How To Properly Move WordPress To A New Domain Name
Do you want to transfer your WordPress website from one domain name to another domain on the same server? Switching to a new domain name may affect the search engine rankings of your website. To minimize this impact, youll need to follow a specific step-by-step process to get your search position back after transferring your site.
In this article, well show you how to properly move your WordPress site to a new domain name with minimal effect on SEO.
Also Check: How Much Does A Domain Cost
Reasons To Change Domain Names
There are a lot of different reasons why you might want to change domain names. Here are a few common examples:
- Your business is rebranding from one name to another and you have a new domain name to go along with it.
- Perhaps you were using a less popular top level domain and finally acquired that new and shiny .com for your business.
- Your merging multiple properties into one domain.
- Your old domain is suffering from a site-wide penalty and you need to start from scratch.
Setup A Permanent 301 Redirect
Now that youve successfully changed to your new WordPress domain name, but what if someone visits the old one? Will they just see a blank page? You dont want to lose even a single visitor. We recommend keeping your old domain active for a while to allow users and search engines time to recognize your new home.
But thats only a temporary solution. The long term fix to guarantee that no traffic gets lost during your rebranding efforts will be to set up a permanent 301 redirect from your old domain to the new. This will help you optimize your website for search engines and users alike by redirecting anyone who lands on your old website, sending them instead to your new one. Heres how:
- Log into your cPanel
- Click on the File Manager
- Open your website folder.
- Go to the .htaccess file and click on Edit.
- Go to cPanel> Files> File Manager
- Select your old domain and click Go to File Manager.
- Find the .htaccess file in the public_html directory and right click it
- Insert the following code, after replacing http://yoursitename.com with your new domain, then press Save & Close.
If you need to put the code in the wp-config file to change the site address or domain name, do the following:
Recommended Reading: Do You Need A Domain Name For Wix
How To Migrate A WordPress Multisite: A Step
WordPress Multisite has been a highly beneficial addition. While you cant use it for every new web development project, its highly valuable when all the right variables are in place.
In the Ultimate Guide to WordPress Multisite, we talked about how to enable Multisite and create a network of sites from within a single installation of WordPress. If youve followed our recommendations, then you should have a fully functioning WordPress Multisite up and running.
But what happens when someone changes their mind and wants to move their site out of the multisite network? Or what if you have a new idea for a site and you want to add it to the networks umbrella of sites? Or perhaps you rebranded the Multisite network altogether and now need to get all these sites over to the new domain name. What do you do when you want to migrate a WordPress Multisite?
In the following step-by-step guide, Ill show you how to complete each of the three Multisite migration types.
Changing Providers With An Independently Hosted WordPress Installation
There are many great reasons to transfer a WordPress domain from one rented web server to another. Perhaps your current hosting provider doesnt offer an adequate range of features, or its too expensive, or the servers performance or customer service leaves something to be desired. Check out this handy guide on WordPress migration for a comprehensive tutorial on transferring a WordPress installation.
Don’t Miss: Who Has My Domain Registered
Take Advantage Of The Diverse Possibilities For Changing Domains And Providers
The two different versions of WordPress mean there is a wide selection of WordPress domain transfer options. Since WordPress is the worlds most used CMS, developers have also created a host of plugins for dealing with a domain change in every possible scenario. At IONOS youll always find the right Managed WordPress Hosting package whatever your needs. In addition to the many advantages of WordPress itself, youll benefit from around the clock technical support so that you can fully concentrate on blogging.
Thanks to the range of plugins and methods at hand, there is a solution for every user and their unique set of circumstances. The easy-to-use plugins can help beginners get their projects off the ground, whereas more experienced users can opt for more complex extensions or a manual set-up. Since the WordPress community is so enormous, users can trust that the various migration plugins will be kept up-to-date. Thus, you can rely on always having a great range of tools for easily transferring or changing your WordPress domain.
WordPress Managed Hosting with IONOS!
Start your website quickly and benefit from the most secure and up-to-date version of WordPress!
Domain
Change Your Domain Via The Phpmyadmin
Another option to change the WordPress domain using the hosting service is phpMyAdmin.
The phpMyAdmin is a hosting tool found in the cPanel.
