How to Easily Transfer Your WordPress Site to a New Domain
If you’re looking to take your WordPress blog from one domain to another, this post is for you. We’ll teach you the best way to make this process quick and easy. You’ll also learn some tips on how to make the transition as smooth as possible!
Find A Reliable Host
Before you start anything, you need to make sure that you’re choosing a reliable web host. If you’re looking for a one-stop-shop for all of your website needs, then turn your attention to hosts like Bluehost, which we recommend. Not only do they offer an exceptionally high level of service, but you’ll also receive a free domain name with your purchase.
Make sure to host your WordPress blog on a reputable web host. This will help ensure that your blog continues to operate properly even if something goes wrong. You’ll also want to choose a host that offers 24/7 customer support should you need it. While it’s always nice to have a website that works perfectly on any given day, it’s even nicer to have one that works flawlessly all of the time.
Set Up Your New Domain
Moving your WordPress blog to a new domain is pretty straightforward. Just launch the WordPress dashboard and select the Dashboard tab. From here, you’ll see a list of the current tasks that need to be taken care of. Select the Install Scripts option to continue to the next page.
Once on the Install Scripts page, scroll down to the Get A Domain section and click on the Install Button to continue to the next page.
On the next page, you’ll see a list of the domain extensions that you can purchase. Choose the one that you think will work best for your blog and proceed to the next page.
On the next page, you’ll need to enter your billing information and then click on the Purchase Now button to continue to the payment page. Once there, you’ll need to enter your personal and payment information and then click on the Confirm Order button to complete the process.
On the final page, you’ll see a success message and will be taken back to your dashboard.
From here, you can activate your new domain and begin setting up your blog on the WordPress platform. Congratulations! Your blog is now officially transferred to its new home at {new_domain}.
Secure Your New Domain
You’ve now acquired a domain name for your WordPress blog. This is a very exciting accomplishment! But now is the time to take some precautionary measures to ensure that your new domain can’t be easily accessed by unauthorized persons. Fortunately, this process is fairly simple and painless.
Since you installed WordPress on a host server, you already have SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) encryption enabled for your site. Simply visit (my_blog) on your new domain in a web browser and you’ll see a padlock icon next to the URL in the address bar.
This means that your new domain is now accessed via SSL encryption and any information you enter will be secure.
There are a few more things you can do to further secure your new domain. For example, you can install the WordPress MU (MySQL User) plugin and set up a simple password to restrict access to the admin panel. If you use a different username for your WordPress account and the admin panel, then you can set up a separate password for the admin panel. The benefit of this is that if someone were to hack your WordPress account, they wouldn’t have access to the admin area.
Update Your WhoIs Details
If you’ve already created an account on the WordPress.com site and set up your blog there, then all you need to do to transfer it to your new domain is update your WHOIS details. This process is very similar to changing your domain name, but with a few more steps. First, log in to your WordPress.com account and select the Tools menu. From here, select the Secure Your Blog option.
On the next page, you’ll see a message confirming that your blog is now protected and that the details on this domain have now been modified. Click on the Save Changes button to continue to the next page.
On the next page, you’ll see the information for your new domain. Just copy/paste this info into your WordPress dashboard on the new domain and you’ll be all set.
Check For Errors
Upon launching your WordPress dashboard on the new domain, you can select the Dashboard tab to access your Settings screen. Here, you can enter a few lines of code that will help you debug any errors that may occur.
If you enter a URL that doesn’t exist, you’ll see a warning that briefly explains what went wrong. Simply copy/paste the URL from your browser’s address bar into the space provided and the error will be fixed. You can also use this page to test different URLs to see which one(s) work(s) best for your blog.
Maintain Your Blog
Now that you have a new domain name and a functional WordPress blog, it’s time to maintain it. Just like any other blog that you might have, you’ll need to keep it active by posting content often. This is more crucial with a WordPress blog because without content, your readers will automatically decline in engagement. They’ll also leave, which means that you’ll lose traffic and credibility. In other words, content is vital to the health of your blog.
To maintain your blog, you’ll first want to establish yourself as an expert in your industry. Do this by reading widely, keeping up with the news, and participating in conversations online with your peers. By establishing yourself as an authority in your industry, you’ll automatically be perceived as an expert by your readers.
It’s also important to interact with your readers. Reply to their comments and engage with them as much as possible. You can also do this by placing useful and informative comments on blogs that you read that are relevant to your niche.
In addition to establishing your blog as an authority in your industry, it is important to stay on top of the news that is relevant to your niche. You can use a service like Feedly that will parse the content from thousands of sites and notify you via email of the latest happenings in your industry. The more you know, the more you’ll be able to provide value to your audience.
To wrap up, here’s a video from Bluehost explaining how to move a WordPress site to a new domain.