Redirecting A WordPress Blog To A New Domain
If all you want to do is redirect a wordpress blog to a new domain, then it really is a simple task of creating a .htaccess file using notepad and uploading it to the root of your server.
Simple though it is, I spent almost the entire day yesterday trying to find the right solution. It was clear from the articles I read that using a 301 (permanent redirect) rather than a 302 (temporary redirect) was the way to go if I wanted to maintain both traffic from the old blog to the new blog and, to maintain the incoming links. SEO wise, you just need to know though that using a 301 redirect is the way to go.
So, here are the steps I took to redirect the posts, pages, comments and categories from my old blog at TrishJones.com to my new blog here at BlogMarketingMix.com.
- The VERY first thing you want to do if you use the method I’m using to is ensure you DON’T allow search engine traffic to your old blog until the new one has been redirected. Yes, it could take time for the search engines to notice you have two identical blogs with identical content, but simply going to “Settings” and then “Privacy” in the dashboard and selecting the second option (to disallow the search engine spiders), you will be confident that you don’t have to try going to the search engines to explain your actions.
- In terms of moving the blog, the first thing I did was backed up my files and transferred them over to the new domain.
Now, trying to move the database from one blog to another blog is NOT the easiest thing in the world to do and I cheated! I exported the XML file of the old blog (TrishJones.com) by going to “Tools” and then “Export” within the WordPress dashboard and then, I used phpMyAdmin within the control panel of the new blog (BlogMarketingMix.com) to import the xml file. This imports all of my posts, pages, comments and categories but, it doesn’t import my new password, widgets etc. So, you have to decide which is most beneficial to you.Here are two posts you might find helpful if you decide you want to move the entire database:
http://yoast.com/move-wordpress-blog-domain-10-steps/
http://www.seoblogr.com/social/how-to-move-wordpress-blog-from-old-domain-to-new-domain-with-301-permanent-redirection/ - The next step was to either create a .htaccess file or, in my case, modify one I already had. This is what my .htaccess file looked like and you can copy this and just change the domain name:
# BEGIN WordPress
Options +FollowSymLinks
RewriteEngine on
RewriteRule (.*) http://www.yourdomainname.com/$1 [R=301,L]
# END WordPress
- Now you want to upload the .htaccess file to the “ROOT” of the server of the old blog – in my case, TrishJones.com. In other words, the same folder where your index.php file sits.
Now all of your links and the traffic that currently went to your old blog, will be redirected to your new blog. Be a little patient though, the pages have to be cached and you might notice broken links and 404 pages for the first few minutes at least.
Now, use this site to be sure your blog is being redirected as it should be: http://www.webconfs.com/redirect-check.php
Once I realized I was uploading the wrong .htaccess file each time, I could not believe how easy a process this was!
Hope it helps you,
The New Featured Content Gallery Plugin
If you’re using the Featured Content Gallery plugin in conjunction with your WordPress blog, you have got to go check out the updated version.
Since around October last year, I started building most of my clients blogs using the Revolution theme (now StudioPress) because this was their preference – it helped a lot that I’d switched over to the Revolution theme too – but, for some, managing the Featured Content Gallery was just too much.
It takes me about an extra 10 minutes after writing my blog post to create an image and add it to the gallery (once I’ve found the image that is), but for those that are not so tech savvy, it was just such a daunting task and often, either the blog publishers just wouldn’t update their posts (not a good idea) for fear of messing up the gallery or, they’d ask me to help out or, if you visited their blog, you’d just get this:
I’m sure you’ll agree, not a pretty sight.
Then one of my smart clients asked “can I link the gallery images to pages rather than posts?” Which, I discovered you could but this required some playing around with the PHP code and my fear really was whether they would be able to manage the changes once I handed the completed blog over to them.
Well recently, the developers of the plugin made me and my clients, very happy people!
They updated the Featured Content Gallery to allow the publishing of both posts and pages in the same gallery by enabling you to add the page or post ID in the plugin options.
For my clients, who are mainly service providers, this is a BIG plus since they can utilize that virtual real estate to advertise their services and, I’m sure the affiliate marketers have welcomed this ability to use that space for advertising too.
The great thing is, there is more to come. I know the developers are also looking to add a video feature to the plugin, enabling you to show your blog posts, pages and video all in the same featured gallery. In a more recent update, they added a slide feature so the images change in a slide motion rather than each image appearing and then disappearing … quite cool.
If you’re still using the old FCG and want to make the maximum use of that space, I suggest you go check out the features of the new plugin. On the developer’s site, you’ll find a step-by-step guide on how to install or upgrade the plugin and, in the past few days, they’ve added a comprehensive step-by-step video which includes some great customisation tips. And, I’m sure you’ll be pleased to know that it’s compatible with WordPress 2.7.1.
One thing you must remember to do if you already have the Featured Content Gallery installed, is to replace the existing PHP code with this one:
<?php include (ABSPATH . '/wp-content/plugins/featured-content-gallery/gallery.php'); ?>
The only difference is that the new folder is called the “featured-content-gallery” and not “content-gallery” but you’ll get an error in it’s place if you don’t change this.
If I’ve confused you, don’t despair, the videos on the site are very clear and there is also a support forum.
Hope you enjoy using this plugin as much as I have.
