Do you want to move your WordPress site to a new domain? Changing your website’s domain name can significantly impact your SEO rankings, and it’s a process that needs to be done very carefully.
While you cannot avoid temporary SEO fluctuations when moving your website to a new domain, you can definitely minimize the impact and quickly regain your search traffic and rankings.
In this guide, we will show you the proper way to move WordPress to a new domain without losing SEO.
Here’s the 5 step process that we will cover to help you migrate your WordPress site to a new domain name:
- Create a Duplicator package of your WordPress site
- Create a database for new domain name
- Unpack WordPress on new domain
- Setup Permanent 301 redirects
- Notify Google about the change
Before You Start
Before you start, we want to emphasize a few things.
The process of switching to a new domain will temporarily affect your search engine rankings as Google and other search engines adjust to the changes.
Yes, this will also temporarily affect your search traffic as well. Please keep in mind that this is normal, and it happens to all websites that switch to a new domain.
However, you can dramatically decrease the SEO impact by following this guide. We will show you the right way of moving your WordPress site to a new domain name, setting up proper 301 redirects, and notifying search engines.
Please note that this guide is not for moving WordPress site to a new web host. This is for switching a domain name. Yes, while the process is similar, there are extra things involved in this process.
Pre-Steps
In this guide, we are assuming that you have your WordPress site setup on oldsite.com, and you are trying to migrate it to newsite.com.
We are also assuming that you already have a web hosting account, and you are familiar with your web hosting control panel.
You will also need to know how to use FTP.
In case you don’t have a web hosting account, we recommend using Bluehost (great for small sites + comes with a free domain) or WP Engine (great for large sites).
Once you have your new web hosting account and domain name, you’re ready to start the process.
Step 1: Create a Duplicator package of Your WordPress Site
The first thing you need to do is create a full backup of your WordPress site. While there are many WordPress backup plugins available, the one we’re going to show in this step does both backups and migrations.
It’s Duplicator and it’s a completely free plugin.
Let’s start by installing and activating the Duplicator plugin on your old domain name. For more details, see our step by step guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.
Once activated, the plugin will add a Duplicator menu item in your WordPress admin. You need to click on the Duplicator menu, and then click on the create button to create a new package.
After that, you will be asked to click on the Next button to continue.
Duplicator will now run the website duplicator wizard. First, it will run some tests to see if everything is in order. If all items are marked ‘Good’, then click on the ‘Build’ button.
The plugin will now start creating a duplicator package of your WordPress site. This process may take a few minutes depending on the size of your website.
Once finished, you’ll see download options for Installer and the Archive package. You need to click on the ‘One click download’ link to download both files to your computer.
The archive file is a complete copy of your website, and this will allow you to move WordPress to another domain name. The installer script will automate and run the migration by unpacking the archive file.
Step 2. Create a Database for New Domain Name
Before you can move, you’ll need a database to unpack WordPress on your new domain name.
If you have already created a database, then you can skip this step.
To create a database, you need to visit your hosting account’s cPanel dashboard, scroll down to the ‘Databases’ section, and then click on the ‘MySQL Databases’ icon.
On the next screen, you’ll see a field to create a new database. Simply provide a name for your database and click on the ‘Create Database’ button.
cPanel will now create a new database for you. After that, you need to scroll down to the MySQL Users section.
Next, provide a username and password for your new user and click on the ‘Create a user’ button.
The new user you just created, still does not have permission to work on the database. Let’s change that.
Scroll down to the ‘Add User to Database’ section. Simply select the database user you created from the dropdown menu next to the ‘User’ field, then select the database, and click on the add button.
Your database is now ready to be used on for moving WordPress to the new domain name. Make sure to note down the database name, username, and password. You’ll need this information in the next step.
Step 3. Unpacking WordPress on New Domain Name
Now you need to upload the Duplicator files you downloaded earlier to your new domain name.
First, connect to your domain name using an FTP client. Once connected, make sure that the root directory of your website is completely empty.
