If your business has a new name, or you've bought a better domain, you can change your hosting account's primary domain instead of starting over with a new account. This guide explains how to change your account's primary domain name, what happens to your email addresses, SSL certificate and WordPress site when you do, and the checklist to follow so nothing gets lost along the way.
What "primary domain" means
Every hosting account is built around one main domain -- the one you signed up with. Your website in public_html answers on that domain, your email addresses end in it, and your subdomains hang off it. Standard plans host one website on one domain (see One Website Per Account: What Your Hosting Plan Includes).
Changing the primary domain replaces the old domain with the new one. After the change, the old domain is no longer part of your account. That's the key thing to plan for: anything that still uses the old name -- links, email addresses, bookmarks -- needs a plan.
What changes, and what you'll need to update
| Item | What happens | What you do |
|---|---|---|
| Website files and databases | Stay exactly where they are. Your cPanel username and password don't change. | Nothing, unless your site has the old domain written into its settings (WordPress does). |
| Email accounts | Mailboxes on the old domain are moved to the new domain, so you@old-name.com becomes you@new-name.com, with the messages inside. | Update every phone and email app, and tell your contacts. Mail sent to the old address stops arriving. |
| Subdomains | shop.old-name.com becomes shop.new-name.com. | Check each one loads. |
| DNS zone | A zone is set up for the new domain on our nameservers. | Re-check custom records you added (Microsoft 365, verification TXT records, CNAMEs for outside services). |
| SSL certificate | The old certificate doesn't cover the new name. AutoSSL issues a new one once the new domain points to us. | Point the new domain's nameservers to us before or right after the change, then check SSL/TLS Status. |
| WordPress | Still has the old address stored in its database. | Update the site address and replace old links (steps below). |
| FTP and other users named after the domain | Users such as ftpuser@old-name.com usually follow the domain. | Check FTP Accounts and update FileZilla or other apps. |
Before you change anything
- Own the new domain. Register it with us or elsewhere. See How to Register a New Domain or Transfer a Domain to Us.
- Point the new domain's nameservers to us: ns5.instantaccess.net, ns6.instantaccess.net, ns1.fanaticalhosting.com and ns2.fanaticalhosting.com. Doing this a day ahead means the new name starts working -- and AutoSSL can issue its certificate -- soon after the switch. See Our Nameservers: How to Point Your Domain to Your Hosting.
- Keep the old domain registered. Don't let it expire. You'll want it to redirect visitors, and possibly forward email, for at least a year.
- Make a fresh backup. Our automatic JetBackup 5 backups run three times a week, so the latest one may be a couple of days old. For a WordPress site, create a backup in WP Toolkit just before the change (see How to Back Up and Restore WordPress in WP Toolkit). For any site, you can also download a copy (see How to Download a Copy of Your Website Backup (JetBackup 5)).
- Write down your custom DNS records. In Domains > Zone Editor, click Manage and note anything you added yourself -- MX records for Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace, verification TXT records, CNAMEs for a shop or booking service. Depending on the cPanel version, custom records may or may not carry over to the new domain, so have them ready.
- List your email accounts. In Email > Email Accounts, note every address and which devices use it.
- Pick a quiet time. Evenings or weekends are best. Email apps will show password or connection errors until you update them.
How to request the change
Changing the primary domain is done by our team, so nothing on your account is renamed until you're ready. Once you've worked through the checklist above:
- Log in to the client area and open a support ticket.
- Give the old domain and the new domain exactly as they should appear, such as
new-name.com-- withoutwwworhttps://. - Say whether the new domain's nameservers already point to us, and whether you use Microsoft 365, Google Workspace or another outside email service.
- Suggest a good time for the switch. Email apps will show errors until you update them, so a quiet evening or weekend is usually best.
We'll confirm the time with you, make the change, and reply in the ticket when it's done. Then work through the checklist below.
After the change: your checklist
1. Check the website loads
Visit http://new-name.com. If the new domain's nameservers were already pointed at us, it should load within minutes to a few hours. For a WordPress site, it may redirect back to the old domain until you complete step 2.
