How to Migrate WordPress Website to a New Domain

Migrating a WordPress site to a new domain can be a real challenge, but it’s a crucial step when it comes to rebranding or restructuring your online presence. If not done right, it can result in broken links, lost traffic, and harm your SEO rankings.

That’s why a solid plan is key before making any changes. In this blog post, we’ll take you through the process of migrating your WordPress website to a new domain, step by step. We’ll provide you with easy-to-follow instructions and helpful tips to ensure your website continues running smoothly during the transition.

Furthermore, following the guideline of this post, you’ll get a clear idea on how to migrate WordPress site to a new domain with confidence and minimal disruption to your online presence.

So, why wait? Let’s get started!

Why Migrate a WordPress Site to a New Domain

There may be some specific reasons for moving WordPress site to a new domain. Understanding them can help you quickly make the best decision. 

Bought a new domain name

Before launching the existing website, you might plan to buy a domain name of your choice. But unfortunately, the name wasn’t available then. Now that the domain name is available, you want to migrate your existing website to your favorite domain. 

Bought a website for your own and change the domain

You might have bought a website from someone, and now you would like to move it over to your domain.

Switched your present hosting company

You may want to switch your hosting to a new WordPress hosting provider. Then, you may want to migrate your WordPress site to a new domain. 

Best WordPress Migration Plugins At a Glance

WordPress offers a bunch of migration plugins that are easy enough for moving WordPress site to a new domain without any hassle. Some of the prominent ones are in the following list. 

• All in One WP Migration
• UpdraftPlus
• Migrate Guru
• Jetpack
• BackupBuddy
• Backup Guard
• WP Migrate 
• Super Backup and Clone

How to Migrate WordPress Site to a New Domain; A Step by Step Guide

To offer you an exciting and hassle-free experience of WordPress website migration, we will use a powerful plugin among the top that we have discussed earlier. Now, we will use the dynamic plugin All in One WP Migration to migrate your existing WordPress website to a new domain. Let’s start proceeding.

Step 1: Make sure you current website is fully functional

Before going deep, you need to ensure your current website is fully functional to make it easier for you to migrate WordPress site to new domain.

Step 2: Install and activate the plugin on the current website

Now, it’s time to install the plugin on your website. Go to Plugins ➤ Add New on your WordPress Admin Dashboard to do that. You will land on the WordPress plugin repository.

Next, write the plugin name ‘All in One WP Migration’ in the search bar on the top right corner of the page, and the screen will be like the following. Click on Install Now button to install the plugin on your website.

Once you successfully install the plugin, make it functional by clicking on Activate. 

So, you have successfully activated the plugin.

Step 3: Migrate your website

Next, it’s time to migrate your existing website to the new domain. To perform this action, go to your site dashboard Admin menu bar and click on All in One WP Migration ➤ Export. This action will take you to the ‘EXPORT SITE’ page. 

Now, click the EXPORT TO button, and a drop-down menu will instantly appear. Click on FILE, and it will start preparing your website to export.

Now, click on the file named TESTING.LOCAL, and download it on your computer. Click on CLOSE once the download is completed.

Step 4: Move the downloaded file to the new domain

So that you have exported your existing website’s file to your computer, it’s time to move this website’s file to your new website’s domain. That’s why you need to install and activate the All in One WP Migration on the new domain. 

We value your time. That’s why we won’t repeat the plugin installation and activation process, as you have already gathered ideas on how to install and activate All in One WP Migration. 

Once you have made All in One WP Migration fully functional on the new domain, it’s time to import the downloaded file from the old domain to the new one. 

For this, go to All in One WP Migration ➤ Import. You will land on the ‘IMPORT SITE’ page. Next, click the IMPORT FROM button, and a drop-down menu will appear. Click on FILE and find the file you want to import to the new domain.

The import process will start action once you have selected the file. Before beginning the process, a popup will appear stating, “The import process will overwrite your website, including the database, media, plugins, and themes. Please ensure that you have a backup of your data before proceeding to the next step.” So ensure you have a backup of your current website data. Click on PROCEED to continue.

A popup will appear stating “Your site has been imported successfully!” Now click on FINISH.

So, you have successfully imported the file of the domain testing.local to the new domain fred.local. Now, both websites look similar.

Finishing Off

With our step-by-step guide, you have the power to preserve your SEO rankings, maintain user experience, and enhance your online presence. Don’t let domain changes hold you back—confidently embrace the future and make your website shine in its new home.

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