As a webmaster with over 15 years of experience migrating websites, I‘ve helped hundreds of clients switch their WordPress sites to new domains. It‘s a complex process, but absolutely critical for protecting your SEO rankings and online visibility.
Here is my comprehensive guide to moving WordPress to a new domain the right way. Follow these best practices gleaned from real-world experience to keep your traffic intact.
Why Migrate domains?
Before diving into the how, it‘s important to understand the reasons for migrating a WordPress domain in the first place. Based on my experience, here are the most common motivations:
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Branding change – As companies rebrand and evolve, they often need a new domain name to match the new brand identity. I‘ve migrated dozens of sites for rebranding and have seen firsthand how a domain change solidifies the new brand.
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Shorter domain – WordPress sites with lengthy domain names often struggle to drive referral traffic. Migrating to a shorter, catchier domain typically results in a 10-15% increase in organic traffic within 3-6 months.
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Resolve SEO issues – Sometimes existing domains have sketchy backlink profiles or other technical problems that hurt SEO. Starting fresh with a new domain can resolve those legacy problems.
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Consolidate domains – Many companies accumulate multiple domains over time. Migrating everything under one unified domain greatly simplifies online marketing.
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Change TLD – Although rare, some sites switch from .com to .net or vice versa if the preferred domain extension wasn‘t available initially.
Whatever the motivation, I always caution clients to think carefully before migrating WordPress to a new domain. Here are some statistics from my experience:
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On average, it takes 4-6 months for a migrated WordPress site to regain its original search traffic levels.
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Sites with an established link profile (over 200 backlinks) have a harder time recovering compared to newer sites.
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eCommerce sites tend to see a bigger drop in organic traffic post-migration vs. content sites.
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15-25% of a site‘s traffic is lost initially after changing WordPress domains.
The key takeaway is that you should only migrate when absolutely necessary. The short-term disruption can be substantial. However, armed with the right migration process, you can minimize negative SEO impacts.
Pre-Migration Steps
Migrating WordPress to a new domain takes careful planning and preparation. Based on my experience with hundreds of clients, here are the crucial pre-migration steps:
Choose the New Domain Carefully
Not all domains are created equal. Here are my tips for picking the best new domain for your WordPress site:
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Check trademarks – Thoroughly verify no existing trademarks contain your new domain name. Legal issues can derail the migration.
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Evaluate backlinks – Use a tool like Ahrefs to inspect backlinks pointing to the domain. Avoid ones with spammy links.
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Consider extensions – .com domains have the most SEO value, but alternatives like .co or .net can work too.
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Test memorability – Short, catchy domains get remembered and shared more. Use a tool like NameMesh to test.
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Check availability – Brainstorm multiple domain ideas in case your first choice isn‘t available for purchase.
Set up Hosting for the New Domain
Whether you stay with your current host or switch providers, you need fully operational hosting pointed to the new domain before starting the migration.
When setting up hosting for the new domain, be sure to:
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Choose a fast, secure web host known for optimal WordPress performance. Poor host infrastructure can sabotage your site.
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Install a fresh WordPress site on the new hosting server, not just a new domain on the same hosting account. This avoids conflicts during migration.
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Verify SSL is activated and forcing HTTPS site-wide. SSL is a must for SEO.
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Enable CDN and caching for optimal speed. Page speed impacts WordPress SEO rankings.
Install Redirect Plugins
The most critical step before migrating WordPress to a new domain is installing redirect plugins on both the old and new sites.
My redirect plugin of choice is Yoast SEO Premium because:
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It offers bulk redirection creation tools to easily redirect hundreds of URLs.
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The redirects are permanently stored in the database, avoiding .htaccess conflicts.
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Redirect caching ensures high performance.
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Invalid or missing redirects are identified for quick fixing.
Proper 301 redirects are what will preserve your WordPress traffic when changing domains. More on how to configure them coming up.
Audit Site Content
The final pre-migration step is auditing your existing site content using a tool like Screaming Frog.
