Transferring your WordPress website to a new domain involves some technical steps, but it can be accomplished by following the right course. The important thing is to make sure you backup your data before starting and do everything in the correct order to avoid data loss or downtime.

Changing your domain isn’t something that should be taken lightly. And, in every situation, the process will vary depending on your DNS provider, where you site is hosted, and many other factors. In general, the steps involved in changing the domain of a WordPress site:

Backup your site

Before doing anything, it’s essential that you backup your WordPress site completely. This includes all files, folders and databases associated with your site. Always start with a backup of your entire site. This ensures that if anything goes wrong during the migration, you have all your content secure and easily retrievable. You could use any WordPress backup plugins like UpdraftPlus or BackWPup, or else access the files directly via FTP.

301 Redirections

Add redirects on old domain using 301 permanent redirection via .htaccess file. This informs search engines about changes to prevent SEO problems during wee weeks/months of the new domain going live. You can also update Google via Google Search Console tool about address changes.

Monitor Site & Traffic Regularly

After the WordPress migration service is finished, or you change your site’s domain, monitor closely for any errors or potential technical issues by using analytics and traffic measures on regular basis.

It’s important remember that it can take time for search engines to recognize a domain change, especially if modifications weren’t properly handled.

As always, while this task is not overtly technical, it requires a level of comfort with WordPress’ backend.