To establish a successful business, having a catchy NZ domain name is essential. The domain name of a business is reflected everywhere, from social media to the website.
Without a good domain name, your customers will likely forget your brand exists. However, what if you are already signed up to a domain host and have chosen a domain name but want to change it?
You might want to change your domain name to enhance your SEO, increase web traffic, build more user-friendly URL etc. However, there are certain risks involved while changing domain names, such as loss of traffic, drop in brand awareness, impact on SEO and more.
Let’s see how you can properly change domain names and avoid the risk involved.
Steps You Should Consider Taking to Successfully Change Your Domain Name
1. Consider Why You Want to Get a New Domain Name
It is essential to know why you want to switch your domain name. Perhaps you want to change your longer address to a shorter one. Or maybe you want to change your domain extensions from .com to .club or .biz to .com.
Whatever your reasons for changing your domain name, it is essential that you figure them out well ahead of time. This will ensure that you do not have any doubts when it comes to actually changing your domain name, as this might take some time and there is no guarantee that the process will be painless and swift.
2. Backup The Content of Your Website
Before switching your domain name, it is recommended to back up the content of your website as a safety precaution. If any issues arise in transit, you will have a copy of your past content and can restart the process completely or continue from where you left off.
3. Researching Your Domain Host’s Features
Check if you can change your domain name through your current website builder or hosting provider before booking a new provider. If your existing domain host does not provide easy migration options, you can always opt for a new host and purchase/book their services ahead of time.
4. Download the Backup File to Your Computer
It is always smart to download all the backed-up files before changing the domain name. This way, you can have a copy if anything goes wrong and you are required to revert to the old version of your site, or you can just host them yourself.
While some domain and hosting providers will keep a copy for you, having a backup (or multiple) for you. Is it a good idea
5. Start Migration From One Domain To the Other
If you are already using WordPress or switching to WordPress from another platform, transferring all your website and blog content could be simplified by utilising a migration plugin. Plugins like Migrate Guru, Duplicator, and All-In-One WP Migration can help users migrate a site to WordPress without any downtime and little technical knowledge.
It is recommended that both the old domain and hosting account be paid for throughout the migration process as a safety precaution. You can also park the new domain name while you develop your new website.
Parked domains are not linked to any web service or website. However, it is an essential step you can take to avoid losing your domain name to another user while your new website is being developed.
After migrating, the next most important step is setting up a 301 redirect for your old content to avoid losing your SEO work or traffic. Let’s see how 301 redirect works-
Steps to Setup 301 Redirect
- Visit your old domain.
- Go to the admin section of the hosting account.
- Select “301 Redirect”
- Type in your new domain name and redirect location.
- Press save. A redirect code will appear at the bottom of the page.
To Wrap It Up
Changing your domain name can be challenging if the process is not handled correctly or planned thoroughly.
Though it can be a time-consuming process that requires much effort, planning, and consideration in the implementation stage, selecting a domain name that offers greater visibility and credibility to your business can be worthwhile.