When it’s time to transfer your WordPress site to a new domain, your primary concern is likely your SEO. You want to ensure that all the traffic and authority you’ve built up will follow you to the new site.
We completely understand your concerns. Our guide is designed with one main objective: to facilitate a seamless transition that safeguards your search rankings by adhering to a specific process.
This process consists of a series of steps that must be executed in the correct order, leaving nothing to chance. It helps search engines navigate the transition, and we are here to ensure this change is a smooth success for you.
Migrating your WordPress site to a new domain name can feel daunting, but it doesn’t have to be. We are here to guide you through each step of the journey.
You can click any of the links below to jump to a specific step in the process of migrating your WordPress site to a new domain name:
- Essential Information Before Changing Domains
- Preliminary Steps: What You Need to Begin
- Step 1: Generate a Duplicator Package for Your WordPress Site
- Step 2: Set Up a Database for Your New Domain Name
- Step 3: Install WordPress on Your New Domain Name
- Step 4: Establish Permanent 301 Redirects
- Step 5: Inform Google About Your New Domain
- Notify Your Users About the New Domain Name
- Common Questions About Transferring a WordPress Site
- Instructional Video
Essential Information Before Changing Your Domain
Before you begin, there are several important factors to consider.
The process of moving to a new domain willtemporarilyimpact your search engine rankings, as Google and other search engines will need time to adapt to the changes.
Your search traffic will also be temporarily affected. This is a normal occurrence for all websites transitioning to a new domain.
However, you can significantly minimize the SEO impact by following this guide. We will demonstratethe correct methodfor relocating your WordPress site to a new domain name, implementing proper 301 redirects, and informing search engines.
Please be aware that this guide focuses solely on changing your domain name, not moving your WordPress site to a different host. Although the processes are similar, there are additional steps involved. These steps are crucial for safeguarding your SEO rankings and traffic.
Finally, if your previous website is hosted on WordPress.com, please refer to our guide on migrating from WordPress.com to WordPress.org instead.
Preparation Steps: Essential Items to Begin
This guide assumes you have your WordPress website hosted on oldsite.com and are looking to migrate it to newsite.com.
We also assume you have a WordPress hosting account and are familiar with your web hosting control panel.
You should know how to use an FTP client like FileZilla or how to edit files using the File Manager tool in your hosting account dashboard.
If you don’t have a web hosting provider or want to switch, we recommend Bluehost (ideal for small sites and includes a free domain) and either SiteGround or WP Engine (perfect for larger sites or online stores).
Once you have everything set up, you’re ready to begin the migration process!
Step 1: Create a Duplicator Package for Your WordPress Site
The first step is to create a complete backup of your WordPress site.
You will use this backup to duplicate your website, ensuring that you can set up the redirects correctly from your old domain to the new one.
While there are various WordPress backup plugins available, we will use Duplicator for this tutorial.
Duplicator is the leading plugin for backing up and migrating WordPress sites. We have successfully used it to move numerous websites for both our own businesses and our clients. It has proven to be reliable, even for large websites.
Important Note: A free version of Duplicator is available for this migration, but we highly recommend upgrading to a paid plan. This will give you access to additional features such as automatic cloud backups, one-click website recovery, simpler migrations, and more.
First, let’s install and activate the Duplicator plugin on your old domain. For detailed instructions, refer to our comprehensive guide on installing a WordPress plugin.
After activation, the plugin will add a Duplicator menu item to your WordPress admin dashboard. Navigate to the Duplicator » Backups page and click the ‘Create New’ button to initiate a backup or copy of your WordPress site.
Duplicator will now start the backup wizard and automatically assign a name to this package.
Click the ‘Next’ button to proceed.
Duplicator will perform several tests to ensure everything is functioning correctly. If any issues are detected, you will receive a warning along with instructions to resolve them.
If all items are marked as ‘Good,’ click the ‘Build’ button.
The plugin will begin generating a duplicator package of your website files. This process may take several minutes, depending on the size of your site.
Once the process is complete, you will see a ‘Download’ option. Clicking on it will present you with choices to download both files together or to download the installer and archive (zip) separately.
Select ‘Download Both Files’ to save them to your computer.
The archive file contains a complete backup of your WordPress files, including themes, permalink settings, plugins, uploads, and any additional files created by WordPress plugins.
The installer script is a PHP file that automates the WordPress migration process by extracting the contents of the archive file.
