There are times when you might want to change your website’s domain name on Cloudways. To do this you can use the WordPress CLI. The domain name is automatically added to your WordPress database when you make your application live on Cloudways. And the WP-CLI is pre-installed on all servers that are deployed on Cloudways.
Here are the steps that you can update the domain name.
Step 1 – Connect to your Server Remotely
The first thing that you will need to do is to connect to your server remotely via SSH. This will enable you to use WP-CLI.
Step 2 – Find the Right Directory
Now you need to go to the specific directory where you can locate the webroot. This is the file that is labelled wp-config.php. This file should not be hard to find and should be central to your website's folders. Normally this is the public_html directory.
Step 3 – Replace Domain
Now you can change the WordPress domain with ease by running a command. This is:
wp search-replace
Once this has been successfully done you should see a success message.
Do you Really Want to Change your Domain Name?
When it comes to changing domain names there are a few problems that you need to be made aware of before you make the changes. The first is that changing the domain name of the website can cause problems on your website’s SEO. Google will affix a penalty to your domain if it's less than six months old.
This can really restrict your traffic to the website and can be damaging to revenues. In addition, if you don’t have control of the other domain any more, then this can cause other problems as past customers might try to access the previous domain. This can mean you loose out on revenues from past customers as well as search traffic.
In addition, you have to spend a lot of time and money on your marketing materials which will need to have the new domain added to them. This can be very expensive to do, especially if you’re a larger business which regularly uses leaflets.
You will also need to spend lots of time changing URLs on digital channels, like Facebook, Twitter and other social media channels. Many brands are listed on dozens of sites, and this can be hard to manage.
Finally, it can be hard to convert from an old domain to a new domain. Even those who are committed to the domain change can sometimes struggle to remember the change.
Final Word: How to Change an Applications' Domain Name on Cloudways
When it comes to your changing your application’s domain name on Cloudways, there is a simple way to complete this. However, you need to decide whether or not the change in your domain name is going to add value to your brand or whether in the short to medium term it will harm your business.