After that, you can upload the archive and installer files to the root directory.
Once both files have finished uploading, you are now ready to unpack WordPress.
Open a new browser tab and go to the following URL:
http://example.com/installer.php
Don’t forget to replace example.com with your new domain name. This will launch the Duplicator migration wizard.
The installer will look for the archive file. You need to check the terms and conditions checkbox and click on the next button to continue.
Now, the installer will ask you to enter your WordPress database information.
Your host will likely be localhost. After that, you will enter the details of the database you created for your new domain name in the earlier step.
Once done, click on the next button to continue.
Duplicator will now unpack your WordPress database backup from the archive into your new database.
Next, it will ask you to update site URL or Path. You shouldn’t have to change anything since it automatically detects the URL of your new domain name and its path.
If it doesn’t, then you can change the URL to your new domain name. After that, click on the next button to continue.
Duplicator will now finish the migration.
You can click on the ‘Admin Login’ button to enter the WordPress admin area of your website on the new domain name.
Step 4. Setting up Permanent 301 Redirects
Setting up a permanent 301 redirect is very important for both SEO and user experience.
This step will allow you to automatically redirect users and search engines to your new domain name.
In other words, whenever someone lands on one of your old posts or pages, they will be automatically redirected to your site on the new domain.
To setup a permanent 301 redirect, you need to connect to your old site using FTP and edit the .htaccess file.
This will be located in the same directory as your wp-includes or wp-admin folder. Open the .htaccess file and paste the following code at the very top:
#Options +FollowSymLinks RewriteEngine on RewriteRule ^(.*)$ http://www.newsite.com/$1 [R=301,L]
Note: Replace newsite.com with your new domain in the above code.
Once you have applied these changes, then visit your old domain name. It should automatically redirect you to the new domain.
If it doesn’t, then it means the redirection is not setup properly, and your server likely doesn’t support redirect rules. You need to reach your web hosting’s support to get RewriteEngine turned on.
Step 5. Notifying Google About the Change
Now that you have moved WordPress to a new domain name and setup redirects, it is time to notify Google about the change of address. This will help Google find your new domain name quickly and start showing it in search results.
First, you need to add your new domain name to the Google Search Console. See step 1 in our Google Search Console guide for instructions.
After you have added your new site, you need to switch to the old version of Google Search Console.
Next, you need to switch to your old domain name and then click on the gear icon at the top to launch change of address tool.
On the next screen, Google Search Console will show you a step by step wizard to submit your change of address request.
First it will ask you to select your new site from the drop down menu. After that, click on the check button to test 301 redirects and then confirm verification.
Finally, click on the submit button to send your address change request.
Notify Users About the Move to New Domain Name
While the 301 redirects do their job, it is always good to make a public announcement about the migration.
You can do this by simply writing a blog post on your new site and sharing it on your social media accounts.
If you have an email marketing list, then you should send a newsletter to let all your subscribers know.
This can be helpful in a lot of ways.
First and foremost, your users are more likely to remember the new domain once they read about it.
Second, you can ask your users to let you know if they see any bugs. You alone cannot test your site in all different type of browsers and system environments. It’s always helpful to have a fresh pair of eyes looking at it.
We hope that this tutorial helped you move your WordPress site to a new domain name. You may also want to see our guide on how to track your search keyword rankings after moving to a new domain name.
If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.
How long do you recommend keeping the old website domain redirecting to the new domain for the purposes of SEO? Is it best to keep it forever or is there a point where all the juice from the old domain has been passed onto the new one and the old domain can be discarded?
Thanks for your article it gave me the push to finally do the rebrand launch!
Sadly, that question varies from site to site and what works best for the individual
Thorough content. Thank you. My question is, in Step 3 you said “make sure the root domain is completely empty.” I’m a bit confused here. I want to be able to move an old site to a new one site, these are not empty domains but functional websites with about 50 pages each.
