How to Change Your Primary Domain on Bluehost

Yes, you can change the primary domain on a Bluehost Shared, VPS, or Dedicated hosting account. The process differs slightly between the Bluerock and Legacy control panels, and there are a few things that need updating afterward, most notably your WordPress site URL and SSL certificate. This guide walks through the full process.

Primary Domain vs. Adding a New Domain

Before making any changes, it helps to understand what “primary domain” means on Bluehost. The primary domain is the main domain tied to your hosting account, it was set when you first signed up. Other domains you add to the account are parked, add-on, or subdomains.

Changing the primary domain replaces the main domain identifier on the account. This is different from adding a second domain to host a separate site. If you just want to point a new domain to your site while keeping the old one, adding it as an add-on domain and setting up a redirect is usually simpler and safer than changing the primary.

Before You Change the Primary Domain

A few checks to make first:

• The new domain must be registered: You can register it through Bluehost or bring it from any registrar. If it’s with another registrar, you may need to update its nameservers to point to Bluehost (ns1.bluehost.com and ns2.bluehost.com) before or after the switch, depending on when you want the new domain to go live.
• No recent account transactions: Bluehost blocks a primary domain change if you completed an account transaction (purchase, upgrade, renewal, cancellation) within the past two hours.
• You cannot cancel newly registered domains: If you register a domain through Bluehost specifically for this switch, it cannot be refunded, it stays on your account for the full term.

How to Change Your Primary Domain in Bluehost

In Bluerock

Log into your Bluehost account. In the left-hand sidebar, click Domains, then select My Domains. Find the domain you want to set as your new primary domain in the list. Click the three-dot menu next to it and select Set as Primary Domain (or click Manage and look for the primary domain option on that domain’s detail page). Confirm the change.

In Legacy

Log into your Bluehost account. Click the Domains tab in the top navigation. Select Domain Manager. Find the domain you want to make primary, click its options, and select Set as Primary Domain. Confirm when prompted.

When the Option Is Not Available

If you do not see a self-service option to change the primary domain, contact Bluehost support directly via live chat or phone. They can make the change on your behalf after verifying your account. This is sometimes the only route for older accounts or accounts with specific plan configurations.

What Happens After You Change Your Primary Domain

Changing the primary domain in Bluehost’s account settings does not automatically update everything. You need to check the following:

• WordPress site URL: If WordPress is installed on the old primary domain, the site URL in WordPress settings still points to the old domain. Log into WordPress admin, go to Settings > General, and update both the WordPress Address (URL) and Site Address (URL) to the new domain. Without this, WordPress may redirect visitors back to the old domain.
• SSL certificate: Your SSL certificate was issued for the old domain. You need to install a new free SSL certificate for the new primary domain. In Bluehost, go to Security > SSL (Bluerock) or the SSL/TLS Manager in cPanel (Legacy) and install a certificate for the new domain.
• Email accounts: Email accounts tied to the old domain (e.g. [email protected]) are not automatically moved or renamed. You need to create new email accounts under the new domain if needed.
• Redirects: Set up a redirect from the old domain to the new one so existing visitors and search engine links still work. In cPanel, use the Redirects tool to send all old domain traffic to the new primary domain.

Updating WordPress URLs After Changing Primary Domain

Changing the primary domain in Bluehost does not automatically update WordPress. WordPress stores the site URL in its database, and if it still references the old domain, your site will redirect incorrectly or show broken pages. You must update these settings manually after the Bluehost dashboard change takes effect.

Method 1: Update via WordPress Admin

1. Log in to your WordPress dashboard at yournewdomain.com/wp-admin.
2. Go to Settings > General.
3. Update both the WordPress Address (URL) and Site Address (URL) fields to your new domain.
4. Click Save Changes.

Method 2: Update via WP-CLI (if you have SSH access)

If the WordPress admin is inaccessible after the domain change, use WP-CLI from the command line:

wp option update siteurl 'https://yournewdomain.com'
wp option update home 'https://yournewdomain.com'

Then run a search-replace to update all hardcoded references to the old domain stored in post content and meta:

wp search-replace 'olddomain.com' 'yournewdomain.com' --all-tables

After Updating the URL

• Update your XML sitemap and resubmit it to Google Search Console.
• Set up a 301 redirect from the old domain to the new one if both domains still resolve (important for SEO and preserving rankings).
• Update any hardcoded links in your theme, widgets, or page builder that reference the old domain.

SSL Certificate After Changing Primary Domain

Your existing SSL certificate is issued for the old domain name. After changing the primary domain on Bluehost, you need to reissue the SSL certificate for the new domain.

1. In your Bluehost account, go to My Sites > Manage Site > Security.
2. Under SSL Certificate, click Install or Request Certificate for your new domain.
3. For the free Let’s Encrypt certificate to issue, the new domain must already be pointed to Bluehost’s nameservers and the DNS must have propagated. The certificate typically issues within a few minutes once DNS is confirmed.
4. After the certificate is issued, enable HTTPS in your WordPress settings if it is not already active.

If the SSL certificate does not issue automatically after 24 hours, contact Bluehost support to force a reissue. Certificate issuance failures after a domain change are usually caused by incomplete DNS propagation or a caching issue on Bluehost’s end.

Final Word: Can I Change My Domain Name on Bluehost?

Yes. On Bluehost, you can change the primary domain through the Domains section of your control panel or by contacting support. The switch itself takes only a few minutes, but you need to update your WordPress site URL, install a new SSL certificate, and set up a redirect from the old domain afterward. If you just want a new domain without changing your account’s primary domain, adding it as an add-on domain is usually the simpler path. For related help on managing domains on Bluehost, see our guide on how to add a domain to Bluehost.