Changing your website domain or migrating it can be daunting!
We recently helped a client decide to use one of their .com and .org domains. They didn’t need to pay for two sites nor maintain two. They decided to consolidate into one (the Wix site!) and retire their WordPress blog. We were happy to help them migrate their domain, and update all their URLS in their social media.
Sometimes, with branding changes or business name changes, you may want to migrate your domain.
You can do this all at once, or one section at a time. Industry professionals say to do it all at once – with some steps in place. This process (sorry!) may cause a temporary drop in traffic, but, with the right procedures in place, you can get that traffic back up and reduce confusion for your users and the search engines.
Here is a checklist to follow while changing/migrating your website domain:
- Redirects – Ensure your old domain redirects to your new one.
- Backlinks – Although quite tedious, notify sites linking back to your old website domain of the upcoming migration process.
- Google Search Console – Update and index the new domain. Don’t forget to submit the XML sitemap to Google Search Console – and Bing too! (We can help set up Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools if you like!)
- 301 redirects – Keep your 301 redirects alive for at least a year or till the time you stop getting traffic on the old domain.
- Custom 404 Page – Create a custom 404 page on the old domain so that your regular website visitors are directed to the new domain.
- Email Addresses – Change signatures and company email addresses. Send out emails to inform clients (B2B) and customers (B2C) about the new domain.
- Banner on your site – Before you make the big change, put up a banner on the old website to notify your users of what’s going to happen next.
If you need to migrate your domain, contact us and we can set up a time to help you with this! We can also help with Search Engine Optimization (getting your site found), content creation, and website refreshes! We are based in Vancouver, BC but help clients all over Canada and the US. We are experts in WordPress, WildApricot, and small business marketing.