How To Change The Domain Name Of A WordPress Site
At some point you may discover the need to change the domain name of your WordPress website. Maybe you found a better domain name, or you were using a temporary domain to set everything up. Either way youll need to change a few settings inside of your WordPress installation in order to make the transition to your new domain smooth.
If you need to migrate your website to a new server, please refer to this guide for migrating without experiencing downtime.
Change Website Url Using The WordPress Admin Dashboard
The next step to change WordPress domain is to add your new domain to the WordPress General Settings.
Head to Dashboard -> Settings -> General. Replace your current WordPress Address and Site Address with your new domain. Hit Save Changes once youre done.
Were not done just yet. Before re-accessing your site using the new address, complete the following remaining steps.
Is It Possible To Change Your Domain Name How Long Does It Take A Complete Guide
The answer to the first question is that yes it is possible to change the domain name of your existing website or blog. Irrespective of whether you have proudly registered a domain name, there can always be a change of heart due to various reasons. You are reading the right article if you wish to change the name of your existing website or blog.
It might happen that the domain name that you have always wanted just became available. Or you might want to rebrand your website for which you might need a new domain name. No matter for what reason you need a new domain name, this is a step by step guide to do that. The most crucial aspect is to ensure that the change of domain name shouldnt affect your website or your website visitors.
Changing the domain name has its own benefits you might be able to secure a domain name that is short, smart and easy to remember and gives a whole new high to your business brand. So why not take it? If you get a new domain name that is marketable and impressive, you dont have to worry about the process involved in changing the domain name, its all mentioned in this guide.
Reasons why you should consider the change in domain name:
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How To Change Your WordPress Domain Name
For the most part, the steps to change the WordPress domain are simple, but some tasks will require you to tweak your sites PHP code. Modifying the code might put your site at risk when done wrong.
Be sure to follow these prerequisites before proceeding with the remaining steps:
Backup Your Current Site
Back up your website before making any big changes. Doing so will allow you to get your site back whenever an error occurs. Otherwise, you risk losing all your data and having to start from scratch.
A WordPress website consists of two main components website files and databases. Hence, before transferring your site content onto the new domain, execute a full backup of your entire site.
For Hostinger users with or cloud hosting plans, we offer a one-click restoreand backup system to backup your WordPress site via the hPanel dashboard.
Alternatively, several WordPress plugins enable you to perform a backup with just a few clicks. Some of the most popular choices are VaultPress, UpdraftPlus, and BackWPup.
Access to a Hosting Dashboard or an FTP Client
If you want to change the WordPress domain, youll need access to your hosting account dashboard this is where you will add your new domain address. Hostinger users can log into the hPanel dashboard and head to the Domain section for domain management.
A New Domain Name
Connecting Your Own Domain Name To Shopify
You can also connect your own domain name to Shopify without transferring it. This will allow you to manage your own domain name settings, renew it and make the payments. Here are the steps to connect your domain name to Shopify:
Check your new Shopify website to check if everything works well. If you need any help, never hesitate in reaching out to Shopify experts.
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How To Change WordPress Domain Name: A Step
As businesses start offering new products or services, or entering new markets, changing the business strategy might become inevitable. This includes aligning your domain name with your brand value.
In addition to providing a readable address, a domain name also represents your brand. With that in mind, the domain should reflect your brands goals and missions.
Fortunately, changing a domain name is a straightforward process. This article will show you how to do so for a WordPress site.
Should I Change The Domain Name Of My Website: A Case Study
by Matt Smith | Branding, Digital Marketing, Internet Marketing, , Small Business, Website
Once in awhile, I have clients who ask about changing their website domain name and rebranding their small business. In most situations, I wouldnt recommend changing the domain name of an established site, particularly if the majority of your traffic is inbound via search, referrals, etc. Changing your primary domain name and rebranding your entire website can have a significant, negative impact on your domain authority , while causing a host of other issues for you and your site visitors. With that said, there are situations where changing a domain should be considered, and could potentially benefit your small business.
