Domain change

[chappers27]

Hi all.

I am considering changing the domain name on my website. I am VERY reluctant to do so, existing website is about 3 months old and has just started to be indexed by Google.

However, I found a domain name I like and am considering biting the bullet to change the domain. I have some experience with websites, WordPress in particular and I built the site myself.

The site doesnt matter, its the process of changing domain on an existing site that concerns me. I can copy database and files but the issue is the changing of the domain name and the redirects. I'm also worried about Google penalising the old site and passing that onto the new domain. It feels all sorts of painful..

Are there people here that have experience of this and have done it before? What are the pitfalls?

 

[Ozzy]

Are there people here that have experience of this and have done it before? What are the pitfalls?

Yes, done this before, and will be doing it again for this very website. It is made very easy using the tools within Google Search Console.

I own ukbf.co.uk and when I get time will be moving this website to be hosting on that domain name rather than it's current domain. I will setup the 301 redirects to manage this, and then using the domain transfer tool on Google Search Console will tell Google that all pages previously this current domain name can now be found at the same path on ukbf.co.uk
Once you do that, Google does some checks and if all match up fine updates all the search results to return the new domain name instead of the old one.

It is honestly nice and easy and nothing to worry about (but I encourage you to keep the old domain name forever and always keep a 301 redirect in place for any backlinks out there which may exist)

 

[chappers27]

That's great, thank you.

 

[fisicx]

If you have cPanel access it’s easy to set up the redirect.

You can do the same with htaccess

Or even use on of the many redirect plugins.

 

[Ozzy]

Or even use on of the many redirect plugins.

Side note, if you use Cloudflare you can also do this easily using their free tier so doesn't cost anything.

 

[ukwebhosting]

Hi

SEO wise I am sure someone will be along to help advise with that side.

In terms of changing a Wordpress sites url:

First add the new domain2 into your hosting pointing it to the same files as your domain1 then BEFORE moving on check by viewing domain2 in a browser that it shows either your current site on domain2 or redirects to domain1

Then there are two ways to do this:

1, Update in Wordpress in settings>>general update the site url to the new domain in wordpress address and site address.

this is by far the easiest way however it does not always work out right for example if you have referenced some images or whatever in your website using the old domain it will not update those but you maybe lucky!

or

2, Use a plugin like this one all in one wp migration which will change all the url's including everywhere it finds domain1 to domain2

this plugin to be able to restore may need an extension plugin https://servmask.com/products/unlimited-extension which allows unlimited uploads an usefully saving of backups to google etc.

Once you have it installed go to the all in one backup plugin and click create backup then once the backup is created download a copy.

Next log out and go to your wordpress admin site on domain2.com/wp-admin and login then all in one backups >> backups and restore the backup you just took which will restore it according to the url in the browser.

option 2 is by far the most comprehensive solution for moving a wordpress site to a different domain or between hosts.

We wrote an article on this sometime ago which maybe useful https://pacwebhosting.uk/tech/misc/...or-move-wordpress-to-a-different-domain-name/

After the above: -

Do a wildcard 301 redirect (moved permanently) of the old domain to the new add to let search engines know the pages at domain1 are now at domain2 and this change is permanent add the following to .htaccess in your website root files usually something like public_html

RewriteEngine on
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^domain1\.com$ [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^www\.domain1\.com$
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ "https\:\/\/www\.domain2\.com\/$1" [R=301,L]

Obviously updating the above to the actual domain names!

if you use cpanel then you can do this within the Redirects function choosing 301 and the domain to redirect, then choose wildcard and make sure non and www are selected then enter the place to redirect to so https://domain2.com or https://www.domains2.com then add that and it will enter that code automatically in .htaccess

**edit - it will automatically enter the code at the bottom of .htaccess so if it doesn't work then move it to the top as there maybe something else in .htaccess interfering with it.

 

[PickandMix.com]

We did this a couple of years ago. We were ranking well on Google on our old domain and we were apprehensive to change the domain. However the process was really easy as Ozzy has described. We hired an SEO agency to manage the process and our rankings didn't take a hit. If you follow all of the guides to correctly update the domain name and use Google Search Console to notify Google of the new domain, the change should be seamless.

 

[fisicx]

The key here is to keep the old domain live and create a new site. That way the 301s will work properly.

 

[Nuimage]

We've helped many clients change their website domain name, but there are a few things to consider to make sure the transition happens smoothly:

• 301 Redirects: Set up 301 redirects from your old domain to the new one to preserve SEO rankings and traffic.
• Google Search Console: Use the change of address tool to update your domain in Google Search Console.
• Update Links: Update all internal and external links to your domain, including on social media and Google My Business profile etc.
• Backup: Back up your entire website before making any changes.
• Testing: Test your website thoroughly after the switch to ensure redirects work and there are no broken links.
• Monitor Analytics: Watch your website analytics for any drops in traffic or issues after the change.

 

[DontAsk]

How about redirecting the new domain to the old one, or is that a stupid idea?

 

[antropy]

How about redirecting the new domain to the old one, or is that a stupid idea?

Depends on the reason for the new domain - if it's much shorter and better for branding then you'd want it to be seen.

Paul.