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Step-by-step transfer of the site to another domain

There are many reasons why it may be necessary to transfer the site to a new domain. This may be a banal change in the domain name to another, more successful option. Or forced replacement of the domain that landed under "heavy" search engine filters, from which you can’t get out. 

At the same time, doubts quite naturally arise whether it is possible to transfer the site to another domain without losing its contents, positions in the search, "puzomerok", reference profile and other equally important achievements?

Of course it is possible!

And now we will tell you in detail how to transfer the site to another domain in the entire 2 stage.

  1. Website Database Transfer

    This procedure is the most important, since the preservation of existing information and the correct display on the site after replacing the domain depends on the correctness of its execution.

    If the site is moving to another domain, but the hosting remains the same, then this duty usually falls on the shoulders of a hosting provider. You only need to inform them of your desire to do this and in most cases they will transfer all the files themselves. 

    Although it is possible, even this is not required, because many hosters have a database (DB) that can be linked to a client account.

    If the domain name changes with moving to a new hosting, you will need to make a database dump and take it with you on "new residence" website.

    For example, if the web resource is based on WordPress, a backup can be made either by tools provided by a hosting provider, or using the SSH command line:

    Использование командной строки SSH

    The resulting archive after moving the site to another domain needs to be unzipped by entering the SSH command:

    Архив полученный после переезда

    Next, using phpmyadmin we export the WordPress table to SQL.

    We import the received dump.sql file into a new database.

    The next step will be to amend wp-config.php, which is at the root of the website. In it we replace the following lines:

    Внесение изменений в wp-config.php

    On this, the correct transition of the site to another domain is almost complete. It is already available on a new domain name, but incorrect link operation may be observed.

    To eliminate this, you must execute the code in phpmyadmin to replace old addresses with new ones:

    Код для замены старых адресов phpmyadmin

    Now all links will be displayed and work properly.
     
  2. Configuring redirection from the old domain to the new

    After you have managed to correctly transfer the site to another domain and you have ascertained its operability, it is time to ensure that visitors who come to the old address are redirected to a new one. 

    The same goes for search bots. It’s not enough just to change the domain. They also need to indicate that the site has moved to another domain and no longer need to index the old address, but you should do a new one.

    This is done in two steps:

    a) Using 301 redirect, make changes to the .htaccess file:

    Код 301 redirect

    b) Tell search engine robots to move to webmaster tools:
  • in Yandex. Webmaster using the “Site Moving” tool in the “Tools” section;

 

  • in Google Search Console add a new site address and use the “Address Change” function.

 

If everything is done correctly, the gluing of mirrors after replacing the domain of the website occurs approximately within a month.

Everything is ready!

Following these recommendations, you can make the site correctly transition to another domain and thereby save from 97 % traffic, reference weight. The main thing is not to forget to make backup copies of the database before making any changes to it according to the methods described by us, in order to have a second chance if something goes wrong.

Thank you for your attention and successful website relocation to another domain! If you have questions along the way, ask them in the comments on this article!