Domain change checklist with traffic protection

A domain change is a URL migration with a bigger surface

Unlike a restructure, a domain change moves every URL at once to a new name. The same mapping rules apply, plus three things that are unique: the whole old host disappears from the equation, SSL must be provisioned for the new name before the swap, and the old DNS must not keep serving the old site once the new one is live.

Run the URL migration planning process first; it defines the old-to-new map. This checklist adds the domain-specific steps around it.

Step 1: prepare the new domain

1. Register or hold the new domain. Confirm WHOIS and DNS access before the swap day.
2. If you keep www vs non-www preference, set the base host before migrating, so the 301s point at the version you want to keep.
3. Set up the new domain on the same host, provision an SSL certificate for it (see the SSL article for an automatic route), and test a hosts-file version of the new domain before telling anyone.

Step 2: the 301 swap

The redirects must be the first thing to change, not the last:

1. Serve every https://old-domain/path with a 301 to https://new-domain/path (one-to-one wherever possible; redirect map has the implementation).
2. Do this at the web server or CDN layer, not with a JavaScript or meta refresh (the redirect types article explains why).
3. Keep the old domain serving the redirects for months, not days. Search engines and old bookmarks will keep hitting it.

Step 3: tell the engines

1. Add the new domain as a new property and verify it (DNS TXT is cleanest).
2. In Search Console, run the Change of address tool for domain properties: it links the old property to the new one and presumes the mapping is complete.
3. Re-submit the sitemap from the new domain.

Step 4: after the move

• Watch the old property in Search Console: it slowly de-indexes old URLs and shows them in a Redirect state; that is success, not failure.
• Watch the new property's Pages report for the new URLs to appear indexed with time.
• Compare performance after a month on a like-for-like window (the performance report article explains how).

The traps specific to a domain change

The domain move is the extreme of the URL migration family; when the old domain also changes WHOIS or registrars, fold in the DNS moves guide before the swap.