once youve gotten through these steps, now we need to address how to complete the move without as little damage to your SEO efforts as possible.
How To Make An Audit Of A Site
A site audit is important for many reasons, from search engine optimization , to uncovering business potential, to ultimately having a full understanding of your website.
When it comes to moving domain names, youll want to check that everything is relevant and still needed, whether youre moving because of a rebrand or moving just in name.
The content audit
Go through your website with a fine-tooth comb and see if all the pages are needed. It may be that your site has changed focus, and old articles are no longer relevant. When it comes to moving, take the time to do some research into how you can achieve the move For example, if you have a WordPress site and youre migrating to Namecheap, we offer a managed migration service.
The design audit
Check that you have all your assets ready. New logos, new colors, and everything design-related that you could need. Once youve checked, check again! Youll need to have everything in place and ready to go.
Counters and tag audit
Without getting too technical, consider the set up of your , , Facebook pixels anything that you use to track, measure, and analyze your website must be looked at and set up correctly. If you dont want to lose this data, make sure you move the old counters over to your new website.
Check contact details
You want website visitors to be able to reach you! Make sure your email contact details are set up correctly with your new domain name.
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Loss Of Backlinks And Traffic
Backlinks are links on 3rd party sites that direct back to your site and theyre part of any good SEO strategy. If youve invested a lot of time in building your backlinks then changing your domain name will affect those links.
Keeping your redirects alive will help mitigate this risk however, redirects on backlinks dont carry as much weight in SEO algorithms, so youre likely to lose some traffic. You can either reach out to these 3rd party sites, letting them know about your new domain and providing new links for them to use, or work on your backlink strategy with your updated domain name.
If You Need To Change Web Hosts
Your web host is the provider of the server where your website’s files reside. If you get a new domain name that’s completely tied to a different web host, you’re going to need to move all your site’s files to your account on the new host’s server space.
Not all web hosts work the same way, so in this case, you’ll need to turn to your new web host for detailed instructions. Thankfully, services exist to help you migrate your website.
This basically works like copying your entire website over to the new host and domain. If this is the route you need to take, there will be 2 copies of your site available at once, for a short while. Eventually, you’ll take the old one down. But first, check to make sure the new copy is exactly the same as the original. Or at least, as close as possible!
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Changing Domain For Hosting
Name.com allows our customers to change the domain for our hosting products as you see fit. It’s important to note that while we can change the domain for the hosting, the file-structure and content would remain the same. This means that changing the domain for the hosting would not make the current content shift over to work with the new domain. The content and domain would all have to be accounted for this. If you have WordPress, more steps are involved with changing the domain, but there are plugins to make this change easier for you and you can also read their help tutorial here.
That’s it! The change to the hosting product should be instant, but keep in mind DNS propagation and caching could take some time to update.
If you are having trouble with changing your domain, please make sure it is not added to another hosting plan, or that it is not an addon domain for your current plan. If your domain is an addon domain, it will need to be removed before you can make it the new primary domain.
What’s A Good Strategy When It Comes To Changing My Domain Name
Without going into too much detail – there are some important steps to follow when you are about to embark on rebuilding your authority under a new address on the web.
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