Very often, you get to know that your current domain is not as rewarding as expected, or you might want to upgrade the domain from free to a premium one. In both scenarios, you might look for how to change domain name on WordPress without losing your current audience base.
By the end of 2021, there are more than 368 million registered domains across various CMS platforms on the Internet. So, if you already have a well-established website, I wouldn’t recommend changing the domain name.
However, if you are using a free domain or have some better plans, then continue with this post on how to change domain name on WordPress. We’ll go over a step-by-step process for changing your domain name in WordPress, which is relatively straightforward. Also, look at how to undo changes on WordPress in a few steps.
Everyone has their intentions to make various modifications to WordPress sites as they flourish; one of them is changing the domain name. I’ll go through a few reasons why you should change your WordPress domain name.
Have A Better Domain Idea – Probably, you created a blog as a hobby, but you’ve been enamored with it, and you would like to have a professional domain name for the blog. You might also redesign your website to give it a more professional appearance, as the domain is one of the most significant aspects of a company’s identity.
Looking For A Better Extension – If you have created a free WordPress site like yourdomain.wordpress.com, then you might wish to move to the top-level domain .com, .net, .org, etc. Moreover, you can pick a “niche-specific domain” like .shop for eCommerce websites.
Aside from the specific reasons, modifying your domain name may harm your site’s traffic or force readers to leave.
There are different methods to change the domain name in WordPress, but I’ll focus on two of the most common and secure approaches.
To avoid any unexpected errors, I strongly advise (as always) taking the full backup of your website before attempting any of the methods. UpdraftPlus is the best solution for taking partial and complete backup as well.
If you failed to back up your site or followed the instructions inaccurately, you can duplicate the site pages or make a clone of it. Also, you need to purchase a new domain name which you will require in subsequent steps.
WordPress dashboard settings offer a straightforward method to change the domain names.
Remember, the above changes will make your site inaccessible for an infinite time. To make it accessible, you have to redirect your website URL and all the posts to the new URL. Please read our complete guide on how to redirect any URL in WordPress.
You can change the WordPress domain name by changing your FTP client files; however, this process is longer but a reliable method. However, you still must complete the first step and update the URL from the settings before proceeding with this method.
define('WP_HOME','http://yoursitename.com'); define('WP_SITEURL','http://yoursitename.com');
It is the final step of how to change domain name on WordPress to ensure all your former posts and pages are redirected to the new URL. This is a crucial step; otherwise, your readers would be unaware that you have switched domains, and they will get a WordPress error or an “inaccessible site” message.
You must create a 301 permanent redirection, which is used when you assure that the redirect will not be reversed. A 301 redirect implies a web page’s permanent migration from one domain to another.
Google, for instance, has the facilities to modify your website URL so that search traffic is sent to your new domain. When moving your website from one domain or subdomain to another, use the Change of Address Tool.
This tool notifies Google of your move and assists in migrating your Google Search results from your old to your new site. To utilize this feature entirely, you must be a verified owner of both the old and new properties in the Search Console.
It is all about changing the domain name on WordPress by following simple steps. Sometimes it becomes necessary to change the WordPress domain, whether you have a free WordPress site and want to upgrade to the premium domain or want to rebrand your website or business.
In this article, we have discussed two different methods of changing WordPress domain name; WordPress settings and making changes in the FTP client of the site. Where the first one is a quick method, but the second is more reliable and efficient.
We also discussed how to redirect your old domain to a new one, as well as how to notify Google of the changes to recover the traffic. I hope you find this guide helpful, and do let me know in the comments if you have any difficulties.
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