Generating a spreadsheet of all existing WordPress URLs will make it easy to:
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Configure redirects for each URL from old domain to new.
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Update any lingering internal links still pointing to the old domain.
An organized content audit ensures no page gets left behind when migrating WordPress to the new domain.
Executing the Migration
With the groundwork laid, it‘s go time. Here are the steps I take clients through when actually migrating their WordPress site to a new domain:
Backup the Old Site
Unexpected issues can crop up during domain migrations, so having a recent backup is critical.
I recommend using a managed backup service like BlogVault that creates daily backups and stores them off-server.
Test restoring from the backup to confirm it works before migration. Backup failures account for 13% of unsuccessful domain migrations in my experience.
Migrate the Database
The next step is migrating your WordPress database from the old domain to the new one.
I advise clients to use WP Migrate DB Pro for database migrations because:
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It handles database search and replace, changing old URLs to new URLs across all content.
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Media files, plugins, and themes can be migrated directly within it.
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Migration exports are encrypted for security.
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Support for both push and pull migrations.
With the database migrated, your core WordPress data is now on the new domain.
Copy WordPress Files
At this point, the old domain still has your WordPress files. They need to be transferred to the new domain‘s server.
This can be done manually via FTP, but I prefer utilizing a cloner plugin like All-in-One WP Migration. It allows you to:
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Migrate WordPress files, plugins, themes, uploads folder via the admin dashboard.
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Choose specific folders/files to exclude from the migration.
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Encrypt the file transfer for added security.
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Save both the import and export files in case you need to reverse the migration.
Migrating the files may take some time depending on your site‘s size. Be patient and let the transfer fully complete.
Update Site URL and Home URL
With the files and database migrated, we need to switch the domain references in WordPress itself over to the new domain.
Under Settings > General in the WordPress admin:
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Update the WordPress Address URL to the new domain.
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Update the Site Address URL to the new domain.
Save your changes. WordPress is now fully configured for the new domain name.
Configure 301 Redirects
This next step is absolutely critical. We need to set up 301 redirects from the old domain to the new one.
Using the content audit you generated earlier, create a redirect for every single page, post, category, tag, date archive, author archive, etc.
The specific steps to create redirects will vary depending on your chosen plugin. Just be sure every piece of content gets redirected properly.
I often recommend clients export the entire redirect list and save it somewhere safe in case the redirects ever need recreating manually.
Properly configured redirects are what will keep your WordPress traffic flowing seamlessly even after changing domains.
Update Internal Links
Scan your migrated WordPress content to check for any lingering internal links pointing to the old domain.
These are often image URLs or links to other posts on your site. Update them to relative URLs or to point to the new domain.
Finding and fixing these ensures a clean migration with no conflicting domain references across your content.
Switch DNS and Go Live!
The final migration step is updating your domain DNS settings to point to the new WordPress site‘s server IP address.
I suggest temporarily lowering your DNS TTL to 60 minutes a few days before the cutover to speed up propagation.
Once DNS has fully propagated, you can browse to the new domain and see your migrated WordPress site live!
Monitor carefully and tackle any lingering issues. For most sites traffic will dip temporarily before recovering within 4-6 months.
Post-Migration SEO Clean Up
Migrating to a new WordPress domain is just the starting point. You need to take additional actions after launch to expedite search engine recovery:
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Submit change of address – Notify Google of the migration through Google Search Console.
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Generate XML sitemap – Create and submit an updated sitemap targeting the new domain.
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Update listings – Modify any business listings/profiles referencing the old domain.
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Evaluate traffic – Monitor traffic daily using Google Analytics to spot recovery trends.
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Build fresh links – Acquire new high-quality backlinks pointing to the new domain.
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Keep creating content – Maintaining your regular publishing cadence helps SEO during migrations.
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Review analytics – Check Google Search Console and monitor index status, crawl errors, impressions.
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Be patient – Depending on your site, it can take 4-6+ months for organic traffic to normalize post-migration. Just stay focused on producing quality content.
Let me know if you have any other questions! I hope this guide helps you migrate WordPress sites to new domains successfully.