It is a database management tool, so making changes here can impact your website data.
You might lose your website data if things go downhill.
So, backup your WordPress site or hire a professional developer before following this method.
From your hosting account, go to phpMyAdmin and look for the wp_options table.
In some hosts, it is named differently but ends with the _options.
You can enter your domain into this file and save the change to access your website with a new domain name.
Also Check: Is Domain Privacy Worth It
Scenario : Changing A WordPress Domain
It is also possible to change a domain but keep the website content and web hosting provider. This is known as a domain name change. A website operator might choose this route if they are unhappy with their websites current internet address. In this case, you can register anew domainand link it to your website.
There are many other reasons for connecting a new domain to an existing website. For example, some websites are first tested in a development environment. Only once its verified that everything works as intended does the website go online and become available to the public. In a case such as this, the web presence has to then be linked to a new domain.
The range of reasons for changing a domain gives way to a variety of different approaches to connecting a WordPress website to a new web address. In any case, its important to set up a domain redirect on the old site, which forwards users automatically to the new domain. Otherwise, you could experience a significant loss in page traffic and a lower ranking in the search engine results. For security reasons, you should always back up your website before changing your WordPress domain.
How Do I Use Google Domain With WordPress
At the top left of the WordPress site, click My Site. in the left pane, click Upgrades. . Click the domain name that you want to verify. Click Change your name servers & DNS records. Click Google Workspace. In the text field, paste the TXT record that you copied in step 1. Click Set up Google Workspace. .
Don’t Miss: Does A Domain Name Expire
How To Change The Domain Name For Your WordPress Site
When you plan on changing the domain name for your WordPress website, there are a couple of things you should bear in mind because the process might be tricky for an inexperienced user.
Investing in WordPress can yield pretty good results. WordPress is a great and easy tool to learn the websites basics, and once you gain enough experience, it becomes the go-to solution for every new project. For example, you might have gone for one of the Top 5 Best New WordPress Themes of 2022 we published earlier and saw with your own eyes that building a website on WordPress can produce stunning websites.
Plans change, and you must always consider unexpected customer requests, among other things. This guide answers every potential question on how to change the domain name on your WordPress website.
Scenario : Moving A WordPress Domain To A New Provider
This section reveals how to change your web hosting provider but maintain your website and its web address. In this case, you keep the domain, and only change the web server on which the websites data is stored. This process is usually called domain name transfer, although its sometimes referred to as migration or a web host transfer.
Before embarking on this task, you should always create a backup of your website. To find out more about different backup plugins, check out our article on securing your WordPress website.
Your choice of WordPress content management system is a decisive factor in the process behind a WordPress domain transfer. The approach needed is different, depending on whether your website is operated via wordpress.com or via an independently-hosted WordPress installation, downloaded from wordpress.org. Read on to find out more about the procedure for the first CMS version, while operators of self-hosting blogs can refer to the information below.
Register a domain name
Recommended Reading: How To Create A Website And Domain Name For Free
Clone WordPress Site To New Domain Name
To restore the backup on your new domain name we will use the clone feature in ManageWP.
Login to your ManageWP account.
Choose New Website as the destination.
Enter your WordPress address URL as the Destination Site URL and click the Test URL button.
Your FTP host information will be prefilled for you.
Enter your FTP username and password. This is usually the same as your cPanel credentials. If youre unsure, contact your hosting provider for help.
Leave the Port as 21 and enter an Installation path. This will likely be similar to mine as seen in the screenshot below. Just change my domain name to yours.
Now copy and paste the database information that you saved in the previous step. Once done, click Test Connection.
Assuming the test is successful, click the Save Connection Info button to continue. Click Clone.
To complete the process, youll see a message asking you to confirm. Click Clone.
ManageWP will now use the backup made in step one to clone your WordPress website on your new domain name.
Depending on the size of your site, the process may take several minutes. Grab yourself a drink while you wait.
When its done, you will see a success message.
Congratulations! You have successfully moved your WordPress website to a new domain name.
But youre not finished yet!
We need to set up a 301 redirect from the old WordPress address URL to the new site address URL.
