Are you looking to change your domain name, but worried about how much of a hassle it will be? While there are several things to thing about, changing your domain name is relatively easy. From the steps to take to reasons to make a change, let's explore how easy it is to change your domain name. Plus, we offer five tips to make sure you make the change right.
Is It Easy to Change Your Domain Name?
In most cases, changing your domain is very easy. But just because it's easy doesn't mean you should change it any time you want.
Think of your primary domain name as your home or primary address. When you move, you have to change your address with your bank, in your Amazon account, etc. It's easy, but there are steps you have to take.
The same is true of changing your domain. Your visitors, and perhaps more importantly search engines, know you "live" at that address. So if you want to change your domain, you need to up everyone - especially Google.
Changing your domain name is generally straightforward, but it does require some planning. Otherwise, you can disrupt your site traffic and search engine rankings. Here’s a quick rundown of what’s involved:
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Register the New Domain: Purchase a new domain that aligns with your brand or the new focus of your website.
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Update Domain Settings: Point the new domain to your website by updating the DNS settings. This may take some time to propagate across the web, typically 24-48 hours.
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301 Redirects: Set up 301 redirects from your previous domain to your new one. The redirects will make sure visitors and search engines find your new domain, preserving your search rankings and web traffic.
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Update Search Engine and Analytics Settings: In Google Search Console and other webmaster tools, change the primary domain to your new one to keep analytics and SEO tracking accurate.
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Update URLs, Branding, and Links: Update internal links, images, and any references to your old domain on your site. Additionally, check and update links on your social media platforms and update backlinks from other sites where possible.
If you’re hosting with Hosting.com, our 24/7/365 in-house Guru Crew support team can help streamline this process.
Is It a Good Idea to Change a Domain?
Just because changing your domain is simple doesn't mean it's always a good idea. You should never change your domain on a whim.
Not only can that negatively impact your search rankings, but it can confuse visitors and impact traffic. If you are selling goods or services, switching domains can even impact sales.
Here are some good reasons for changing domains:
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Rebranding: If you are changing your name, expanding services, or shifting the focus of your site, a new and more memorable domain may resonate with your target audience.
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Improving Brand Recognition: A simpler, memorable, or keyword-focused domain can make your website easier to find and remember, improving traffic and conversions.
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Expanding Beyond Initial Offerings: If you are expanding your focus, a more general domain may align with a broader product or service range.
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Improving SEO: Domains that include relevant keywords or a geographic location can boost SEO efforts and search visibility, making it easier for potential customers to find you.
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Correcting a Poor Reputation or Legacy Issues: If a website has a history of spammy links, penalties, or a negative reputation, a new domain may help start with a cleaner slate and improve search engine rankings.
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Ensuring Mobile and International Accessibility: Domains that are short and easy to spell are more accessible, especially for mobile users or international visitors. Switching to a shorter, simpler domain can improve user experience across all devices.
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Upgrading to a Better TLD (Top-Level Domain): Switching from a lesser-known TLD (e.g.,
.info,.biz) to a more common one (like.com) can build trust and authority, as users are often more familiar with popular TLDs. -
Addressing Unintuitive Domains: If your current domain is easily misspelled, overly complex, or unrelated to your brand, a change can reduce errors and make it easier for users to type it correctly.
How Do I Change My Domain Name Without Losing Traffic?
Understandably, losing users is one of the biggest fears when considering changing our website domain.
It takes a long time to build a brand and cultivate a growing crowd of enthusiastic users. So, consider any change that can interrupt that hard work carefully.
The following steps explain how to change your website domain without confusing or losing visitors or impacting conversions.
Step #1: Choose a New Domain Name
There are a lot of options when it comes to domains, so picking the right one can be tricky.
Consider your options carefully and think about how that change will impact your website, search rankings, and how your visitors perceive the new name.
Here are some tips for choosing a domain name. When you’re ready, you can register your new domain through our platform.
Need help choosing a domain name? Our guide has tips to make picking an effective domain name easy.
Once you decide, you can register your domain with Hosting.com, a domain registrar, or other places. For the best place to buy, see our where to buy a domain guide.
Step #2: Update Your Domain Name Settings
Updating your domain settings or DNS may sound scary, but it's actually very easy. If you registered your domain when setting up your hosting, you can easily link them through your account control panel.
If you registered the new primary domain separately from your hosting, it's a little more work. But don't worry, it's just a simple copy and paste.
Log into your hosting account and find the nameservers for your provider. These typically look something like:
ns1.yourhostingcompany.com
ns2.yourhostingcompany.com
For example, Hosting.com's nameservers are:
ns1.a2hosting.com
ns2.a2hosting.com
Once you have those, you need to enter them into your domain account. Paste your hosting provider's nameservers into the DNS settings, then save the changes.
While domain updates can take a little as just a few minutes, it usually takes between 24 and 48 hours to propagate across the Internet.
Step #3: Redirect Traffic to Your New Domain
Arguably the most important step when changing your domain name is to redirect users from the old one to the new one. This prevents you from losing any regular visitors or those who’ve bookmarked your previous address.
Most web hosts (including Hosting.com) enable you to do this from your cPanel. Just look for the icon that says Redirects under the Domains section of your cPanel and click on it.
Once you’re in the Redirects page, pick the option that reads Permanent (301) and the domain you want to redirect.
Next, type the URL of the new domain you registered, and enable the setting that says Redirect with or without www:
Once you click the Add button, you’re ready to go! Now, every time someone visits your old domain, they’ll be sent to your new one. We recommend keeping both of them active until traffic on your former domain falls to a very low level.
