Moving your website to a new domain is one of the riskiest things you can do to your search rankings if you do it wrong. Every old link, bookmark, and Google search result still points to your old address, and if it just dead-ends into a 404 page, you lose the traffic and authority you spent years building.
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The fix is a proper 301 redirect setup: a permanent signal to browsers and search engines that tells them exactly where each old page now lives. This guide walks through how to plan, implement, and verify redirects for a full domain change so your rankings and visitors survive the move.
Quick Answer
To redirect an old domain to a new one, map every old URL to its matching new URL, then implement 301 (permanent) redirects at the server level — through .htaccess on Apache, a redirect plugin in WordPress, or your host’s domain forwarding tool. Submit the Change of Address tool in Google Search Console afterward so Google transfers your rankings faster.
Step-by-Step: Redirecting an Entire Domain
Start with a full URL inventory before touching anything. Export a list of every indexed page on the old domain — Google Search Console’s Pages report, your XML sitemap, and a crawler like Screaming Frog are all good sources. You want a 1:1 map of old URL to new URL, not just a blanket redirect to the new homepage, since redirecting every page to the homepage loses the specific relevance each page had and hurts rankings.
If both domains run on Apache and you have access to the .htaccess file, you can redirect the entire domain with a rule like: RewriteEngine On, followed by a RewriteCond checking the HTTP_HOST against your old domain, and a RewriteRule sending traffic to the matching path on the new domain with a 301 status. The key is using R=301 in the rule flags so browsers and search engines treat it as permanent, not R=302 (temporary), which won’t pass ranking signals the same way. Always back up the original .htaccess file first — a syntax error here can take the whole site down.
If you’re on WordPress, a redirect plugin is usually easier than editing .htaccess by hand. Plugins like Redirection let you add individual redirects or bulk-import them from a CSV file with just two columns: the old URL and the new URL. This is the practical choice when you’re redirecting dozens or hundreds of individual pages rather than the whole domain at once.
If you don’t have server access — for example, you’re on a managed platform — check your domain registrar or hosting control panel for a built-in ‘domain forwarding’ feature. Make sure whatever option you choose is explicitly labeled permanent/301, not temporary, since many control panels default to temporary forwarding.
Telling Google and Verifying the Move
Once redirects are live on every important page — especially the homepage and your top-traffic pages — go to Google Search Console and use the Change of Address tool (under Settings) to formally tell Google you’ve moved from the old domain to the new one. Google will check that your redirects are valid before letting you confirm the move, so fix any broken redirects first. Google notes this kind of migration can take time to fully process on their end, so don’t panic if old rankings don’t disappear and reappear on the new domain immediately.
Also update your XML sitemap to only list new-domain URLs, submit it in Search Console for the new property, and update your robots.txt if it references the old domain. Internally, update any hardcoded links in your site’s navigation, footer, and content to point directly to the new domain rather than relying on the redirect to catch them — redirect chains slow down page loads and can confuse crawlers.
Tips and Common Mistakes
Don’t redirect everything to your new homepage. Page-to-page redirects preserve far more of each page’s existing SEO value than funneling all traffic to one URL. Avoid redirect chains — a redirects to b, which redirects to c — by pointing old URLs straight at their final destination. Test every redirect in an incognito browser window or with a tool like a redirect checker to confirm it returns a 301 status code and lands on the correct page, not a 302 or a soft 404. Leave redirects in place indefinitely rather than removing them after a few months; old backlinks and bookmarks can keep sending traffic to the original URLs for years. Finally, update your Google Business Profile, social media links, and email signatures to the new domain manually — redirects help search engines and visitors, but updating the source link is always better than relying on a hop.
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301 redirects for domain changes FAQs
What’s the difference between a 301 and a 302 redirect?
A 301 redirect tells browsers and search engines the move is permanent, so ranking signals transfer to the new URL. A 302 signals a temporary move, and search engines may keep indexing the old URL instead of replacing it with the new one.
How long does it take for rankings to transfer after a domain change?
It varies by site, but Google has said a full migration can take time to process after you submit the Change of Address tool, so expect a transition period rather than an instant switch.
Do I need to redirect every single page, or just the homepage?
Redirect every indexed page individually to its closest matching new URL. Redirecting only the homepage sends all other traffic to a 404 or to an irrelevant page, which hurts both user experience and SEO.
Can I set up redirects without a developer?
Yes. WordPress redirect plugins, hosting control panel domain-forwarding tools, and registrar-level forwarding options all let you set up 301 redirects without writing server code, though a full .htaccess-based domain redirect may still need some technical care.
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Photo: Census Bureau of the United States / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.