How do you know if a domain name change is the right move for your small business? Take a look at the points below to help you determine what the best move is for your business and your customers success:
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Change Your Domain Name To Suit Business Needs
Having a domain name is important if you want to establish credibility with customers in the online space. Its an easy way to signal to shoppers what youre selling and to gain a foothold in your market. The edge you gain through landing that perfect domain name is well worth the time and money investments required.
Unfortunately, some people wind up with a domain name that accomplishes none of those things. As a result, they are forced to change the name. Fortunately, this process is simple: follow the steps listed above to land the perfect domain name.
Kristin Crabb
Content Marketing Strategist working in the digital marketing industry. Skilled in SEO-focused content creation, keyword research and competitive analysis, interactive content, web content optimization, and landing page creation.
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.
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Reasons Why You Should Change Your Domain Name
- Your current domain name doesnt reflect your brand and business.
- Industries shift. Perhaps your domain name is no longer relevant or helpful in distinguishing your product and business in the marketplace.
Update All Internal And Hardcoded Links
Now that you have your WordPress site address and URL changed to the new domain, its time to update all of your internal and hardcoded links. Generally, it is not recommended to hard-code URLs but most likely over time you probably have, we all do it. This includes interlinks between your own content, media, links to JavaScript and CSS on your site, etc. Below are a couple of options you have for updating your links.
Option 1 Kinsta Search and Replace Tool
If youre a Kinsta client, we have an easy to use search and replace tool in our MyKinsta dashboard.
Here are simple steps to update your old domain to your new domain:
Check out our search and replace tutorial for additional details. You can always reach out to our support team if you need assistance with this.
Option 2 Update Links With WordPress Plugin
Option 3 Search and Replace with WP-CLI
Update your CDN
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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.
Review Existing Backlinks And Search Performance
Quick definition: backlinks are a fancy term for links on other websites that point back to your site. Getting more relevant links back from important websites is a huge SEO factor. Learn more here: The photographers mini-guide to backlinks: how to create, gain & track links back to your site
Before making the switch, its a good idea to make an inventory of your existing SEO status so you can make a before-and-after comparison later.
Using , you get a ton of useful reports about your site:
- how well your domain is performing in search results
- how Google is indexing your site
- which pages have usability problems on mobile devices
- what other websites are linking to yours
This article will show you what important reports you should check regularly:
And you can get a list of backlinks pointing to your site using the ahrefs tool I mentioned above.
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Migrate Using A Plugin
If you use a WordPress website, heres a list of common migration plugins that you can try.
Pretty much any of the plugins mentioned above will allow you to export your existing website, move it to the new website, search and replace the URLs for the new domain.
Alternatively, you can use the Flo Launch plugin or create your new site in a staging environment .
Before Changing Primary Domain
Before changing the domain name, there are a few things to be noted of. Let me list a few notes below. And its very important to read the following lines before proceeding with the actual process of changing the primary domain name:
Service Downtime: The websites and email hosted on this account will be down while the system changes your primary domain, which can take anywhere from a few minutes to an hour. Youll kindly need to be patient while the change is happening.
Files & Backups: Your usernames, passwords, files, databases, etc. will not be changed however, we highly recommend that you download a complete backup of your website files and databases to your home computer as a fail-safe against possible file corruption.
WordPress & File Directories: The new primary domain will point to the public_html directory, the same way the current primary domain does now. It is your responsibility to move the website files for both domains to their new locations in order for the sites to function properly.
Custom Configurations: Any subdomains, custom DNS settings, and email forwarders on the old and new primary domains will be deleted during this process, and it is your responsibility to set those up again when the change is complete.
These notes have been clearly mentioned by the BlueHost support staff. I strongly recommend taking a full backup of your website. Once done, you can seamlessly ask the BlueHost support staff to change the primary domain of your account.
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