Moving a domain name can be a stressful and confusing process. There's a lot to consider when moving from one host to another, and it can be tempting to just try things out as you go along. But if you don't know what you're doing, there are many ways that things can go wrong—and if your site is down for even a few hours, that could mean thousands of dollars in lost sales or opportunities for your business. That's why we've put together this guide on how best to manage the migration process so that it goes smoothly.
It's easy to get excited about the idea of moving your domain name, especially if you've been thinking about it for some time and have a good reason for doing so. But don't rush things or try to do everything at once. Take your time and make sure you have enough time available before attempting a move or change in hosting provider--especially if there is any chance that users will be affected by downtime while making the switch.
You should also update your internal links to point to the new domain name. This is a crucial step in preserving rankings and ensuring that users can get around your site without confusion.
You have two options here: 301 redirects or rel=canonical tags (the latter option only works if you have control over both domains). Both methods work well, but they're not interchangeable--you'll need to use one method or another depending on how many pages will be affected by changing domains.
For more information on how best to use 301 redirects for moving domains, check out this article from Moz about how and when they should be implemented: https://moz.com/blog/how-to-301-redirect
The first step to take is to ensure that your domain name is actually available. This can be done by searching the domain name you want on a site like GoDaddy or NameCheap, where you'll see a message saying whether or not it's available for purchase. If it isn't, try another variation of your desired moniker (for example, if "example.com" isn't available but "exampleblog.com" is).
Once you've confirmed that your preferred URL isn't already taken by someone else and that it meets all relevant requirements for registration (e.g., not containing profanity), then move on to planning how best to migrate over from one host provider/platform onto another one--especially if there are any existing redirects from old domains pointing at pages currently hosted elsewhere!
We hope that this article has given you some insight into the process of moving domain names. If you follow the steps outlined above, we think it will make your migration much easier. And if you have any questions or feedback about anything else we've written here today, please let us know in the comments below!
