Moving WordPress to a new domain can be a daunting task. It requires extensive knowledge of both the WordPress platform and search engine optimization (SEO). If done incorrectly, it can damage your website’s rankings in Google, leading to a significant drop in traffic. Fortunately, with the right steps and precautions, you can move your WordPress site over to a new domain without losing any SEO value. In this article, we will explain how to move WordPress to a new domain properly and safely so that you won’t have any problems along the way.
Why you might need to move WordPress to a new domain
There are a few reasons you might need to move your WordPress site to a new domain. Maybe you’re rebranding, or maybe you want to consolidate multiple sites into one. Whatever the reason, it’s important to do it without losing your SEO.
If you’re moving to a new domain because you’re changing your brand, it’s important to keep your old domain active for at least a year. This way, you can redirect traffic from your old domain to your new one and maintain your SEO ranking.
If you’re consolidating multiple sites into one, you’ll want to set up 301 redirects from the old domains to the new one. This will tell search engines that the content has moved and preserve your ranking.
Moving WordPress to a new domain doesn’t have to be difficult or risky for your SEO. Just take some time to plan ahead and make sure you’re doing it the right way.
Preparing for the WordPress migration
If you’re planning on migrating your WordPress site to a new domain, there are a few things you can do to prepare for the move and ensure that your SEO won’t be impacted.
First, it’s important to set up proper redirects from your old domain to your new one. This way, any visitors who try to access your site on the old domain will be automatically redirected to the corresponding page on the new domain. You can do this by adding a simple .htaccess file to your old site.
Second, you’ll need to update all of your internal links to point to the new domain. This includes any links in your posts or pages, as well as any links in your theme or plugins. Once you’ve updated all of your internal links, be sure to run a crawl of your site using a tool like Screaming Frog to check for any broken links.
Third, you’ll need to update your Google Analytics settings so that your traffic data is tracked under the new domain name. To do this, simply log into Google Analytics and change the “default URL” under the “Property Settings” tab.
By following these simple steps, you can migrate your WordPress site to a new domain without losing any SEO value.
Take a backup of your website
It’s also a good practice to do before applying any major changes to your website in general to back up your website files to prevent data loss.
Backing up a WordPress site can be done in three different ways: manually with a File Manager or File Transfer Protocol client, using your hosting provider’s backup feature, or using a backup plugin.
In the Files section of the hPanel dashboard, users can access the built-in backup feature.
You can access the backup feature from the Files section of your hPanel account
Export the database
In CPanel, you can find phpMyAdmin under the Databases section. If you’re not a customer, check your hosting provider’s dashboard for it.
As your new web host most likely also uses phpMyAdmin, we recommend using the default SQL format when exporting the database.
Upload the files to the new domain
You can transfer WordPress files to the new root directory using either a File Manager or an FTP client in the admin dashboard of your new hosting provider.
The import of a database
In the hPanel dashboard, go to Databases -> MySQL Databases to create a new MySQL database to host the data from the old domain.
Create a new MySQL database and database user by entering the database name, username, and password. Once done, click Create.
List of Current MySQL Databases and Users will show the new database.
The next step is to import your exported database using phpMyAdmin. Upload the exported database file and leave all the settings as they are. Be sure to set the format to SQL.
The URL in the database needs to be updated
Changing the website’s URL in the new database is the next step after importing the database.
Edit the siteurl and home options in phpMyAdmin and replace the old URL with the new one. Click the wp-options table in your new database in phpMyAdmin.
In phpMyAdmin, locate the siteurl and home options for a WordPress database
Update the details in the wp-config.php file
In order to set up WordPress database connections, you must update the wp-config.php file.
Replace the values of the following functions in the PHP file in your root directory using your web host’s File Manager.
WP-config functions that should be updated to reflect the recent domain name change
To redefine the location of your core WordPress files, add the following code snippet above the “MySQL settings – You can get this info from your web host”. Replace the placeholder URL with the correct domain name.
Repair broken links
WordPress users are redirected to 404 error pages when clicking on the links on your website, increasing the bounce rate and hurting your SEO.
The importance of fixing broken links on your new WordPress site cannot be overstated.
Many WordPress plugins like Broken Link Checker and Link Checker Professional can help you fix faulty links without manually updating each page on your new WordPress site.
Redirect the old site to the new one by setting up 301 redirects
After you have fully migrated your WordPress website to the new domain, you will need to set up 301 redirects so that when users access a page on your old domain, they will be directed to the same page on your new domain instead of a 404 error.
In addition to preserving your old domain’s authority and speeding up the new domain’s traffic growth, setting up 301 redirects from the old domain helps maintain your SEO efforts.
Make sure your Google Search Console is up-to-date
Notifying Google about your domain name change is the next step in transferring a WordPress site to a new domain. The easier it is for search engines to find your new domain name, the quicker your WordPress site will rank.
To request a domain change, navigate to Settings on your Google Search Console dashboard and use the Change of Address tool. Keep in mind that the verification process may take up to 180 days.
Migrating WordPress to the new domain
If you’re looking to move your WordPress site to a new domain, there are a few things you need to take into account in order to do so without losing any SEO value. First, you’ll need to set up 301 redirects from your old domain to your new one. This will tell search engines that your content has moved and ensure that any link Juice or authority is passed on to your new domain. Additionally, you’ll need to update all internal links and references on your site to point to the new domain name. Finally, be sure to update your Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools profiles with your new domain name. By following these steps, you can migrate your WordPress site to a new domain without losing any SEO value in the process.
After the migration: Updating links and references
After you’ve successfully moved your WordPress site to a new domain, there are a few additional steps you need to take to ensure that everything is working properly. One of the most important things to do is update all of your links and references to point to the new domain. This includes any internal links within your site, as well as any external links that point to your site from other websites.
Updating your internal links is relatively straightforward – you can simply use a search and replace tool to find all instances of the old domain name and replace them with the new one. For external links, you’ll need to reach out to the webmasters of the sites linking to you and ask them to update their links. In some cases, they may also need to update their DNS records in order for the new link to work.
Once all of your links have been updated, be sure to double-check that everything is working correctly. You may also want to consider running a redirect on your old domain so that any visitors who accidentally land there will be automatic redirectedto the new domain name.
Conclusion
Moving a WordPress site to a new domain is not as difficult or daunting as it may seem. By following the steps outlined in this article, you should be able to complete your move without losing any valuable SEO data. While it does take some time and effort, this is essential for ensuring that your website ranks well on search engines like Google and Bing. So make sure that you do all of the necessary research beforehand and then proceed with caution so that your WordPress migration can go smoothly!