The reason why I want to merge Site A and Site B (the main site becomes Site B) is because they’re both in the same industry, so I want to stay focused.
Can I still use this tutorial to migrate my old site to the new site — seeing the root domain isn’t completely empty?
Please help me.
For what it sounds like you’re wanting to do, you wouldn’t want to use this guide, you would want to import your content on to the site where you want it to appear and then have your hosting provider set the secondary domain to point toward your primary domain.
Hi. This is not redirecting the main domain (e.g example.com) but only every other link after it. How to redirect even the main domain?
You may want to check with your hosting provider to ensure they’re not preventing the redirect in some way
I am stuck at step 3. I try to go to example.com/installer.php (yes I use my domain name) and nothing happens. It just takes me to my site welcome page saying a new webpage will be built soon. I cannot get the duplicator app to come up. I saw other comments on here to use www. first but that also does not work. Help please!
You may want to check with your hosting provider to ensure they don’t have a plugin or temporary page that would be preventing you from seeing the location or logging into a pre-installed WordPress site.
Well described.
But I am not using any cPanel right now. What I supposed to do on that step. Pls help.
It would depend on what your host is using for the steps you need.
Great Article
What if i wanted to keep the some artcile in old domain and move around 200 articles to new domain
Will 301 redirects are sufficient to pass the link juice
It will keep some of the SEO, however, if you’re not transferring the entire site then you would lose any weight your domain added to your articles.
Hi! Thanks so much for your help and guidance. I’ve just written to the Google Search Console community.
Corina
I followed the steps you guys mentioned above and I got to step 5 – notify Google. After verifying my new domain, I tried the change of address from my older one to the new one and I got stuck. When I go to the “change of address” page/ pick your new site from the list, it does not show me the new site. I clicked on “add it now” and it does show up on that page along with the older domain. Yet, I cannot pick it from the list (it does not show no matter what I do). I verified the site several times with TXT and via Bluehost.
You may want to check with Google’s search console that you are the owner of both domains in the system as that can sometimes be the issue.
Hi! Thanks for getting back to me.
I am the owner of both domains. I checked for each domain in Google Search Console/ Settings/Ownership verification. It says “you are a verified owner” for both of them.
Sorry, I’m not a technical person, so I don’t know what I don’t know and I’m at a loss.
Thanks so much for your help with this!
Corina
Sadly, you may need to reach out to the support forums for the Google search console and let them know you’re domain is not a selectable option
Hello, do you have tutorial how to make sub.mysite.com to newname.com without losing SEO hope you reply i needed this tutorial.
Thank you.
You should be able to use the same method as in this article or follow the steps in our article here: https://www.wpbeginner.com/wp-tutorials/how-to-get-rid-of-wordpress-from-your-wordpress-site-url/
Is this the same process if I want to move only my all posts to a new domain?
You could certainly follow this method and then remove everything that isn’t a post. Another option would be to set up a new site then export only your posts under Tools>Export to import them on the new site using Tools>Import
This article helped me alot brooo. I have bookmarked it.
Today was able to move my old domain to my new one
Thanks alot wp beginner ☺.
You’re welcome, glad our guide could help
Hi, how about domain redirect from domain provider dashboard (namecheap as example)?
I don’t want continue pay old hosting, because is expensive.
You would want to reach out to your new hosting for their method to transfer the domain as each provider can have a slightly different method.
Hello:
I need to design a new wordpress site with a new theme.
I want to do it in a subdomain while the original website keeps working.
I have thought that when finished designing the whole site, migrating it to the main domain, overwriting the former site.
Is it possible?
Does this keeps the SEO ranking of the original site?
I’d be very grateful if somebody could answer.
Best
You would want to check with your hosting provider for if they have an option for a staging environment to do what you’re wanting. Depending on the changes you make it could affect your SEO.
Hi! Thanks for this article.
