How to Change Your WordPress Domain Name: A Step-by-Step Guide

Changing your WordPress domain name, whether for rebranding or a fresh start, impacts marketing, SEO, and site functionality. While the process is straightforward, careful execution is essential to avoid disruptions. Hosting your site on VPS.DO’s reliable VPS hosting ensures a stable environment for these changes. This guide provides a detailed, SEO-optimized approach to updating your WordPress domain name, covering preparation, execution, and post-migration steps.

Why Change Your WordPress Domain?

Switching domains can align your site with new branding, improve user perception, or refresh your online presence. However, it affects SEO rankings and requires technical adjustments. VPS.DO’s VPS hosting, with its dedicated resources, supports a seamless transition by ensuring uptime and fast performance during the process.

VPS Hosting for a Smooth Domain Change

Reliable hosting is critical when updating your domain. VPS.DO offers scalable VPS plans with SSD storage and high bandwidth, ideal for maintaining site performance during and after the change. Below are sample plans suitable for WordPress sites:

VPS.DO’s hosting ensures minimal downtime and fast DNS propagation, streamlining the domain change process.

Steps to Change Your WordPress Domain Name

1. Preparation

Before making changes, complete these essential steps:

• Purchase the New Domain: Acquire your new domain through a registrar and access its administration panel.
• Update DNS Settings: Configure the new domain’s DNS to point to your VPS.DO hosting account. Obtain nameservers from VPS.DO’s hosting panel and update them in the registrar’s settings. DNS propagation may take 1–24 hours.
• Back Up Your Site: Create a full backup of your WordPress site, including files and the database, using plugins like UpdraftPlus. VPS.DO’s automated backups provide an additional safety net, ensuring you can restore your site if issues arise.

2. Update WordPress Settings

Once DNS propagation is complete, update your WordPress configuration:

• Log into your WordPress admin panel.
• Navigate to Settings > General.
• Update the WordPress Address (URL) and Site Address (URL) fields with your new domain, using https:// if an SSL certificate is enabled or http:// if not.
• Click Save Changes. You will be logged out and must log back in using the new domain URL.

VPS.DO’s support for SSL certificates ensures secure connections during this transition.

3. Update Internal Links

Changing the domain in WordPress settings doesn’t update internal links or media URLs. Use a plugin like Better Search Replace to update them:

• Install and activate Better Search Replace.
• Go to Tools > Better Search Replace.
• In the Search for field, enter the old domain (e.g., http://olddomain.com).
• In the Replace with field, enter the new domain (e.g., https://newdomain.com).
• Select all database tables and uncheck Run as dry run.
• Click Run Search/Replace to update URLs.

After verification, deactivate and remove the plugin to maintain a lean WordPress installation.

4. Handle SEO and Analytics

Changing your domain resets your SEO rankings unless properly managed. Follow these steps:

• Set Up 301 Redirects: Configure redirects from the old domain to the new one in your VPS.DO hosting panel or .htaccess file to preserve SEO value.
• Update Google Search Console: In Google Search Console, go to Settings > Change of Address and follow the prompts to notify Google of the domain change.
• Update Google Analytics: In Google Analytics, navigate to Admin > Property Settings, update the URL to the new domain, and select the appropriate protocol (http or https).

5. Test and Verify

After updating, test your site thoroughly:

• Verify that the new domain loads correctly across devices.
• Check all links, images, and functionality to ensure they point to the new domain.
• Use VPS.DO’s hosting panel to monitor server performance and confirm SSL functionality.

Troubleshooting Issues

If the site doesn’t load after the change, try these solutions:

• Restore Backup: Use your backup or VPS.DO’s automated backups to revert to the previous state and retry.
• Manually Update Database: Access phpMyAdmin via VPS.DO’s hosting panel, locate the wp_options table (or custom prefix), and update the siteurl and home fields with the new domain URL.
• Contact Support: Leverage VPS.DO’s support team for assistance with DNS or server issues.

Best Practices for Domain Changes

• Plan Ahead: Schedule the change during low-traffic periods to minimize disruptions.
• Test Redirects: Ensure 301 redirects work to maintain SEO and user experience.
• Monitor Performance: Use tools like Google PageSpeed Insights to verify site speed post-migration.
• Keep Backups: Retain backups until the new domain is fully functional.

Conclusion

Changing your WordPress domain name is a manageable process with proper preparation and execution. By updating DNS, WordPress settings, internal links, and SEO configurations, you can ensure a smooth transition. Hosting on VPS.DO provides the reliability and performance needed to support these changes, with scalable plans and robust backup options. Follow these steps to update your domain confidently, maintaining site functionality and SEO performance.