Changing Domain Name
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Hi all,
A client has just got their .edu domain and they want to change their current domain name (a .com) to this new .edu domain. The domain's CMS is Wordpress.
Please correct me if I'm wrong, but basically I will need to create a new site (but they want to keep current design), move everything across to the new domain name, and 301 URL per URL?
What about all the citations that the old URLs have gotten? The website is listed on Google listings/maps for some of their local keywords. Is there anyway to preserve this? Thank you all in advance.
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If you do as Fransisco says, and move the entire site correctly...you should just go to Google Webmaster tools and move the URLs there.
If you have GWT approved for both domains, you just follow the guide in there to move the site from a Google perspective.
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If you have mentioned the URL in citations and also have applied 301, then users will be redirected to new domain automatically.
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If the current domain is a WP site and the new .edu is going to be a WP site too, then this is easy. Export the sql file (mysql) through myphp admin so you have a back up. Copy all the files via FTP.
Upload the WP files you copied and hook them up to the same database.
You can have many websites pulling the same information from the same database. 301 the old URLs.
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