301 re-directs - Who does these?

[wisedave]

Hello,

I have decided to move away from my current web designer and host and go with Word Press and a completely new web host.

I am going to use a new brand specific domain name (my company name) instead of my current keyword domain. I want to work on brand recognition and move away from any customer disconnect with my brand.

I know I need to do some 301 re-directs but does my new web host or old web host handle this (or both)? Also, I wanted to remove all of my domains from my old web host and transfer to the new host. If we perform the transfer, will my 'new' host be able to then handle the 301 re-directs?

I am confused to no end about this.

Thanks for any help!,

Dave

[Lorel]

Most hosts refuse to help with htaccess. You will probably need to hire someone proficient in htaccess.

Are you aware that you will have to start all over with links if you switch from an old domain to a new one. The age benefit and the benefit from keywords in your domain name will dissappear also. All 3 of those are very BIG reasons to not change domains.

You can "brand" your business with the same domain by adding your business name on the end of most page titles, in the text and in the footer of each page.

[JorgeM]

Hello Dave, I recently moved from one domain to another and I can tell you that there are alot of details to consider. Lorel is correct if you just abandon the old domain. However, with the proper redirects in place, you shouldnt loose any of your rankings. I can tell you that my experience was good and did not have any issues.

first, you need to have the new domain registered. You'll need to hold on to your old domain name for a while. I would suggest that you keep it indefinately so you can accept web traffic on the old domain.

With regard to "who does the 301 redirects." You will have to take care of this. There are several options. You have to be careful with this because some providers will do this for you, but they may do it for the entire domain name. You may not want that because you will be redirecting from old links to your new home page, rather than old links to new links. If you will be tranferring only the domain name, but keeping the content, you want to map the old links to the new links.

This is where it gets tricky. Depending on what your site runs on (PHP, ASP.NET, pure HTML), there are different ways to redirect. My new site is written in asp.net so I am using URL Rewrites to redirect users (and search engine spiders). For instance, this is an old link: http://www.anitkb.com/2010/03/active-directory-domain-name.html, will now take you to: http://www.itgeared.com/articles/1005-active-directory-domain-name/. Again, I still manage both domains and use URL Rewrites.

I also requested that google (via their webmasters tool) update the links in their database as well. They do this for no cost. It takes a few months for them to update all of their links.

I hope this information is of help. If you need further clarification, just ask...

[nichetech]

The logic that you are talking about is what I'd done in my past. I'd already shifted from my older domain to new domain. I even get benefit of backlinks which was been generated on my previous domain.

[wisedave]

Hello,

This is really interesting to me....thanks for all of the feedback!

One of my big concerns and questions is the technical side of this. Do I have to have my 'old' webhost send me my website so it can be installed on my 'new' host's servers and have them handle all the re-directs or do I just tell my 'old' webhosts that I want to point pages x, y and z to my new site and host's pages x,y and z?

I really want to move 100% away from the old host company as they always let things slip through cracks.

Many thanks,

Dave

[pritaeas]

Connect both your old and your new domain name to your new webhost. If you do that you'll be in full control of the redirects.

[wisedave]

Thanks for the input Pritaeas. So really it's just a matter of 'pointing' it rather than uploading my old website to a new webhost's server? I think I may just be overthinking this or just don't quite understand all of the backend stuff. I'll get it though!

Thanks again!

Dave

[JENNY11]

you are getting the benefits out of these so that , you have to take these steps to send links in search engine

[JorgeM]

Dave,

You do not need the old website. The redirects are handled independently of your old site. You may need to hire someone to assist you if this is really, really critical.

In summary, your old domain and new domain will need to be "linked" to the new website so that when visitors type in the old or new URL, they arrive at the same place. You will have to point the old domain name to the new web server in DNS as well.

So, on your new website, in code, you will have to have the web server read the URL and point it to the new correct location. AGain, depending on the server side language you are using (php, asp.net, html), the technique is different. If you do not have some experience with this, it may take a little while for you to read up and learn. Do you know how your site is coded?

[wisedave]

Hello ITG-JM,

My old site was a custom designed site...my new site is Word Press.

I will have a 'pro' help me out with the re-directs, but I just don't know who to ask to do what. The reason I am moving away from my current set up is because their customer service is horrible and I don't trust them to do anything rights.

The new host seems to have their poop in a group and know what they are doing.

I have asked that the domains I purchased through the old web host be released so the new host can take over. I was just unsure if I needed to pass on the actual 'website' to the new hosts or do they just take of the domain and do some technical wizard work behind the scenes.

Thanks for any help and all of the input!

-Dave

[JorgeM]

So with regard to what to ask depends on what you are moving. If the new site is hosted, just ask what options they have to help you with redirecting your old domain to new domain. If you were moving content, your goal (to not lose page rank) is to have old links map directly to new links. If they cannot do that they may still be able to do a global mapping, which would be that any link in the old domain maps to the home page of your new site. This option would eventually affect individual page rank and may hurt your organic search traffic.

You will have the most control over redirects when you host your own website and can fully manage the code.

[Zamlee]

You have to redirect through .htaccess form root or Also you can connect to your old domain with new by hosting services provider.

[isoconsultant]

nately so you can accept w

nice reply by all I think this was a intresting queston to discuss and help full also for a back end knowledge of Hosting service, but I am still confiuse how to transfer a old domain to a new one...