The Easy Way To Change Your WordPress Sites Domain Name
The reason that you cant just change your domain name once and call it a day is because of your database. While your core theme files dont really care what your domain name is, your database requires some special attention to get it to use your new domain name.
Thats why I like using the WP Migrate DB plugin from Delicious Brains. Without getting into serialization and other database issues, Ill just sum it up by saying that WP Migrate DB does everything necessary to get your database up and running with your new domain name.
With the plugin, this is all that you need to do to change your WordPress sites domain name:
- Copy your files from your current domain folder to your new domain folder
- Export your database from your current site using WP Migrate DB
- Use PHPMyAdmin to import your updated database to your new site
- Update your new sites wp-config.php
- Set up redirects to send traffic from your old site to your new site
If youre curious where I got this from, Im pretty much following the WordPress Codex entry just with a few tricks to save you some time.
WordPress Domain Name Change
Changing the domain name of a WordPress site is easy and shouldnt take a long time if done correctly. However, if you are not careful during this process, you may end up making your site inaccessible. This is why it is good to make a full backup of your files and database before making any major changes.
Now lets start the steps of changing the domain name of your WordPress site!
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Update The Database Tables
Once the domain is working, and you can log in to the WordPress Dashboard of the new site, install the Search and Replace plugin. It will allow you to search all of the tables in the database, search for your old domain, and replace each instance with your new domain. You can uninstall the plugin after the tables have been updated. In addition to the database, you should check your site for any links hard-coded into widgets, etc. Those links will need to be manually edited to reference your new site address. For additional information on using this plugin, please review the following article:
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How To Change WordPress Domain Address
Today we are going to share something very basic for WordPress Developers, but quite complex for general WP users. Recently, we have encountered many queries on changing domain names of WordPress powered sites. So, we have prepared this step by step guide to explain how to change WordPress site address .
There are several ways of migrating your site to another domain. Here, we will discuss the easiest method. Let’s find out how.
Wrapping Up On How To Change Domain Name In WordPress
Whenever you want to change domain name in WordPress site its very important to follow proper instructions. We have clarified each and every step that you must have follow while doing WordPress change domain name in database.
If you did any mistake while performing all these steps this may harm your website badly. Thus, read carefully all the instructions and follow them accurately.
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Before We Get Started
Its important to know that:
This guide is not for moving a WordPress site to a new web host. The process for that is different. Ill show you how to do that in a separate tutorial
Also. When you change your domain name it will temporarily affect your SEO rankings.
This is normal and to be expected!
It takes time for Google to adjust to the domain change, during which time, chances are, you will likely get less search traffic for a short time.
But dont worry
What To Know Before You Create A New Domain Name
Changing your WordPress domain name is simple, but there will be the occasional need to adjust your websites PHP code. This code is essential to the operation of your website and mistakes made there could bring your domain to a halt. Some quick prep work before you start will guarantee the process goes smoothly.
- Before doing anything, create a full backup of your website. Do this either manually by exporting your database or by using one of many backup plugins. Some reliable options are Updraftplus, BlogVault, and VaultPress.
- Buy and Register your new Domain name by pointing it to the correct name servers.
- Have a File Transfer Protocol client. The FTP will allow you to access your server directly from your computer. Theyre easy to use, but be prepared for some learning curve. We recommend FileZilla, a great FTP for beginners to brush up their FTP skills.
- Head to Hostingers Domain Checker and type in your preferred new domain name. The checker will tell you if that option is available and it will offer some alternative suggestions in case that domain is already taken.
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How To Change Your WordPress Url
Your WordPress address and site address are very important as they reference both the address of your site on the web and the location of your sites files and admin screens.
There are many reasons why you might need or want to change your WordPress URL. Perhaps youre changing domains, moving to a subdomain, updating from www to non-www, moving files around, or even migrating from HTTP to HTTPS.
Whatever the case may be, there are a few options you have when it comes to changing the URL, some more advanced than others.
In this guide, well show you the different methods you can use to change the URL of your WordPress installation and your WordPress site URL, which are two different things.
Prepare By Gathering All Necessary Information
Before you change your domain name, youll need the following information immediately accessible:
- Your WordPress administrator login credentials. This is the username and password used to log in to the WordPress dashboard.
- Your file manager or cPanel login credentials.
- Your FTP login credentials.
- Access to PHPmyAdmin through your control panel.
Youll also want to make a complete backup of your WordPress installation.
Here are four options for changing your WordPress domain name, starting with the easiest method and ending with two options that should only be used if you cant get the first two to work.
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Update All Links Thoroughly
After having a complete backup of your website you have to update your websites URL and site address.
- Create New Website
- Update Existing Domain
The first option is to create your a fresh WordPress website with all your new desired domain name. After doing so you can migrate your complete website with all content in it.
The second option is just to update the existing WordPress URL and complete the website address. You should be careful while doing these changes, otherwise, any mistake will affect your entire website.
