Transitioning from to Free Redirect Strategies

Organizations and individuals who have built beautiful, functional websites on the platform may eventually find themselves needing or wanting to migrate to the more customizable and comprehensive This change involves several steps, including redirecting traffic from the existing .com site to .org for a seamless transition. In this guide, we’ll explore how to accomplish this redirection for free, ensuring that visitors can continue to access your site without interruption.

Understanding the Differences Between and

A major misconception often surrounds these two versions of WordPress. is a hosted platform that offers simplicity and ease of use, making it perfect for beginners or those who do not want to deal with technical details. On the other hand, functions as a self-hosted platform that requires a domain and hosting, providing users with full control over their site, allowing them to install and use any plugins and themes.

Why Redirection is Important

When moving from to , you want to ensure that your existing domain remains active and that visitors can still find your content. A bot will not crawl your new .org site until it has been redirected from your .com domain. Therefore, proper redirection is crucial for maintaining your SEO efforts, reducing the bounce rate, and ensuring a smooth transition for both you and your audience.

Step-by-Step Guide to Redirect Your Site to

Below are the simple steps to carry out this redirection for free:

Step 1: Register a New .org Domain

Before you can redirect your .com site to .org, you need to get a new domain name that you will use for your .org site. You can use a registrar like Namecheap, GoDaddy, or Alden Infrastructure.

Step 2: Install on the New Domain

You need to buy web hosting and host a WordPress installation on your new domain. You can choose any hosting provider like Bluehost, SiteGround, or A2hosting. After purchasing the hosting, follow the instructions provided by your hosting provider to install on your new domain.

Step 3: Set Up the Redirection

Google recommends 301 redirects to ensure that search engines and users are properly routed from the old domain to the new domain. You can achieve this by editing the .htaccess file in the root directory of your new .org installation. Here is an example of how to set up a 301 redirect:

# BEGIN WordPress
IfModule mod_rewrite.c
RewriteEngine On
RewriteBase /
RewriteRule ^$ - [L]
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
RewriteRule .  [L]

To include the 301 redirect, add the following lines at the beginning of the above .htaccess file:

# Redirect from  to 
RewriteEngine On
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ $1 [R301,L]

Step 4: Update Your DNS Settings

Reach out to your domain registrar and point the DNS settings to your new web host. This process might take some time for the changes to reflect due to DNS propagation. You should be able to monitor the process and adjust the settings accordingly.

SEO Considerations for Redirects

When setting up your redirect, remember that Google may take some time to recrawl your website. During this lag period, you’ll need to ensure that users can still access your content without issue. This transition time is normal; it can range from a few days to a few months. To help during this period, you can implement the following SEO practices:

1. Use a noindex meta tag temporarily

For search engines to index the correct pages, you can use the noindex meta tag to prevent the old pages from being indexed until the new .org site is live and the 301 redirects are in place. Once everything is set up, you can remove the noindex tag and let Google recrawl the site.

2. Create a robots.txt file

Place a robots.txt file in the root directory of your .org site to instruct search engines on how to handle your site. You might want to include a specific directive to block the old site temporarily until the redirect is confirmed. Here’s a basic example of what the file should include:

User-agent: *
Disallow:

This directive tells search engines to avoid indexing any of your .com content while the redirect is being set up.

3. Use a staging site

Consider setting up a staging site to test and ensure everything is working as expected before redirecting your live site. This way, you can handle any technical issues without impacting your live traffic.

Conclusion

Migrating from to can seem daunting, but with the right strategy and attention to detail, the process can be made virtually seamless for both you and your audience. By following the steps outlined in this guide, you can maintain traffic, preserve your SEO efforts, and enjoy the benefits of a self-hosted platform with full control over your website.

Additional Resources

For more detailed information and guidance, you may refer to the following resources:

MDN Web Docs - HTTP Status Code 301 Moved Permanently - Changing the Site URL WPBeginner - How to Redirect Page or Post Permanently in WordPress