Step #4: Update Search Engines and Analytics
Next, you should update your domain in search engines and analytics. For many, this means updating Google Search Console and Google Analytics.
While redirects will send visitors to your new site, not updating them with your new URL has some major drawbacks.
First, it can impact your SEO rankings. Updating your primary domain in the settings in Search Console ensures that your existing rankings transfer to your new site.
It's also important for Google Analytics so you don’t lose historical data. This allows you to compare performance across time and maintain a consistent view of your website’s metrics.
These updates also help with other issues as well. You can see if your redirects are working and quickly find and fix 404 not found errors.
It also helps prevent Google from seeing old and new versions of your site and thinking they are duplicate content. That's important because duplicate content can lead to lower search rankings.
Lastly, if you don't update your domain, it can impact how traffic is recorded in Analytics. Instead of direct or organic traffic, it can appear as referral traffic from your old domain.
This might not matter too much for some sites, but it can have a huge impact if you regularly look at traffic sources.
Step #5: Update URLs and Branding
Lastly, you want to update URLs, links, and branding with your new domain name. While you do have redirects in place, you still should update as many things as possible.
Start by updating your site navigation, then move on to checking your page and blog content. Depending on the change, you may need to update your site logo, about content, or even your copyright notice.
Next, review advertisements, print materials like business cards, and social media links. If you are completely rebranding your company, consider a social media announcement or even a press release.
Another option is to announce the chance on your blog. This is not necessary for changes for a better mobile experience, better TLDs, or unintentional URL misspellings or confusion.
But it's a good idea if you are rebranding or making changes to your focus or services. You may also want to share the news on social media in this case as well.
If you are renaming your company, you should contact existing customers via email to update them as well.
Frequently Asked Questions About Changing Your Domain URL
Here are some of the most asked questions about how to change your domain name.
How Long Does It Take to Change Your Primary Domain?
Registering a new domain and changing the DNS settings for your hosting only takes a few minutes, but the entire process can take longer in some cases.
Depending on your domain host and other factors, it can take 24 to 48 hours for the switch. Your previous domain still works during this period so you will not lose traffic or revenue during that step.
Most hosting platforms allow you to set up permanent redirects for your entire domain easily. But this takes a little time to configure depending on your technical skills.
Often the step that takes the longest is updating your branding. Depending on where your domain appears, it can mean making website updates or even reprinting marketing materials.
How Much Does It Cost to Change Your Domain Name?
The average cost of a new domain name ranges from $12 to $75 per year depending on a few different factors.
Often the biggest factor is the domain extension (.com, .org, etc.) you choose for your website. Top-Level Domains or TLDs, such as .com, .org, and .net are less expensive than Generic Top-Level Domains (gTLDs) such as .blog or .tech.
Why? Because TLDs cover a broad range of sites, whereas gTLDs are aimed at particular industries.
Other factors that determine the total cost of changing a domain include registration fees, privacy protection fees, and the annual fee charged by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN).
Well, now that you know how to change your website’s domain name, you can enjoy a smooth transition. The users who frequented your former website will now be able to visit your new one to see what you have to offer.
As a final note, it’s worth your time to consider all the pros and cons before you change your domain name. After all, it’s one of the core elements and primary identifiers of a website.
If you do decide to get the ball rolling, you can rest easy knowing it’s possible to make this change without disrupting your website’s traffic or hurting your brand’s identity. Just imagine. Changing your domain name could be the key that opens the door to a whole new crowd of users.
Will Changing My Domain Affect My SEO?
Yes, a domain change can impact SEO temporarily. To minimize this, set up 301 redirects from the old domain to the new one, update Google Search Console, and notify search engines of the change.
Rankings will usually drop shortly after making the change and take a few days up to a week to re-stabilize on the new domain. If you do not see your rankings return after a month, check Search Console and Analytics for errors.
Will I Lose Traffic After Changing My Domain?
Temporary traffic dips can occur due to DNS propagation and search engine updates. However, you should not see a sizable impact on your overall traffic as long as you set up 301 redirects and update Seach Console and Analytics. If you do see a significant change in traffic, review the steps above to make sure you didn't accidentally overlook something.
Will My Email Addresses Change with the New Domain?
Yes, if you use domain-based emails (e.g., [email protected]), you’ll need to update them with the new domain (e.g., [email protected]). You also need to set up forwarding to ensure messages reach you. We recommend updating your emails and setting up the forwarding before switching the website DNS.
Is There Any Downtime When Changing a Domain Name?
For the most part, there shouldn't be any significant downtime when changing your domain URL. In most cases, downtime or outages are temporary and short, usually lasting a few minutes at the most.
However, you can cause longer downtimes if you set up your redirects too early. Always wait at least 24 hours before putting redirects in place. This gives time for the new domain to propagate across the Internet.
Should I Keep My Old Domain After the Switch?
Yes, it’s a good idea to retain ownership of the original domain for at least a year. This allows you to redirect any lingering traffic. Another reason to keep your domain name after the switch is to prevent others from taking it.
Need a Domain Name? Register a Domain Quickly with Hosting.com
Ready to register a new domain name? Looking to transfer you domain to your Hosting.com account? Whether you are looking to bundle your services or change your domain, we make it easy to register, renew, and transfer any domain in minutes. Choose from popular TLDs or upgrade to sought after gTLDs that highlight your industry and make your brand more visible. Get started with a new domain today.
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