Do You Have Any Questions About Changing Your WordPress Url
Most simple modifications only require you to go into the WordPress dashboard or wp-config.php file. Other than that, we suggest reaching out to a developer when tweaking your database or using command lines.
Finally, you can also change the URL for other parts of your WordPress site. For example, we have that you might find useful.
Still have any questions about how to change your WordPress URL? Let us know in the comments below.
Free guide
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Changing The Domain Name That Points To Your WordPress Site
The first step is to get your new domain name pointing to your WordPress site.
This is easier than you may think in fact, you can have more than one domain pointing to your site. So if you just need an extra domain name, you only need to follow this step.
Note: Any links to your content using the old domain will take people to your 404 page or your home page. To fix this, youll need to set up redirections, which you can do with a plugin or in the SiteGround admin screens.
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Redirect The Former Domain
It’s time to ensure your old website is redirected to the new website, as audiences might still stumble upon your old URL or forget that you’ve changed to a new domain. By redirecting, they can type in the old domain and still end up on your new domain.
To set up these 301 redirects, as they are called, go to your hosting control panel and choose the file manager. Go to the .htaccess folder, and right-click to edit. Add the following code, changing newdomain’ to your new domain, to the top of the page:
#Options +FollowSymLinksRewriteRule ^$ http://www.newdomain.com/$1
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Moving Sites #moving Sites
When moving sites from one location to another, it is sometimes necessary to manually modify data in the database to make the new site URL information to be recognized properly. Many tools exist to assist with this, and those should generally be used instead of manual modifications.
This is presented here as information only. This data may not be complete or accurate.
You should read the Moving WordPress article first, if attempting to move WordPress from one system to another.
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Accessing phpMyAdmin in MyKinsta
Editing and manipulating database tables directly from phpMyAdmin could break your site if not done correctly. If you are not comfortable doing this, please check with a developer first. And make sure your site is backed up before you edit your database.
In phpMyAdmin, click on your database on the left-hand side. Then scroll down and click on the wp_options table. If your database has a different prefix it might be named slightly differently, such as wp56_options.
phpMyAdmin wp_options table
Then find the site url and home fields. Double click in the option_value field for each and type in the new URL.
phpMyAdmin editing URL
Your changes will automatically be saved.
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Change WordPress Url Via The Admin Dashboard
The first and most common method is to change your WordPress URL directly from within the admin dashboard. In the admin menu, go to Settings > General to access the general settings screen. You can then update the following:
- WordPress Address : The address to reach your site.
- Site Address : The address of your WordPress core files.
General settings WordPress URL
Both should match unless you are giving WordPress its own directory. Remember that after you click Save Changes, your WordPress dashboard is now only accessible via the new URL. So be sure to check that youve entered the right URL.
If you do accidentally enter the wrong URL, you can override the settings in the admin screens by editing your wp-config.php file .
Note: If the fields above are grayed out, it is most likely because you already have hard-coded values in your wp-config.php file. In which case, jump to the next method.
If youre creating a fresh WordPress installation on Kinsta hosting, you will be given a temporary URL, such as sitename.kinsta.cloud. You can use the directions above to update the address.
You might also need to clear your WordPress cache after updating the URLs, otherwise you might receive a redirect error. If youre a Kinsta client, you can clear your cache from the MyKinsta dashboard under the Tools section for your site.
MyKinsta clear cache
Dont Forget To Backup Your Website Thoroughly
Nothing is worse than losing your all-important content just because of one silly mistake. It is very important to have a complete backup before migrating your website to other domain names.
There are many plugins available that will help you in backing up your website. Before you change the WordPress domain Cpanel makes sure to have a complete backup with all subdomain lists.
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Update Your Website In Google Webmasters Tools & Google Analytics
Google Search Engine Console is the new version of . After shifting your website to a new website domain name, you will need to send Google a request to change the address of your previous domain. This way, Google will know that you have changed your domain and will give you SEO benefits
Also, while you are at it, if you use the Google Analytics tool to analyze your websites performance, make sure to update site address on it too.
The same thing has to be done in Google Analytics.
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.
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Take A Backup Of Your WordPress Membership Site
Before you begin changing domain names, its a good idea to take a backup of your WordPress membership site. This is something you should have in place anyway, but if not, this guide explains how to back up your membership site.
Having an up-to-date backup will come in handy should anything go wrong when changing the domain name of your membership site.
How To Change The Domain Name Of Your Membership Site Without Destroying Your Seo
If you want to rebrand your membership site, then changing your domain name will probably be part of the process.
Many people are put off from choosing a better domain name for their website because theyre worried about losing traffic, especially hard-won search engine traffic. However, as this guide on how to change the domain name of your membership site without destroying your SEO shows, its not a task you should be afraid of.
However, note that this guide assumes youre using WordPress as the platform for your membership site.
Lets get started
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