Step 2: Set Up a Database for Your New Domain
Before transferring your WordPress site to the new domain, you will need to create a new SQL database for the WordPress installation on your new domain.
If you have already set up a database, you can skip this step.
To create a database, access your hosting account’s cPanel dashboard, scroll to the ‘Databases’ section, and click on the ‘MySQL Databases’ icon.
We will guide you on how to find it on Bluehost, but the general steps are similar across all hosting providers.
Access your Bluehost account dashboard and click the ‘Settings’ button for your website.
In the site settings, navigate to the ‘Advanced’ tab.
Scroll down to the cPanel section and click ‘Manage’.
This will take you to the cPanel dashboard.
Locate the Databases section and select the ‘MySQL Databases’ option.
Important:Your hosting control panel may appear slightly different from the screenshots, but you should still find a Databases section with an option to create a new database.
Enter a name for your database and click the ‘Create Database’ button.
cPanel will create your new database. Next, scroll down to the MySQL Users section.
Provide a username and password for your new user, then click the ‘Create User’ button. Remember to keep the username and password secure.
The new user you created does not yet have access to the database. Let’s grant that access now.
Scroll down to the ‘Add User to Database’ section. First, select the user you created from the dropdown menu next to the ‘User’ field. Then choose the new database you just created and click the ‘Add’ button.
Next, you will need to select user privileges.
Choose ‘All Privileges’ and click the ‘Make Changes’ button to proceed.
Your database is now set up and ready for transferring WordPress to the new domain.
Be sure to write down the database name, username, and password, as you will need this information in the next step.
Step 3: Install WordPress on Your New Domain
Now, upload the Duplicator files you downloaded earlier to your new domain.
The Duplicator package contains your WordPress installation, so there’s no need to install WordPress separately on your new domain.
First, connect to your domain using an FTP client. Once connected, ensure that the root directory of your website is completely empty.
After that, upload the archive and installer files to the root directory, typically named public_html.
Once both files are uploaded, you are ready to install WordPress.
Open a new browser tab and navigate to the following URL:
http://example.com/installer.php
Remember to replace example.com with your new domain name. This will start the Duplicator migration wizard.
The installer will search for the archive file and automatically select the appropriate options for you on the screen.
Scroll down slightly to input the information for the database you created in the previous step.
Below that, Duplicator will automatically display the URLs of both your old domain and your new domain.
If everything appears correct, click the ‘Validate’ button to proceed.
Duplicator will now attempt to connect to the database using the information you provided.
If the connection is successful, you will see a Validation Pass. Otherwise, a warning will appear with details on how to resolve the issue.
Click the ‘Next’ button to continue.
Duplicator will now begin importing your WordPress website. Once completed, you will see a success message along with an Admin Login button.
Duplicator will automatically update the URLs to reflect your new domain name. You can now click the ‘Admin Login’ button to proceed with the next steps.
Step 4: Configure Permanent 301 Redirects
The next step is to redirect users visiting your old domain name to the new domain. This is accomplished by setting up 301 redirects.
301 redirects are crucial for SEO and enhancing user experience. Implementing them will ensure that users and search engines are automatically directed to your new domain name.
This means that when visitors access a post or page on your old domain, they will be automatically redirected to the corresponding post or page on your new domain, preventing any 404 errors.
To maintain your redirects, you must keep your old WordPress installation active so it can continue redirecting to the new site you just set up.
There are two methods to establish the redirects. The first method is straightforward and requires only a few clicks, while the second method involves manual file editing.
Method 1: Establish 301 Redirects Using All in One SEO
For this method, you will need the All in One SEO (AIOSEO) plugin. It is the top-rated WordPress SEO plugin available and helps you optimize your WordPress site for better search engine performance.
First, install and activate the All in One SEO plugin on your old domain. For detailed instructions, refer to our comprehensive guide on installing a WordPress plugin.
Important Note: You must have at least the Pro version of the plugin to use the redirect manager addon. Additionally, you can install AIOSEO on your new WordPress site to further enhance your search engine visibility and traffic.
After activating the plugin on your old domain, navigate to the All in One SEO » Redirects section and click the ‘Activate Redirects’ button.
Next, navigate to the ‘Full Site Redirect’ tab and enable the ‘Relocate Site’ toggle.
Then, enter your new domain name in the ‘Relocate to domain’ field.
Be sure to click the ‘Save Changes’ button to apply your settings.
Method 2: Manually Configure Redirects to Your New Domain
This method involves editing the WordPress .htaccess file on your old domain.
