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Changing URL's

Discussion in 'Web Design and Hosting' started by WhitePhoenix, Jan 26, 2006.

  1. WhitePhoenix New Member

    Can one of you tell me how to go about changing a URL of a website? If your site is registered with a particular server, can you change the site address/name without having to cancel your registration and starting all over? Thanks in advance for any advice.
  2. Vishal P. Rao Administrator

    Delete the previous domain name first. But make sure you do not delete the directory and files asscoiated. You'll most likely have this option when deleting a domain name. If you do not have this option, do not delete the domain name. Consult your web host for a solution.

    Map the new domain name to the exisiting directory. The new domain name should then point to the existing directory and files, and should act like your previous website.

    Alternatively, if your web host allows the facility to host multiple domain names under same account, you can register the new domain name and map it to the already exisiting directory of your previous domain name. However, I'm not sure if two or more domain names can be made to point the same directory. If the above works, you can check after some time (usually 48 hrs) to see if your new domain name loads your existing web site. If yes, you can delete your previous domain name.

    Please, note that mapping usually takes 24-48 hrs to take effect. Hence do not take steps in haste.

    As a precautionary measure, I would suggest you write to your web host first if the above procedure is possible or not.
  3. netjobs Member

    Always try to backup your web files frequently... and kept with your Harddisk or CD... so that anything you have to change in your Domain or Hosting things in future, you dont have to redesign the web files once again... I have lost some files like this because of not doing the above... [IMG]
  4. WhitePhoenix New Member

    Thank you Vishal and netjobs... I copied down the directions and will experiment with this over the weekend.

    But Vishal, I am obviously very computer illiterate. What is mapping? And I gather that I have the control over that.

    My website host server is in Australia. I hope that doesn't matter?!
  5. fiberoptical New Member

    Yes you can!
  6. Vishal P. Rao Administrator

    Maping is a term used to specify where your domain name points to a physical location of the server where your domain name is hosted.

    Servers are basically two types - Unix/Linux and Windows. Unix servers are very popular and is the preferred choice of many. I'm guessing that the server you are hosted is a unix/Apache server.

    [IMG]

    In the above image, "/usr/www/username/domain-name.com" is the path to the directory where files of domain-name.com resides. So basically, when you try to access domain-name.com, the file that will be displayed is "/usr/www/username/domain-name.com/index.html" (assuming index.html is the default home page).

    The above image is just a hypothetical example and file locations will vary from server to server.

    Quoting: WhitePhoenixMy website host server is in Australia. I hope that doesn't matter?!

    No it will not matter where your server is located.
  7. WhitePhoenix New Member

    Whoa! Thank you for the additional info. Are you sure you don't want to write a 'How-To Overcome Computer Learning Disabilities' book for people like me??!

    I envy those of you who seem to know how the 'innards' of computer 'Stuff'. Any good books out there that you could recommend that wouldn't put me to sleep or overwhelm me with too much information? I'm sure I'm not the only one with this problem.
    At least, I hope I'm not!
  8. Vishal P. Rao Administrator

    Quoting: WhitePhoenixAny good books out there that you could recommend that wouldn't put me to sleep or overwhelm me with too much information?

    Internet! If you know how to search wisely, you can literally find information on anything on the Net. I owe a lot to the Net. And of course, one must have the courage to experiment with new things. Only then you can help your mind grow. And when you find and learn new things on the Net, don't forget to bookmark those sites/pages with link management tools like LinkMan or del.icio.us. Over the time, you will have built your personal mini encyclopedia which you can refer again and again.
  9. WhitePhoenix New Member

    Thanks for the direction. I always like to try new things, but honestly, the internet has just exploded in the last few years! I still remember the first commercials that said, "Do you Yahoo?" And I remember thinking, 'What's a Yahoo?' and hearing about dot-com this and dot-com that... and it wasn't really that long ago when it became popular.

    My hesitance in using the net for research is accuracy. But I suppose if you check out 2 or more sites and they say the same thing, then you can figure it's accurate information.
  10. Vishal P. Rao Administrator

    Quoting: WhitePhoenixMy hesitance in using the net for research is accuracy. But I suppose if you check out 2 or more sites and they say the same thing, then you can figure it's accurate information.

    Yes, the Internet has exploded, but if you are a regular to searching information, you will, sooner or later, develop the wisdom to quickly identify authority sites, by their design and content. For popular topics, the sites that rank well on search engines, are usually authority sites, as they take into consideration the no. of links pointing to these sites. So you can be pretty sure the information is accurate.

    For less searched topics, like you said, it pays to do proper research before jumping to any conclusions. Overall, yes, it's always in best interest to cross-check the information on 2 or more sites.
  11. cupbucket New Member

    You could just get a new url and forward the old one to the new one. Might work....

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