# Moving a website to a new domain name

> Change your website's domain without losing your content or your visitors, then redirect the old domain to the new one.

Source: https://helpcenter.ruachost.com/cpanel/files/moving-a-website-to-a-new-domain-name/

Rebranding or switching to a better domain? You can move your existing website to a new domain name on the same hosting account. In these steps, `old-domain.com` is your current domain and `new-domain.com` is the one you're moving to.

## Before you start

- Register `new-domain.com`, or point it to your hosting account using our nameservers, `nsa.ruachost.com` and `nsb.ruachost.com`.
- [Make a backup](https://helpcenter.ruachost.com/cpanel/files/managing-backups-in-cpanel/) of your files and database.

## Step 1: Add the new domain in cPanel

1. In cPanel, open **Domains** and click **Create A New Domain**.
2. Enter `new-domain.com`.
3. To serve the new domain from the same files, tick **Share document root** so it uses `public_html`. To keep the two sites separate, untick it and copy your files into the new domain's folder instead.
4. Click **Submit**.

See [Using the cPanel Domains tool](https://helpcenter.ruachost.com/cpanel/domains/using-the-cpanel-domains-tool/) for more detail.

## Step 2: Secure the new domain

Once the new domain points to us, cPanel's AutoSSL issues a free SSL certificate for it automatically, usually within a few hours. To start it straight away, open **SSL/TLS Status** in cPanel and click **Run AutoSSL**. See [Your free SSL certificate](https://helpcenter.ruachost.com/ssl-security/ssl-certificates/how-to-install-ssl-certificate-on-your-site-using-lets-encrypt-ssl/).

## Step 3: Update your site's address

**WordPress:** go to **Settings → General** and change **WordPress Address** and **Site Address** to `https://new-domain.com`. Then use a search-and-replace plugin to replace `old-domain.com` with `new-domain.com` in your content. See [Changing the domain in WordPress](https://helpcenter.ruachost.com/wordpress/guides/changing-the-domain-in-wordpress/).

**Other applications:** change the site URL in your app's settings or configuration file.

## Step 4: Redirect the old domain

A permanent (301) redirect sends visitors and search engines from the old domain to the new one, so you keep your traffic and search ranking.

1. In cPanel, open **Redirects**.
2. Choose **Permanent (301)**, select `old-domain.com`, and enter `https://new-domain.com/` as the destination.
3. Choose **Redirect with or without www** and tick **Wild Card Redirect**, so every page goes to the same page on the new domain.
4. Click **Add**.

Keep the old domain registered and the redirect in place for at least a year.

## Step 5: Update email and other services

- Create email accounts on the new domain and set up [forwarders](https://helpcenter.ruachost.com/email/cpanel-email/setting-up-e-mail-forwarders-in-cpanel/) from your old addresses.
- If you use Google Search Console, add the new domain and use its **Change of Address** tool.
- Update your domain in social media profiles, ads and business listings.

Ruachost servers run LiteSpeed, so clear your cache (for example, **Purge All** in the LiteSpeed Cache plugin) before you test.

## Related articles

- [Configuring web page redirects in cPanel](https://helpcenter.ruachost.com/cpanel/domains/configuring-web-page-redirects-in-cpanel/)
- [What are subdomains, addon domains and parked domains?](https://helpcenter.ruachost.com/domains/dns-and-settings/what-are-subdomains-addon-domains-and-parked-domains/)