I followed the instructions with a test site and everything worked perfectly. But now that I’m trying to move my main site (7+ GB), Duplicator shows error after error related to my hosting. I’m trying to move both to another host and another domain. Any ideas on alternatives to Duplicator?
Best
We do not have an alternative recommendation at the moment but if you reach out to the plugin’s support they may have a recommended workaround.
moving all business under parent X to Z
x.com to z.com
content from X into sub folder of Z
any particulars to be aware of?
The plugin should handle moving the content to the correct url
Hi,
I am currently running a wordpress site which i built 4years ago. Now my client wants to change the feel of the website. i just bought another theme for the for the new website. 1. How do i build the new website without disrupting the old site? 2. How do I easily switch the new site with the old site ? Any answers
You may want to check if your hosting provider has built-in support for a staging site and if not you could create a local installation of your site with: https://www.wpbeginner.com/wp-tutorials/how-to-move-live-wordpress-site-to-local-server/
Then replace the current site when ready using:
https://www.wpbeginner.com/wp-tutorials/how-to-move-wordpress-from-local-server-to-live-site/
Hi!
I only want to change hosting. While wanting to keep the same domain. For that we need to build the database on new hosting Or upload the old one.
For how to move hosts, you would want to take a look at our article here: https://www.wpbeginner.com/wp-tutorials/how-to-move-wordpress-to-a-new-host-or-server-with-no-downtime/
Can i change my dmain name to be with www.
With the same name
The exisiting one does not have www
But i am planinig to move it to be with www.
Both names has almost the same DA, PA and moz rank.
I am worry about the rankning in google?
Best Regards
Nourdin
For www vs the non www alternative, you would want to take a look at our article here: https://www.wpbeginner.com/beginners-guide/www-vs-non-www-which-is-better-for-wordpress-seo/
I did this successfuly 2 years ago when I changed my business name and domain. As far as SEO goes, do I still need to keep my old site hosted after 2 years? The old site is still redirecting to new site. please let me know, thanks!
After two years it normally becomes personal preference on if you should maintain the old site, it is not required.
Thank you for creating such an article.
I have redirected my 1st website with 301 (Permanent) to the 2nd website. Its been almost 5 months and my second website isn’t at the same Domain Authority.
Why not all Domain Authority of my old domain has transferred to my new domain?
There are too many possible reasons for a change in domain authority, it could be anything from a Google algorithm change to any other factors.
This is really an awesome guide. Just a question.
Since the site is relatively new and not much traffic is coming, After the files have been moved to a new domain, instead of redirecting 301, can I just delete the old site?
I really need your thoughts on this guys!
If you’re not worried about traffic to the old domain, you could certainly do that
I did this successfully two years ago because I changed business name and domain, but I have a question regarding my old domain (which is still redirecting to new domain). I did this to keep all SEO from old site. Should I still continue to keep my old site hosted? Or is it safe, after two years, to remove hosting from old site.
After 2 years it is normally safe to remove the old site completely.
Hi Thanks for sharing this awsome guide. Can i know you that how much it will take time to moving old domain to new domain url in google. And, I have DA PA high of .com domain now i have move on .net some cause of issue. So my old domain DA PA will move on new one i mean on .net.?
For the change of address, if both domains are verified then it should take effect once you submit.
Following this guide will minimize the effect to your domain authority and page authority but no matter what, if you change your domain you will take a hit even if it is a small hit.
I just want to know if i move the entire files from the old domain to the new domain, will it affect the site
i did that with the cpanel move tool
Doing that you would have moved the files, you would want to ensure you update the urls for your site and in your site’s content as well as inform Google of the move
Hello, Thankx for helping my all life with each and every WordPress issue. I dont have words to thank for your all efforts to make our life easier with WordPress.
I also just changed my domain name with your most helpful step by step guide. I am stuck at one point. To redirect my old urls to my new URLs. Do I need a hosting plan for the old domain??
If you use the method in the article you would want hosting for the old domain for some time. If you check with your hosting provider, some of them have methods to point the old domain to the new one.
