Move WordPress Site To New Domain Without Losing SEO Rankings

Moving your self-hosted WordPress site to a new domain Requires attention and two distinct stages.

Hello there! My name is Robert from ThemeIsle.

com and inthis video, I'll show you every step to move a WordPress site to another domain, and onemore thing that will help you not lose the traffic that Google sends to your site, butI'll tell you more about it In the next minutes, so please continue watching.

See, the actual process to move WordPressto a new domain is fairly simple.

You basically just need to copy your filesto a new folder on your host and update your database.

But keeping your SEO rankings when you doit takes some care.

To that end, I'm going to show you both stagesof the process.

Let's dive into the first stage.

At a high level, you just need to use theDuplicator WordPress plugin to move your site's files to your new domain.

The process is pretty much identical no matterwhether you're sticking with the same host or moving to a new WordPress host.

Here's how to do it! As always, make sure you back up your sitebefore beginning this process.

Then, get started by installing and activatingDuplicator.

Once it's activated, head to the Duplicatorlink in your dashboard sidebar and create a new package.

Move through the package creation processand Build your package.

You don't need to change any of the defaultsettings.

Duplicator will build your package, whichconsists of two files: Installer and Archive.

You need to download both files.

Remember where you save them because you'llneed them soon.

Next, you need to create a MySQL databasefor your new domain.

Head to cPanel and find the MySQL Databasesoption.

Then, create a new database.

And then a new database user.

You need to add that database user to thedatabase you just created.

And make sure to give it All Privileges.

And that's it! Keep the database name, username, and passwordhandy, because you'll also need them in a second.

Now, you need to upload the downloaded filesto the root folder for your new domain name.

The quickest way to do this is using FileManager.

To open File Manager, find its icon on cPaneland make sure to choose your new domain name for the Document Root option.

Then, you can use the Upload button to uploadeach file.

Now, you can head to newdomain.

com/installer.

phpto run the Duplicator install process, where newdomain.

com is, obviously, your actual domain name.

Enter the details for the database you created.

And then on the next screen, you hit a veryimportant step: specifying your new domain name.

Duplicator should automatically detect yournew domain.

But if not, make sure you enter your exactURL in the box.

Then, Duplicator will handle updating allyour internal URLs and image links to reflect your new domain.

Once that's done, all you need to do is hitthe Save Permalinks button to update your links (important!) and then test your siteto make sure everything is working properly.

And that's all you need to do to move WordPressto a new domain name.

If you didn't care about your SEO rankings, you could call it a day right now.

But I told you this tutorial is about coveringboth parts.

So let's get into theHw to keep your SEO rankings.

You need to do two things here: 1.

Set up 301 redirects to send all links andtraffic from your old domain to your new domain.

2.

Tell Google that you changed your domain name 301 redirects basically tell web browsers (and search engines) that your site has permanently moved.

For example, with proper 301 redirects, anyonewho goes to your old domain will automatically get redirected to your new domain.

This helps preserve your traffic andkeeps the SEO value of links pointing to your old website.

To add 301 redirects, all you need to do isedit the .

htaccess file for your old site and include the following code: You can copythis code by accessing the link to our article in the description box below this video.

Just make sure to replace http://www.

newdomain.

com/with the actual link to your new domain name.

Your .

htaccess file is in the root directoryof your site.

That is the same directory that includes “wp-admin”and “wp-content”.

You can either access it using an FTP programor edit it in your browser using File Manager like I showed you before.

Once you add the code to your .

htaccess file, make sure that it's working properly by visiting a page on your old domain.

You should be automatically sent to the equivalentpage on your new domain name.

When you move WordPress to a new domain name, it's also a good idea to give Google a heads up.

Nowadays, Google actually gives you a formthat you can fill out letting them know you changed your domain name.

To access it, head to Google Search Consoleand open the Property for your old domain name.

If you never registered your site with Google Search Console, you'll need to do that first.

Then, click on the Settings gear icon andchoose Change of Address.

Then, fill out the form and click submit.

In addition to the two core steps mentionedin this video, it's also a good idea to perform some other basic housekeeping tasks and Iinvite you to read more about those steps in our article wich you can access by clickingthe link in description below this video.

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