How to Change Your WordPress Site URL

WordPress stores two addresses: WordPress Address (siteurl), where the core files live, and Site Address (home), the address visitors type. On most installs they are identical, start with https:// and have no trailing slash. Both live as rows in the wp_options table and can be overridden from wp-config.php.

This guide is for self-hosted WordPress.org sites. A WordPress.com site changes its address from the WordPress.com dashboard instead. Back up files and database before any method below; a typo can lock you out, and the backup is your undo.

When the dashboard is unreachable, add two constants above the line /* That's all, stop editing! */; they override the database values on every page load.

define( 'WP_HOME', 'https://www.example.in' );
define( 'WP_SITEURL', 'https://www.example.in' );

The site responds at the new address immediately. While the lines exist, the two General settings fields are locked. To make the change permanent in the database, save Settings → General once, then remove the constants if you prefer to manage the URL from the dashboard.

For a one-time rescue, WordPress also supports define( 'RELOCATE', true );: visit /wp-login.php at the address you want, log in, and WordPress updates siteurl to that address; then set Site Address in Settings → General if it also changed. Remove the line straight afterwards, and do not use it on Multisite.

In phpMyAdmin, open the site's database, find the options table and change the option_value of the siteurl and home rows. The table prefix may not be wp_; check $table_prefix in wp-config.php.

UPDATE wp_options
SET option_value = 'https://www.example.in'
WHERE option_name IN ('siteurl', 'home');

Use SQL only for these two rows. A blanket REPLACE() across all tables breaks serialized widget and theme settings, which store string lengths alongside values; use WP-CLI or Better Search Replace for content. Export the database first, as shown in exporting a database from phpMyAdmin, and see the WordPress database explained for where each value lives.

When the domain changes, every old URL should return a 301 redirect to the same path on the new domain, so visitors, backlinks and search engines follow. Keep the old domain registered and pointed at the server, then add this to the old site's .htaccess:

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

Then submit the new sitemap and use the Change of Address tool in Google Search Console (it needs both domains verified). More redirect patterns are in .htaccess 301 redirects, and the wider business side of a rebrand is in changing a website's domain name. On WebJi® WordPress hosting, you can email support@webji.services the old and new addresses and support can run the WP-CLI steps during the move.