Blog · WebJi® India

How to Change a Website Domain Name

Quick answer

You cannot rename a registered domain, so changing a website's domain means registering a new one, copying the site to it and adding path-preserving 301 redirects from every old URL. Then file Change of address in Google Search Console and keep the old domain renewed for at least a year so the redirects keep working.

For site owners and developers rebranding or switching extensions who want to keep their Google rankings, email and links intact.

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Read time: 5 min
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Updated: 14 Nov 2026
Written by: WebJi® team

Last editorial update: 14 November 2026. Prices follow the dated sources on this page; checkout confirms current charges.

Can you change a website's domain name?

You can move a website to a new domain name, but you cannot rename a registered domain; the change always means registering a second domain and redirecting the old one to it. A registration is a fixed string in the registry, so oldbrand.in cannot be edited into newbrand.in by any registrar.

The move matters for search because Google ranks individual URLs, and the host name is part of every URL. Changing domains therefore changes every address on the site at once. Path-by-path 301 redirects tell Google each page moved, which is how rankings follow the site instead of starting from zero.

What happens to each part of a site in a domain change
Part	What you do
Old domain	Keep it registered and on a live hosting account to serve the redirects
New domain	Register it and point its DNS at the host
Files and database	Copy them and replace the old address inside the database
Email	Create mailboxes on the new domain; keep the old ones receiving for a while
Google Search Console	Use Change of address once the 301s work

What should you prepare before changing a domain name?

Take a full backup, export a list of every URL that receives traffic, and confirm you control both domains' registrar and DNS logins. The URL list becomes your redirect map and your test checklist.

Files: the full document root, including the hidden .htaccess file.
Database: a fresh dump, with the WordPress table prefix noted.
URL inventory: top pages from Search Console's Pages report and your analytics, plus the XML sitemap.
Mailboxes: every address on the old domain, so you can recreate them.
Access: which account registers each domain and which one holds DNS.

If the reason for the change is a typo in the site's visible name or logo, edit the site instead; that is not a domain change.

How do you move the website onto the new domain?

Register the new domain, point it at your hosting, copy the site into its document root and replace every instance of the old URL in the database. Do this while the old domain still serves the live site, so a mistake costs nothing.

Register the name through domain registration and set nameservers or an A record to the host. DNS can take up to 48 hours.
In cPanel, add the domain as an addon, or follow changing the primary domain in cPanel.
Copy files and import the database into the new domain's location.
Replace the old address with a serialisation-safe tool (below), never a raw SQL REPLACE.
Issue an SSL certificate for the new name; on cPanel, AutoSSL does this once DNS resolves.

For WordPress, WP-CLI handles the database replace safely. Run it with --dry-run first to see the count of changes:

wp search-replace 'https://oldbrand.in' 'https://newbrand.in' --skip-columns=guid --dry-run
wp search-replace 'https://oldbrand.in' 'https://newbrand.in' --skip-columns=guid
wp rewrite flush

Check Settings › General shows the new https address, and update WP_HOME and WP_SITEURL if wp-config.php defines them. To have WebJi® copy the account, use the website migration service; free migration is subject to terms and approval, and any paid scope is quoted by email before payment.

How do you redirect the old domain to the new one?

Add a permanent 301 redirect on the old domain that keeps the path, so oldbrand.in/pricing/ lands on newbrand.in/pricing/ and not on the homepage. Redirecting everything to the new homepage throws away the rankings each inner page had earned.

On Apache or LiteSpeed, put this in the old domain's .htaccess (replace both host names):

RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^(www\.)?oldbrand\.in$ [NC]
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ https://newbrand.in/$1 [L,R=301]

On Nginx, give the old domain its own server block:

server {
    server_name oldbrand.in www.oldbrand.in;
    return 301 https://newbrand.in$request_uri;
}

Test several old URLs before announcing anything. The response must be 301 with a Location header ending in the same path:

curl -sI https://oldbrand.in/pricing/ | grep -iE '^(HTTP|location)'

A 302 means temporary and a 200 means the rule did not fire. More patterns, including single-page and folder redirects, are in the .htaccess 301 redirect guide and redirecting a domain to another domain.

How do you tell Google the domain has changed?

Verify both domains in Google Search Console, then use Settings › Change of address on the old property and pick the new one. The tool checks that the old homepage 301s to the new site, so it only works after the redirects are live.

Submit the new XML sitemap on the new property the same day. Google says to keep the redirects for at least a year, and the old domain must stay registered for that whole time. The steps for adding and verifying properties are in the Google Search Console guide.

What else needs updating after a domain change?

Update every place outside the site that still prints or links the old address, starting with email, Google Business Profile and paid ads. Redirects cover web visitors, but not mail or printed material.

Email

Create the new mailboxes, set MX records, and forward the old addresses for some months. See migrating email accounts.

Listings and profiles

Google Business Profile, social bios, JustDial or IndiaMART pages and marketplace seller profiles.

Ads and tracking

Final URLs in Google Ads, analytics property settings, pixel domains and UTM links.

Paper and invoices

Letterheads, GST invoice templates, visiting cards and packaging.

Inside the site, canonical tags, hreflang, the sitemap and internal links should all use the new host. Ask the few sites that link to your most important pages to update their links.

How do you know the domain change worked?

The move has worked when sampled old URLs return 301 to the matching new path, the new pages load over https, and Search Console starts indexing the new URLs. A dip lasting a few weeks is normal while Google recrawls.

A drop that does not recover usually has one of three causes: old URLs redirecting to the homepage, the new site left on noindex from staging, or the old domain no longer resolving. Fix the redirect map first. If 301s test correctly and the new name still will not resolve, email support@webji.services; replies come 24/7 in Hindi and English, on average within 60 minutes.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

How long should I keep the old domain after a rebrand?

At least a year, and ideally for as long as old links and printed material still send visitors. Once the old domain expires, every redirect stops and someone else can register the name and receive your old traffic.

Does changing from .com to .in count as a domain change?

Yes. oldbrand.com and oldbrand.in are separate registrations, so moving between extensions follows the same process: register, copy, 301 path by path and file Change of address in Search Console.

Is moving to a new host the same as changing the domain?

No. A host move keeps every URL identical and only changes the server behind it, so no redirects or Change of address are needed. A domain change alters every URL, which is why it needs the redirect map.

Can I move to a Hindi-script domain name?

Yes, through an internationalised domain name such as one under .भारत. Many brands register a Latin-script name too, because most people type addresses in English letters, and point both at the same site.

What does a domain change cost?

The new registration, such as ₹1,000 a year for .in at WebJi® before 18% GST, plus renewing the old domain while redirects run. The technical work is free if you do it yourself; a migration done for you is quoted before payment.