First, connect to your old site via FTP and open the .htaccess file for editing.
This file is located in the same directory as your wp-includes or wp-admin folder. Open the .htaccess file and add the following lines of code at the top:
#Options +FollowSymLinks
RewriteEngine on
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ http://www.newsite.com/$1 [R=301,L]
Ensure you replace newsite.com with your new domain in the code above.
After making these changes, visit your old domain. It should automatically redirect you to the new domain.
If it doesn’t redirect, the setup may be incorrect, and your server might not support redirect rules. Contact your web hosting support team to enable RewriteEngine.
Step 5: Inform Google About Your New Domain
After successfully transferring your WordPress site to a new domain and implementing redirects, it’s essential to inform Google about your new address. This action will help Google quickly locate your new website and include it in search results.
First, ensure that both your new and old domains are registered as separate properties in Google Search Console. Refer to step 1 in our Google Search Console guide for detailed instructions.
Next, select your old domain as the active property in your Google Search Console dashboard.
Then, click on the Settings menu located in the left column.
Now, you can access the ‘Change of address’ tool.
Select your new domain from the Update Google section.
After that, click the ‘Validate & Update’ button.
That’s it! Google will validate that your old domain is properly redirecting to the new domain and will save your changes.
On the following screen, Google Search Console will guide you through a step-by-step wizard to submit your change of address request.
Inform Your Users About the New Domain Name
While the 301 redirects are effective, it’s always a good practice to publicly announce your migration.
You can achieve this by creating a blog post on your new site and promoting it through your social media channels.
If you have an email newsletter or push notification subscribers, be sure to send them an announcement as well.
This approach can be beneficial in numerous ways.
Firstly, your audience is more likely to remember the new domain after reading about it.
Secondly, you can encourage your users to report any issues they encounter. It’s impossible for one person to test the site across every browser and system environment, so having additional perspectives can be invaluable.
Common Questions About Migrating a WordPress Site
We recognize that you may still have questions regarding the migration of your WordPress site to a new domain. Here are answers to some of the most frequently asked questions to help you feel fully confident in the process.
1. Will changing my domain name negatively impact my SEO in the long term?
No, changing your domain name will not have a long-term negative effect on your SEO if you follow the proper procedures. While a temporary decline in rankings and traffic is typical as search engines adjust to the change, this guide aims to minimize that effect.
By correctly implementing 301 redirects (Step 4) and informing Google through the Search Console (Step 5), you are directing search engines to your new location, which helps transfer your existing authority to the new domain.
2. Should I retain my old domain after migrating to the new one?
Yes, it is essential to keep your old domain active for the foreseeable future. Your old domain hosts the permanent 301 redirects that direct both users and search engines to your new site. Allowing it to expire would disrupt these links, resulting in lost traffic and a significant decline in your SEO rankings.
3. How long does the domain migration process take?
The technical steps outlined in this guide, from backing up your site to setting up redirects, can usually be completed within a few hours. However, it may take longer for search engines like Google to fully crawl and index your new domain. While notifying Google can expedite this process, it may take several weeks for your rankings to stabilize after the migration.
4. Is it possible to move my WordPress site without using a plugin like Duplicator?
While it is technically feasible to manually transfer a site by using FTP to move files and exporting/importing the database, we strongly recommend against this approach for most users.
Manually migrating your site can be complicated and carries a higher risk of errors, such as forgetting to update URLs or encountering database connection problems. Using a plugin like Duplicator automates these essential tasks, ensuring a safer, quicker, and more dependable migration.
What distinguishes moving to a new domain from switching to a new host?
Consider it this way: changing to a new domain is akin to updating your business’s street address. In contrast, moving to a new host means changing the company that owns the building, while your address remains the same. This guide focuses on changing your address (domain), which comes with specific SEO considerations, such as implementing 301 redirects, that are crucial for a successful transition.
Additional Resources
The following articles and tutorials will assist you in monitoring and recovering your SEO rankings after transitioning to a new domain name:
- The Comprehensive WordPress SEO Migration Checklist for Beginners
- How to Verify if Your WordPress Blog Posts Are Ranking for the Appropriate Keywords
- How to Monitor Website Visitors on Your WordPress Site
- Pro Tips for Optimizing Your Blog Posts for SEO (Checklist)
We trust this tutorial has assisted you in transferring your WordPress site to a new domain without losing SEO value. Additionally, check out our guide on obtaining a free email domain and our comprehensive WordPress SEO guide for more insights.
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