2. Update WordPress
WordPress stores its address in the database, and every image and internal link in your posts contains the old domain. The cleanest fix uses WP-CLI in cPanel's Advanced > Terminal:
cd ~/public_html
wp search-replace 'https://old-name.com' 'https://new-name.com' --all-tables --dry-runThe --dry-run shows how many replacements would be made without changing anything. If it looks right, run it again without --dry-run:
wp search-replace 'https://old-name.com' 'https://new-name.com' --all-tables
wp search-replace 'https://www.old-name.com' 'https://new-name.com' --all-tables
wp cache flushIf you'd rather not use the command line, log in to WordPress and change WordPress Address (URL) and Site Address (URL) under Settings > General, then use a reputable search-and-replace plugin for links inside your content. Afterward, purge LiteSpeed Cache (see How to Clear (Purge) the LiteSpeed Cache in WordPress).
Other website software (Joomla, a shop system, custom PHP) usually keeps its address in a configuration file or its admin settings. Search its settings for the old domain.
3. Check the SSL certificate
Go to Security > SSL/TLS Status. Within a few hours of the new domain pointing to us, new-name.com and www.new-name.com should show an AutoSSL certificate. Until then, visitors to https://new-name.com may see a certificate warning. See Free SSL Certificates: How AutoSSL and SSL/TLS Status Work.
4. Check email
- Open Email > Email Accounts and confirm your mailboxes now end in the new domain.
- Update each email app with the new email address as the username, and
mail.new-name.comas the incoming and outgoing server. Passwords stay the same. - Open Email > Email Deliverability and fix any SPF or DKIM problems it reports for the new domain.
- Re-add any custom records you noted earlier, such as Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace MX records.
5. Send visitors from the old domain to the new one
Because your account hosts one domain, the old domain can't stay on the account to redirect itself. Instead, use the free domain forwarding (URL redirect) feature at the registrar where the old domain is registered, set to a permanent (301) redirect to https://new-name.com. If the old domain is registered with us and you don't see a forwarding option, open a ticket.
Many registrars also offer basic email forwarding, which lets mail sent to the old addresses reach your new ones for a while.
6. Tell search engines
If you use Google Search Console, add the new domain as a property, then use the Change of Address tool on the old property. See How to Add Your Website to Google Search Console and Submit a Sitemap.
Troubleshooting
The new domain shows a "default page" or doesn't load
The new domain isn't pointing to us yet, or DNS is still propagating. Check its nameservers with nslookup -type=NS new-name.com. See DNS Propagation: Why Domain Changes Take Time and How to Check.
WordPress keeps sending me to the old domain
The site address in the database hasn't been updated, or an old redirect is cached. Run the WP-CLI commands above, purge LiteSpeed Cache, and try a private browser window.
Images are missing or the padlock shows a warning
Some content still loads from http://old-name.com. Run the search-replace again for any http:// versions of the old address. See How to Fix "Not Secure" Warnings and Mixed Content Errors.
My email app keeps asking for a password
The app is still logging in with the old address. Change the username to the full new address and the server to mail.new-name.com.
Something went badly wrong
Don't try to change the domain back and forth. Open a ticket with what you changed and when. We can help, and JetBackup can restore files and databases if needed.
Common questions
Can I keep both domains on one account?
Not on standard plans -- they don't include addon or alias domains. Use registrar forwarding for the old domain, or order a second hosting account if both need their own site.
Will my cPanel username change?
No. Your cPanel username and password stay the same.
Will the client area show the new domain?
If your hosting service in the client area still shows the old domain name after the change, open a ticket and we'll update the record.
Related guides
- One Website Per Account: What Your Hosting Plan Includes
- Our Nameservers: How to Point Your Domain to Your Hosting
- How to Back Up and Restore WordPress in WP Toolkit
- Free SSL Certificates: How AutoSSL and SSL/TLS Status Work
- How to Find Your Email Settings with Connect Devices
Still stuck? Open a support ticket and the Instant Access Internet Services team will help.
