Domain Move

This guide covers installing and running Domain Move by Quintaphon (version 1.1.1), a free plugin that moves a WordPress site to a new domain with a serialization-safe search and replace. Use it before your first move and as a reference for every screen.

Overview

Domain Move finds every place your database points at the old domain and rewrites it to the new one: post content, post meta, options, widgets, menus, page builder data and plugin tables. It was built for moving the WordPress admin to a private host while a static copy of the site keeps the public domain, and works just as well for any domain change.

• Dry run first: every table, row and replacement is shown before anything is written, with before and after examples.
• Serialization-safe: serialized data is rewritten token by token and every string length is recalculated. Nothing is ever unserialized, so no plugin code runs while the data changes.
• Exact host matching: the old domain and its www. form are replaced, never a subdomain such as cdn.example.com and never a longer name such as example.com.au.
• Every link format: plain, JSON-escaped (https:\/\/) and URL-encoded (https%3A%2F%2F) links.

Requirements

Install

1. Download domain-move.zip.
2. In WordPress go to Plugins > Add New Plugin > Upload Plugin, choose the file, click Install Now and activate it. (Domain Move is not in the WordPress.org directory yet.)
3. Open Tools > Domain Move.

Before you start

1. Point the new domain at your server and add it to the web server and SSL certificate, so WordPress answers on it as soon as the replace is done.
2. Take a full database backup. A replace can only be undone from a backup.
3. Read the Health Check (see below) for anything to fix first.

Domains

The Domain Move screen is where you set up the move.

• Old domain: filled in from your current site address. Enter the host name only (for example example.com); the www. form is included automatically.
• New domain: the host WordPress moves to, for example admin.example.net.
• Below the fields you see the current Home URL and Site URL, and the StaticPush site address when StaticPush is set up. That address is always kept.

What to replace

The form remembers the new domain, these options, the skip list and the table choice for next time.

Skip list & protected settings

The Skip list keeps extra options and site meta keys untouched: one name per line, with * as a wildcard (for example my_plugin_*). Matching rows are counted as skipped in the results.

Some settings are always protected, whatever the skip list says: Domain Move's own settings and history, and every StaticPush setting and cache, including its static site address. That way the public site keeps its domain while WordPress moves.

Tables

Every table that belongs to this install is listed and selected. Use the filter box on large installs, and Select all or Select none. Option tables always run last, so the site address changes at the very end of the run.

Dry run & results

Click Dry run in the top bar. Domain Move reads every matching row in batches of 200 and shows what would change, without writing anything. You can click Stop between batches.

Results shows:

• Totals: rows to change, cells, replacements, rows skipped, unreadable values and errors.
• Tables with matches: rows, cells and replacements per table, with notes such as skipped rows.
• Subdomains left alone: other hosts on the same domain, such as a media CDN, with how often each was found.
• Email addresses found: listed when email replacement is off.
• Examples: up to five changes from each batch, before and after, with some text either side.

Run the replace

1. Check the dry run results, the subdomains left alone and the email addresses found.
2. Click Run replace. A dialog shows the domains and the number of tables, and warns you if no dry run was made with the same settings.
3. Tick I have a fresh database backup and confirm.
4. Wait for the run to finish. You can stop it between batches; the tables that were done stay changed.
5. Log in again on the new domain with the link shown, edit wp-config.php if the Health Check listed constants, and clear any page or object cache.

Private admin with StaticPush

A common setup with StaticPush: the public domain (for example example.com) serves a static copy of the site, and WordPress itself moves to a private host (for example admin.example.net).

1. Set up StaticPush and push the site once, with its static site address set to the public domain.
2. Point the private host at your server and add it to the web server and SSL certificate.
3. Back up the database, run a Domain Move dry run from the public domain to the private host, then run the replace.
4. Log in on the private host. StaticPush still publishes to the public domain, because its settings are never rewritten.
5. Point the public domain at the static host (for example Cloudflare Pages) and run a full StaticPush push.
6. Optionally turn on Private WordPress in StaticPush to hide the admin site from visitors and search engines.

Health Check

Health Check is checked live each time the page loads:

• Database tables: how many tables use the install's prefix.
• Primary keys: tables without one; their matches are counted but never changed, because a row without a key can't be updated safely.
• wp-config.php: constants that still hold the old domain.
• StaticPush: the static site address that is always kept.
• Object cache and multisite notes, and a reminder about logging in again.

It also lists the usual order of steps when the admin moves to a private host.

History

History keeps the last 20 dry runs and replaces: when, which domains, rows and replacements, and notes such as skipped rows or a run that was stopped. A replace never rewrites the history itself. Clear history empties it.

Your data

• Domain Move only changes the database rows you choose, and only when you run the replace. A dry run never writes anything.
• Serialized values are never unserialized, so no plugin code runs while they change. A value that doesn't parse is left exactly as it was and counted as unreadable.
• wp-config.php and other files are never changed.
• Deleting the plugin removes only its saved form and run history. Your content is never touched.
• No external services are contacted.

Troubleshooting

Changelog

• 1.1.1: StaticPush settings, including the static site address, and its cached data are always protected, even when the skip list is empty or edited. The skip list is only for extra options.
• 1.1.0: New admin screens in the StaticPush design: Results, Health Check and History pages. The replace asks for confirmation and warns when no dry run was made with the same settings, a run can be stopped between batches, and the form remembers your choices. Requires WordPress 6.2.
• 1.0.1: Faster batches on large tables.
• 1.0.0: First release.

Need help?

Questions about a move or a feature request? Contact us on our support page. You can also download the latest version (v1.1.1) here.