Change your domain name

Before the change

Step 1: Inventory everything that uses the old domain

Find every place the domain appears before changing anything. This list drives the rest of the plan.

• Inventory everything that uses the old domain (high risk)

Step 2: Secure the new domain and keep the old one

Lock down the new domain's registrar account and make sure the old domain can't lapse.

• Register the new domain in an account you control and lock it down (high risk)
• Keep the old domain registered and auto-renewing for years (high risk)

Step 3: Map old URLs to new ones

Decide where every old page will redirect before you build the rules.

• Map every old URL to its new URL (high risk)

Step 4: Set up DNS, certificates and email on the new domain

The new domain should resolve, serve HTTPS and receive email before anyone uses it.

• Build the DNS zone for the new domain (critical risk)
• Certificates for the new domain and every subdomain (critical risk)
• Google Workspace: add the new domain and switch primary addresses (critical risk)
• SPF, DKIM and DMARC for the new domain (and keep the old one's) (high risk)
• and 2 more

Step 5: Stand up the site on the new domain

Update the site's own settings, canonical tags and sitemap so it fully works on the new domain.

• Site and app settings that hold the domain (critical risk)
• Canonical tags, internal links and structured data (high risk)
• CDN hostnames, asset domains and cloud storage (high risk)
• Sitemap and robots.txt on both domains (moderate risk)

Step 6: Prepare sign-in, payments and integrations

Add the new domain alongside the old one wherever a service checks it, so switch day is a flip rather than a scramble.

• OAuth and social sign-in redirect URIs (critical risk)
• Inbound webhooks and API callbacks (critical risk)
• Payment processor: wallet domains, return URLs and business website (critical risk)
• Signed-in users, saved passwords and passkeys (high risk)
• and 2 more

During the change

Step 7: Switch on redirects from the old domain

Point the old domain at path-preserving 301 redirects while keeping its HTTPS working.

• Path-preserving 301 redirects from every old URL (critical risk)
• Keep HTTPS working on the old domain (and its HSTS policy) (high risk)

Step 8: Move analytics, consent and ads

Keep measurement and ad delivery working from the first visit on the new domain.

• Analytics, tag manager and cookie consent (high risk)
• Ad accounts: final URLs, tracking and domain verification (high risk)

Step 9: Switch everyday email to the new addresses

Start sending from the new addresses while every old address keeps receiving.

• Keep email to the old addresses arriving (critical risk)
• Email signatures, templates and auto-replies (moderate risk)

Immediately after

Step 10: Tell search engines about the move

Verify the new domain and submit the move once redirects are live.

• Google Search Console: verify both domains and use Change of Address (high risk)
• Bing Webmaster Tools: add the new site (moderate risk)

Step 11: Update accounts, profiles, listings and documents

Work through the places that hold your web address or old email addresses.

• Accounts registered with old-domain email addresses (high risk)
• Social profiles, handles and app store listings (moderate risk)
• Google Business Profile and directory listings (moderate risk)
• Invoices, contracts, legal pages and documentation (moderate risk)
• and 1 more

Step 12: Tell customers, partners and your team

Make sure people recognise the new domain and know old addresses still work.

• Tell customers, partners and suppliers (moderate risk)
• Brief your team: new addresses, signatures and bookmarks (moderate risk)

Verify

Step 13: Test everything on the new domain

Prove the site, redirects, sign-in, payments and email all work before you rely on them.

• Test the site, sign-in and checkout on the new domain (critical risk)
• Crawl the old URLs and check every redirect (high risk)
• Test email in both directions on both domains (high risk)
• Monitoring for both domains (moderate risk)

Clean up

Step 14: Lock down the old domain

Once nothing sends from it, protect the old domain against spoofing.

• Lock down the old domain against spoofing (high risk)

Later

Step 15: Keep the old domain and redirects working long term

Redirects, old email and printed links depend on the old domain for years.

• Keep redirects running for at least a year, ideally for good (high risk)
• Watch search traffic, indexing and 404s (moderate risk)
• Printed material, signs and QR codes (moderate risk)
• Ask key sites to update their links (low risk)