The Ultimate Guide to Updating URLs When Moving Your WordPress Site

How to Update URLs When Migrating Your WordPress Website

Transferring your WordPress site to a different domain can be a complex task. One crucial step in this process is updating URLs to ensure a seamless transition and avoid broken links. In this comprehensive guide, we will walk you through the process of updating URLs when moving your WordPress site, using two powerful plugins: Go Live Update Urls and All in One SEO. Let’s get started!

Why Updating URLs is Essential

Before we dive into the steps, let’s understand the importance of updating URLs:

1. Improved User Experience: By updating URLs, you make it easier for users to navigate your site and find the content they are looking for, enhancing their overall experience.
2. SEO Optimization: Updated URLs help search engines discover and index your new content, boosting your search rankings.
3. Broken Link Prevention: Updating URLs helps prevent broken links on your website, ensuring that visitors always land on the correct pages.

Updating URLs with the Go Live Update Urls Plugin

The Go Live Update Urls plugin is a convenient tool that automates the process of updating old URLs on your WordPress site. Follow these simple steps to update URLs effortlessly:

1. Step 1: Back Up Your Website – Before making any changes, create a complete backup of your WordPress site to ensure you have a restore point in case anything goes wrong.
2. Step 2: Install and Activate the Plugin – Search for the “Go Live Update Urls” plugin in the WordPress plugin directory, install it, and activate it on your site.
3. Step 3: Access the Update URLs Page – From your WordPress admin panel, go to the “Tools” section and select “Go Live” to access the update URLs page.
4. Step 4: Choose the Tables to Update – Check the options for WordPress core tables in the plugin to update URLs in posts, comments, options, user data, and other areas of your site.
5. Step 5: Enter Old and New URLs – Scroll down to the section for updating old links to new URLs. Enter the old URL in the “Old URL” field and the new URL in the “New URL” field.
6. Step 6: Click Update URLs – Once you have entered the old and new URLs, click the “Update URLs” button to update all the URLs on your site.

Setting Up 301 Redirects with All in One SEO Plugin

After updating the URLs, it is crucial to set up 301 redirects from your old domain to the new domain. This ensures that visitors are automatically redirected to the correct pages and helps retain SEO value. Follow these steps to set up 301 redirects using the All in One SEO (AIOSEO) plugin:

1. Step 1: Install and Activate AIOSEO – Search for the “All in One SEO” plugin in the WordPress plugin directory, install it, and activate it on your site.
2. Step 2: Access the Redirects Page – From your WordPress admin panel, go to “All in One SEO” and select “Redirects” to access the redirects page.
3. Step 3: Setting Up Full Site Redirects – If you are merging two separate WordPress sites or setting up a new installation for the new domain, click the “Activate Redirects” button. Then, navigate to the “Full Site Redirect” tab and enable the “Relocate Site” toggle. Enter your new domain in the “Relocate to domain” option and click “Save Changes” to redirect all links to the new URL.
4. Step 4: Setting Up Individual Post/Page Redirects – To set up redirects for individual posts or pages, click the “Add Redirect” button. Choose the “301 Moved Permanently” redirection type, enter the old URL in the “Source URL” field, and enter the new URL in the “Target URL” field. Finally, click “Add Redirect” to save the redirect.

Monitoring and Fixing Broken Links

While updating URLs, it is essential to monitor for any broken links that may result in 404 error pages. The All in One SEO plugin offers a convenient solution to track and fix these errors using the Redirection Manager:

1. Step 1: Enable 404 Logs – Go to “All in One SEO” and select “Redirects.” Under the “Settings” tab, enable the “404 Logs” and “Redirect Logs” options.
2. Step 2: View and Fix Broken Links – Click the “404 Logs” tab to see a list of broken links on your website. To fix a broken link, click the “Add Redirect” button for the respective URL, enter the new URL as the “Target URL,” and select “301 Moved Permanently” as the redirection type. Click “Add Redirect” to resolve the broken link.

Conclusion

Updating URLs is a critical step when migrating your WordPress site to a new domain. By following the steps outlined in this guide, you can easily update URLs and set up 301 redirects using WordPress plugins like Go Live Update Urls and All in One SEO. Remember to monitor and fix any broken links to ensure a seamless user experience. If you found this guide helpful, we invite you to subscribe to our YouTube Channel for more WordPress tutorials and connect with us on social media. Discover how effortless it can be to update URLs and achieve a smooth transition!