How to change the domain name of a WordPress site

This article will walk you through the process of changing the domain name associated with your WordPress installation.

Please note
  • By changing your WordPress domain, your original domain may stop working
  • Please always back up your website before making major changes so that you can revert quickly in case of problems
  • This procedure is not intended to be used for WordPress Multi-User (WPMU) installations

Before starting, you must have already linked your new domain to your account. We recommend adding the new domain as an Alias to your account so that both new and old domains can work with your WordPress website in parallel.

To change your Wordpress domain:

  1. Log in to your WordPress Admin Dashboard. This is normally yourdomain.com/wp-admin
  2. Click Plugins > Add New
  3. In the plugin search bar on the top right, type: Automatic Domain Changer and hit Enter
  4. In the search results, you should see the Automatic Domain Changer plugin. Click Install Now
  5. Wait a few seconds for the installation to complete, then click Activate
  6. In the left menu, click Tools > Change Domain
  7. Complete the short form as follows:
    1. Change domain from: your original domain (this will be prefilled)
    2. Change domain to: type your new domain (avoid typos!)
    3. Check the box also change secure https links
    4. Check the box Change both www.old-domain.com and old-domain.com links
    5. Check the box to confirm that you’ve backed up the database. If needed, click the Backup database as SQL button to save a local copy
    6. Click Change domain

The change will now be executed. Assuming your new domain is already linked to your account, you might get logged out and need to log back in using your new domain.

If your website does not load after your change, please make sure your new domain is already registered and correctly pointing to your new domain.

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