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Changing Domain Name

by wrays
15 replies
Hello Warriors,

I have an established Wordpress blog that have many unique contents that I wrote myself and some keywords ranked very well on Google. But this blog is using a long domain name with dash sign.

I want to change to a new and shorter domain name (I already registered the new domain name that I want to use).

Here is my plan to migrate my blog and domain...

1. Clone the wordpress blog and move it to the new domain.

2. Remove the blog in the old domain.

3. Set up 301 Redirect from the old to new domain.

Are the above steps correct?

Do I actually need to remove the wordpress blog in the old domain (step 2)?

FYI: I am not migrating my hosting, I am still using the same hosting (only different domain name).

Can someone please help me out?

THANKS!
#changing #domain
  • Profile picture of the author Dan Curtis
    wrays,

    First, it looks like your step 2. and step 3. are out of order. You need to redirect before you do anything with your original blog. Otherwise anyone searching for your site will not find anything.

    Second, there is no reason you would have to remove the original site. It will just sit there, but it won't cause any problem.

    Third, as far as I know the 301 redirect has to be set up for each page. In other words, if you want to preserve the traffic for each page you have to redirect each page.

    I am not sure if you have to do this one page at a time or if it can be done automatically for all pages with a script. But make sure you know the answer before you start so you don't lose your traffic.
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  • Profile picture of the author JerrickYeoh
    You do not need to remove the blog.
    You only need to point your hosting to the new domain as primary domain .
    That all you need to do .
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  • Profile picture of the author microfortune
    follow these steps

    1) backup your wordpress files and database

    2) upload the wordpress files to the new domain folder

    3) change the domain name by editing the domain name in php my admin (WordPress › Support » How to change WordPress domain name using phpMyAdmin)

    4) make sure everything works on the new domain.

    5) remove the files in old domain and put a 301 redirection to new domain

    6) use the change domain function in the google webmasters to get your domain name changed in the google serp.


    you can contact me if you need any help in the process.
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  • Profile picture of the author John Romaine
    Question : why?
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  • Profile picture of the author sbucciarel
    Banned
    Originally Posted by wrays View Post

    Hello Warriors,

    I have an established Wordpress blog that have many unique contents that I wrote myself and some keywords ranked very well on Google. But this blog is using a long domain name with dash sign.

    I want to change to a new and shorter domain name (I already registered the new domain name that I want to use).

    Here is my plan to migrate my blog and domain...

    1. Clone the wordpress blog and move it to the new domain.

    2. Remove the blog in the old domain.

    3. Set up 301 Redirect from the old to new domain.

    Are the above steps correct?

    Do I actually need to remove the wordpress blog in the old domain (step 2)?

    FYI: I am not migrating my hosting, I am still using the same hosting (only different domain name).

    Can someone please help me out?

    THANKS!
    I would remove everything from the old domain and set up the redirect.
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  • Profile picture of the author dadamson
    Guys, you NEED to go into the SETTINGS section then GENERAL SETTINGS and change the "WordPress address (URL)" and "Site address (URL)" to your NEW domain name.

    As default it will be displayed as your old domain name and if you move the WP install across as it is it WILL NOT WORK!

    I am not sure if the above posters PHP instructions are a way around doing this but this is the most direct way to change the domain in a standard WP install which may or may not have any PHP plugins installed.

    You will also need to ensure your database is copied across to the new host and linked correctly if your new domain is hosted separately.
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  • Profile picture of the author sbucciarel
    Banned
    If you need complete instructions on moving, they're here
    http://domainingdiva.com/transfer.pdf

    I don't use a program to clone the site and move it ... it isn't necessary. It's not difficult to move a Wordpress site, but you do have to edit the database and the general settings as mentioned.
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    • Profile picture of the author wrays
      Hello,

      Thanks for all the useful content and help, I really appreciate it.

      One thing still confuses me is that do I need to change all the PATHs from old domain to the new domain after I import the database?

      For example,

      Old path --> http://www.olddomain/post-1/ to
      New path --> http://www.newdomain/post-1/

      If I have thousands of posts, this will take forever.

      Is there a software tool that allows me to change the URL path?

      Thanks!
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      • Profile picture of the author sbucciarel
        Banned
        Originally Posted by wrays View Post

        Hello,

        Thanks for all the useful content and help, I really appreciate it.

        One thing still confuses me is that do I need to change all the PATHs from old domain to the new domain after I import the database?

        For example,

        Old path --> http://www.olddomain/post-1/ to
        New path --> http://www.newdomain/post-1/

        If I have thousands of posts, this will take forever.

        Is there a software tool that allows me to change the URL path?

        Thanks!

        Just Google Search and Replace plugin for Wordpress. Works like a charm. Activate it and do a search for
        olddomain.com

        Replace with
        newdomain.com

        Leave off the http://www.
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  • Profile picture of the author TopKat22
    I was just reading some tragic blog posts earlier today where someone did this. That Gurus advice was NEVER move a domain to a new domain name. Leave it as it is and just do a redirect to the new domain name. If you are already ranking and getting traffic for that domain name, do not change it, period. That was the advice.

    It makes sense to me.
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    • Profile picture of the author wrays
      Hello,

      Just wanna share with you guys that if you have a small site with just a few posts and you want to migrate it to a completely new domain. You can just use phpAdmin to backup the database and migrate it over to the new domain. And change the URL paths manually.

      But if you have a huge site with hundreds or even thousands of posts, it's impossible to migrate it to a new domain if you just use phpAdmin because you will have to manually change the URL paths one by one!

      If you want to migrate a big site with many posts, you do need to use a cloning software because the software will automatically change all the URL paths for you.

      That's all... thanks for the help!
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  • Profile picture of the author josephjabawaba
    What you could do is leave the site as is, put do-follow links with a message to the new site, and tell search engines that this website content has been downgraded via that meta tag on duplicate content. Not sure though.
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  • Profile picture of the author HorseStall
    Use a 301 redirect once you have the new blog set up. Easy as pie.
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  • Profile picture of the author stevendomz
    changing domain's name is not always good, it probably will reduce your traffic, still go green brother!
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    • Profile picture of the author keyon
      Originally Posted by stevendomz View Post

      changing domain's name is not always good
      I have to agree here. Although a lot of people will say they've had no problems in "transferring" the authority of an old site to the new, you'll find just as many people saying it didn't work for them (I'm one of them). If I had to do it all over, I would keep the old site as is, and just start building your new site (with new content) on the new domain. I know that sounds like a big investment in time, but changing domains (and re-establishing your current positions in the serps) can sometimes take just as long -- or never, in some cases.

      just another opinion.
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