Good day Wpbegginer, thanks for this insightful article, I have one question though, Am running a WordPress multisite with sub-directories and I wish to change the domain name of the multisite, my confusion is during the migration will my subdirectories be carried along and change to the new domain i.e (newdomain/subdiretory1) or do I need to add them manually all over again, thanks..
I have completed all the steps to move the website to a new domain.
The front end works fine: articiles, links, etc.
The problem: when I try to do to admin dasboard or any link from Admin, I get a blank page: HTTP ERROR 500
Any solution?
Thanks!
I’ve done a 301 redirect of an entire website from oldsite.com to newsite.com. Can I know delete wordpress and all of the files on the old site?
Hi Patrick,
If you have setup redirects using .htaccess file on your old site, then yes you can backup your old WordPress files and then delete them.
Intaller.php is not opening after putting mynewdomain.com/installer.php, it’s showing 404 error. But I uploaded installer and package on new domain using FTP. I want to transfer existing domain to new domain on existing host and I register the new domain under my existing host as an addon domain.
Hi Tanveer,
Try accessing installer with and without www in the URL.
i want to move my blog to a new url, but on the same host, how can i go about that
Hi David,
If you want to add a new domain name, then you will need to register the domain name and then add it to your hosting account. Visit the cPanel dashboard and under domains sections you will find the option to add new domain.
I uninstalled the host under the old domain and installed it on a new domain and also imported the backup on the new domain, but am having issue redirecting the old domain to the new one, here are the domains and the new one (new)
Hy.. I opened a new domain to improve my blog because I was using wordpress.com. Now I want o ensure that all my post are automatically redirected to my new domain. I have a very successful post and I don’t want to lose my SEO. Its possible to do this in the same way???
Hi Juan,
Please see our article on how to move from WordPress.com to WordPress.org.
Your all tutorials are great. I almost learn full wordpress from webeginner. Now, about this tutorial i think you should create a tutorial on All in one migration plugin it is very simple and easy.
Great article but needs to be updated. Google sites changed a lot, especially Webmasters, which is just a meta category for few other tools. There is no changing site adres as shown above or maybe it moved to non-findable location? Also new tools are available so almost everything has changed…
Sir, i want to ask a question please see this first and answer me ASAP. i read your article/blog thats why i ask this question.
I was using a domain and a wordpress site is running on it.
last month in may2018 the mistake happen renewal of hosting is done but domain renewal was skipped. and now that domain become approx one lakh rupee domain, which is not in mu budget. so i think when it will skipped by godaddy after redemption period then i will purchase it.
Till then i purchased a new domain j”only s added”. and now i want my old site data and its seo all will come on this new domain.
i repeat now i have no any access of old domain but i can access web hosting where my data is held
so how i will migrate this or transfer old website data to new domain without loosing seo .please help
Hi Kunal,
You just need to point your new domain name to the folder where your old website files are stored. We are assuming you have added the new domain name on the same hosting account. Go a head and edit your domain settings, contact your hosting provider for support.
After that you will have to update URLs in your new WordPress site.
When simply changing domain name to current site, does any changes had to be made to nameservers?
I also want to follow the same steps but Do I need to buy new hosting?
Do I need to delete old site content?
How can I access old site .htaccess file?
Thank you
Hi,
Thanks for the article.
I have been wondering, after all the process and 301 redirects what happens to my old domain?
Best regards,
Mohammed
Hi Mohammed,
You need to keep the old domain alive as long as possible so that you don’t miss any traffic. However, if you don’t want to, then you can let your old domain expire after at least 6 months.
Hi,
Thank you for your tutorial.
I’m having an issue with Google.
When I want to notify the change of address, the 3rd step to verify my website always failed. The weird thing is, if I remove the redirection, the verification goes through (but then the 2nd step where Google checks the redirection fails).
Any idea what I’m doing wrong?
Thanks for your help!