How to Move WordPress to a New Domain

Moving WordPress to a New Domain

Rebranding or changing your domain? Follow this guide to migrate WordPress without losing your SEO rankings or breaking existing links.

Before You Start

• Register the new domain
• Set up hosting for the new domain (or add it as an addon domain)
• Install a fresh WordPress on the new domain (optional — we will copy the old one)

Method 1 — Using Duplicator Plugin (Easiest)

Step 1 — Install Duplicator on old site:

1. Plugins → Add New → search "Duplicator"
2. Install and activate

Step 2 — Create a Package:

1. Duplicator → Packages → Create New
2. Click Next → Build
3. Download both the Installer file and the Archive (.zip) file

Step 3 — Upload to New Domain:

1. Via FTP or File Manager, upload both files to the new domain's public_html
2. Visit https://newdomain.co.ke/installer.php
3. Follow the installation wizard
4. Enter new database credentials when prompted
5. Update the site URL to the new domain

Step 4 — Update WordPress URLs:

The Duplicator installer handles this automatically. Verify in:

• Settings → General — both URLs show the new domain

Method 2 — Manual Migration

Step 1 — Export database from old site:

1. cPanel → phpMyAdmin → select old database → Export → Go

Step 2 — Find and replace old domain in SQL file:

Open the .sql file in a text editor and replace:

olddomain.co.ke → newdomain.co.ke

Use Search & Replace DB tool or do it in a text editor.

Step 3 — Copy files:

Download all files from old public_html and upload to new domain's public_html.

Step 4 — Update wp-config.php:

Update database credentials for the new server.

Step 5 — Import database:

cPanel → phpMyAdmin → select new database → Import → upload modified .sql file.

Step 6 — Set Up 301 Redirects on Old Domain

Keep the old domain pointing to your server and add redirects:

# In old domain's .htaccess
RewriteEngine On
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ https://newdomain.co.ke/$1 [R=301,L]

This preserves your SEO rankings by passing link equity to the new domain.

Step 7 — Update Google Search Console

1. Add the new domain as a property in Google Search Console
2. Submit your sitemap: https://newdomain.co.ke/sitemap.xml
3. Use the Change of Address tool to notify Google of the domain change