subject: Changing Domain Names - Two Technical Issues to Keep in Mind [print this page] Changing Domain Names - Two Technical Issues to Keep in Mind
If you have been in the online business for long, there might be a time when you may have to change your entire domain name. It is not entirely a rare situation. In fact, more and more businesses who went online with a substandard domain name are now trying to upgrade to a better name. The practice of changing domains, thus, is quite prevalent.
The process for changing domain names is somewhat complicated, and you should ideally take the help of a web developer or a SEO specialist. The biggest issue when changing names is to not lose all the search engine rankings and good will that the older name had. This is a somewhat difficult task, depending on who you ask in the industry, and your technical skills.
Technically, you will have to make use of the .htaccess file and the mod_rewrite rule to fully transfer the rankings and good will of your last name to the new one. I know that this sounds quite intimidating at first, but once you get the hang of it, it is quite easy.
The mod_rewrite rule is used to transfer a visitor who types in your old site address directly to the new domain, thereby ensuring the good will is passed on. You should ideally have a little message on your site temporarily that your site's address has changed, so as to not confuse visitors.
The .htaccess file, on the other hand, is used to redirect requests made for certain files or directories made on your site. Suppose all pictures on your site were in the directory called "images" such that the web address for the directory looked like this: www.OldDomainName/imagse/.
With .htacess, you can redirect all requests made to this directory automatically to your new domain name and the relevant directory (say, the images are located in a directory called 'pics' on the new address). Consequently, anyone who types in the address above will be taken to www.NewDomainName/pics/ instead automatically.
These are the two main technical issues related to changing domain names. I won't say that they are particularly easy for the technically challenged. That is why I recommend that you take the help of a professional. You don't want to mess things up and lose all the years of hard work put into cementing the rankings of your old site.
