If I need to redirect my WordPress site to a new domain with new hosting, how do I do so?

Question

I have a Wordpress web site but need to change the name (from abc.com to tty.com). I was planning on duplicating the old web site to the new site.

I don't want the old url to die, just in case somebody visits that site. I realize having two duplicate web sites is bad for SEO, but I am not sure what the best way to redirect the old site to the new site would be.

I have used a Wordpress plugin on another site, Redirection, which manages 301 redirects. Would that work for this site? So, for example, if I have a page /staff.html, I would enter a 301 redirect on the old site to http://tty.com/staff.html ?

On a side note, I noticed that a similar url was available (for example, tty.net). Would it hurt my SEO if I purchased that, then redirected every page url to tty.com (tty.net/staff.html to tty.com/staff.html)? Or is there a better idea?

Answer 1

Don't duplicate the site. As recommended by Google, you should use a 301 redirect.

https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/93633?hl=en

Page content added for completeness for future visitors:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1lVPrYoBkA

If you need to change the URL of a page as it is shown in search engine results, we recommend that you use a server-side 301 redirect. This is the best way to ensure that users and search engines are directed to the correct page. The 301 status code means that a page has permanently moved to a new location.

301 redirects are particularly useful in the following circumstances:

• You've moved your site to a new domain, and you want to make the transition as seamless as possible.
• People access your site through several different URLs. If, for example, your home page can be reached in multiple ways - for instance, http://example.com/home, http://home.example.com, or http://www.example.com - it's a good idea to pick one of those URLs as your preferred (canonical) destination, and use 301 redirects to send traffic from the other URLs to your preferred URL. You can also use Webmaster Tools to set your preferred domain.
• You're merging two websites and want to make sure that links to outdated URLs are redirected to the correct pages.

To implement a 301 redirect for websites that are hosted on servers running Apache, you'll need access to your server's .htaccess file. (If you're not sure about your access or your server software, check with your webhoster.) For more information, consult the Apache .htaccess Tutorial and the Apache URL Rewriting Guide. If your site is hosted on a server running other software, check with your hoster for more details.

If your hosting platform allows it then you should definitely setup page-to-page equivalent redirects or mess around with wildcard redirects.

http://www.randgroup.com/insights/whats-the-best-way-for-seo-to-forward-my-old-website-to-my-new-domain/

Answer 2

Perform a 301 redirect. Since both your websites are using wordpress platform, install this plugin, https://wordpress.org/plugins/simple-301-redirects/ (the best out there)

Install the plugin in your old wordpress site and redirect the urls you want to the new website. Thus you wont loose your visitors nor be penalized by Search engines.

Note: You need to import posts from your old website to your new website first.

Answer 3

You're right, just duplicating your site will result in a penalty from Google searches. However, a simple addition of a 301 Redirect plugin is all you'll need.

Take your pick from: http://www.wpbeginner.com/beginners-guide/beginners-guide-to-creating-redirects-in-wordpress/

Regarding purchasing tty.net and redirecting it to your main tty.com site, this is actually a good idea.

And then, just use your 301 Redirect plugin as well.