How to Easily Move WordPress to a New Domain Without Losing SEO
If you want to move WordPress to a new domain and keep your SEO rankings intact, there are a few steps you need to take. This guide will walk you through the process of relocating your WordPress website and how to preserve your SEO rankings in the process.
Step 1: Export Your Existing WordPress Site
The first step is to export your existing WordPress site. This will create an .xml file containing all of your posts, pages, comments, custom fields, categories, and tags. To export your WordPress site, go to Tools > Export.
You will then be given the option to export all content or just specific content such as only posts or pages. Select the content you would like to export and click the Download Export File button.
Step 2: Import Your Existing WordPress Site to the New Domain
Now that you have your existing WordPress site exported, you’ll need to import it to your new domain. To do this, go to your new domain’s WordPress dashboard and go to Tools > Import. You will then be taken to the WordPress importer and given the option to upload your exported .xml file.
Once you have uploaded your exported .xml file, click the Upload file and import button and follow the instructions to complete the import process.
Step 3: Redirect URLs of Existing Content
You now have all of your content imported to your new domain. However, browsers and search engines need to still be redirected to the new URLs. To redirect your URLs, create a .htaccess file in the root directory of your new domain, if one doesn’t already exist. You can create a .htaccess file using a text editor such as Notepad.
Open the .htaccess file and add the following redirect code, replacing OLDDOMAIN with your existing domain and NEWDOMAIN with your new domain:
RewriteEngine on
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^OLDDOMAIN.com [NC]
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ http://NEWDOMAIN.com/$1 [L,R=301]Step 4: Update the WordPress Address (URL) and Site Address (URL)
Now that your redirects are in place, the final step is to update the WordPress address (URL) and Site address (URL) settings in the WordPress dashboard. To do this, go to Settings > General and update the two fields to reflect your new domain name. Make sure you don’t include the www. part.
Once you’ve saved the changes, you’re done! Your WordPress site is now successfully moved to a new domain and you’ve preserved your SEO rankings in the process.
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