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tripletaker · Jan 29, 2006, 06:49 PM

I want to change my domain name and host. But I want to redirect anyone who tries to go to the old one to the new one. Preferably with a page that says, sorry we've moved here, please bookmark it for future reference and you will be redirected in 5 seconds or something like that.

Is this a hard thing? And I want to change to Dreamhost. =)

Cucucachoo · Jan 29, 2006, 07:29 PM

should be easy enough.

first thing i would do is get your DH account. Start up the new domain name and site. Then, transfer the old domain name to the DH account. Write the redirect page and publish it.

The redirect thing I'm not sure about. But you might be able to use something like this:

<META HTTP-EQUIV=Refresh CONTENT="5; URL=YourNewPage.htm">

Don't go betting the house that this will work. Im a total fly by the seat of my pants developer. But i have a good feeling it will.

BTW good choice on the host!

jay3ld · Jan 29, 2006, 08:26 PM

<html>
<head>
<META HTTP-EQUIV=Refresh CONTENT="5; URL=http://www.MYnewSITE.com">
<title>We Have Moved</title>
</head>
<body>
<h1>Attention!</h1>
We Have Changed Domains. Please Update your Bookmarks with the new Address www.MYnewSITE.com<br/>
You Will be Transfered to The site in 5 Seconds.
</body>
</html>

---
Thats a basic way to do it.

tripletaker · Jan 29, 2006, 08:33 PM

Thanks I will try this tomorrow. How long do you think I should keep the old site? A month after the redirect has been there or longer?

tripletaker · Jan 30, 2006, 01:31 PM

I have another question. How do I transfer the old domain name to the new domain name?

Cucucachoo · Jan 30, 2006, 06:03 PM

I think you mean transfer the old domain name to the new host?

if so there is a link in the sidebar that says "Domains" if you click it, it will drop an menu. In the menu you will find a link that says "Req Transfer". If you follow that link it will give a page that will allow you to transfer the domain name to your Dreamhost account.

The specifics is unknown to me. But I'm assuming you would just enter the name in the field and let it do its thing.

I hope this helped

Millennium · Jan 30, 2006, 07:18 PM

Are you changing only the domain name? That is to say, is the structure of your site otherwise identical?

Assuming it is, leave a small script at the old location which throws an HTTP 301 "Moved Permanently" error no matter what URL is passed into it, and then use the "Location" header to redirect to the corresponding URL on your new server. This will make the switch completely transparent for your users. Most search engines also understand HTTP 301, and when they next try to reindex the site they'll automatically update their URLs, so you can keep your precious, precious Googlejuice.

I host a site for a friend which used to be located at http://tezuka.spoonybards.net. I recently moved it to http://tezukainenglish.com, and I used this technique to handle the move. Google picked up on the switch automatically on its next reindex, and the switch turned out to be so transparent to users that I ended up adding a message just to make sure they knew that the URL had changed.

tripletaker · Jan 31, 2006, 07:08 PM

Thanks for everyone's help.

Yes, I'm only changing the domain name.