This is important for SEO and readers because:
How Do You Change Your Domain Name
So, how do you change a domain name? As we said, changing your WordPress websites primary domain name is not something you should do lightly. However, when you do find yourself in this situation, the process involves just a few steps:
The process itself is relatively simple, although there are some aspects that require a little technical knowledge. Well cover those in the next few sections, but dont worry well walk you through each step.
Also Check: How To Claim A Domain Name
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
Change WordPress Url With Wp
A fourth method is to visit your site using the WordPress Command Line Interface , where you may modify the URL in the process. For this, youll need SSH access to your site and youll need to be comfortable with the process of accessing your site via the WP-CLI command line interface. In case youre not familiar with WP-CLI, we have a comprehensive guide on administering WordPress from the terminal. For example, wp option update home and wp option update siteurl are two commands that may be used to change your URL.
Don’t Miss: How To Build A Domain Controller
Create A Sql Database
This might sound hard but its pretty easy to do. We first need to make an empty database.
In Cpanel, look for the Databases section. Well use the MYSQL Databases section first.
- Click MYSQL Databases.
- Under Create New, type a short name for the new domain.
- Next, create a MySQL username. These names are arbitrary but I like to keep them fairly consistent to make identifying them easier. Make a password and click Create User.
- Next, add this user.
- Under Add User to Database, select the username you created in the last step. Select the new one and click Add.
What Is Primary Domain Name
A Primary Domain is usually the main domain name that you have chosen to represent your website address. If you only have the one domain name registered, then that will be your Primary Domain. However, if you have several domain names registered, you will need to select one that will be your Primary Domain.
Recommended Reading: What To Do With A Domain Name You Purchase
Update Google Analytics And Google Search Console
The next step is to update your Google Analytics profile. If you arent using on your site, you should be as this is by far the best free way to analyze traffic, patterns, and conversions on your site! The easiest way to do this is to click into Admin, go to your Property Settings and update the default URL. The reason we recommend simply changing your existing property rather than creating a new one is that it makes it much easier to compare history and traffic down the line .
Reconnect Google Search Console
Below on that same page, youll also want to reconnect your Google Search Console profile to Google Analytics. Simply click on Adjust Search Console and follow the steps. This allows for extra data to flow through into the Acquisition > Search Console section in Analytics, such as Landing pages, Countries, Devices, and Queries .
Update The Domain Name From The WordPress General Settings
Next, go to WordPress Settings Menu and select General sub-menu. Replace every instance of the old domain name with new values. For instance, if you are changing the domain name from www.example.com to www.example.net, enter the values below:
Then, click on Save Changes at the bottom of the screen.
If you try to access your WordPress site using the new domain name, you will get a 404 page not found error. You will have to move all files under the public_html directory of the old domain name to the new domain name.
You can do this using cPanel file manager.
You May Like: What Is My Google Domain
Want To Know How We Increased Our Traffic Over 1000%
Join over 20,000 other people who receive our monthly email, which contains insider WordPress advice! Now is the time to subscribe. Using phpMyAdmin in MyKinstaTo access phpMyAdmin, go to the left-hand side of the screen and choose your database. Then scroll down and choose the wp options table from the drop-down menu. If your database has a different prefix, it may have a slightly different name, such as wp56 options.phpMyAdmin wp options table, depending on your configuration.
Then locate the website urlandhomefields.com. Double-click in theoption valuefield for each and type in the new URL to replace the old one. phpMyAdmin changing the URL It will automatically store your modifications if you do not cancel them.
Map Domains To New Subsite Installs
Now that you have your new subsite setup, you need to map your live domain to it. To do this, go to Sites > All Sites in the WordPress admin sidebar, and click Edit under your subsite.
In the Site Address field, replace the existing subsite domain with your live subsite domain. In our case, our live subsite domain is kinstasub1.com.
If needed, you can repeat this step to map domains for additional subsites. In our case, we wanted our main site with three subsites. Heres what our completed subsite setup looks like.
Kinsta also supports subdirectory-based subsites . If you need to set up a subdirectory subsite and did not select the subdirectory option during site creation, please reach out to our support team so we can add the necessary server rules to your site.
Don’t Miss: How To Make A Website With Free Domain And Hosting