How to Change Your Shopify URL: A Step-by-Step Guide

Shopify is a popular e-commerce platform that allows entrepreneurs to set up their online business with ease, and it’s likely that you’ve chosen Shopify as well. In some cases, you may want to change your Shopify URL to better reflect your brand name, or perhaps you’ve inherited a store with an existing URL that you’d like to replace. Whatever the reason, changing your Shopify URL is a simple process, but it’s important to follow the correct steps to ensure that your website remains accessible and operational.

To change your Shopify URL, you won’t need to be a tech guru, but it’s important to understand the impact this change will have on your website and your existing customers. Changing your URL may require you to redirect certain pages or update external links and advertisements to maintain your SEO rankings. Fortunately, Shopify provides tools and resources to guide you through the process of changing your URL and minimizing the disturbance to your business.

In this article, I will guide you through the steps of changing your Shopify URL. I’ll explain what you need to do before and after the change, providing tips to ensure that your website remains up and running, and your customers can continue to access it seamlessly.

Before You Change Your Shopify URL

Changing your Shopify URL can provide a fresh new start for your ecommerce platform. However, before you leap into making this change, there are a few factors you should consider in order to determine if it is the right decision for your business.

Your Brand Identity

Your URL is an essential representation of your brand. It’s important that you carefully weigh how changing your URL might affect your brand identity. Consider the following questions:

• Do your customers frequently visit your store?
• Is your URL memorable and recognizable?
• Are there any brand guidelines you need to follow?

Your SEO Ranking

Search engines take your URL into account when ranking your site. A change to your URL will impact your SEO rankings. Therefore, it is essential to plan ahead and ensure a smooth transition to your new URL without losing all your previous SEO efforts. Shopify offers an inbuilt URL redirect feature to help maintain your SEO rankings.

Your Social Media Presence

Your social media accounts promote your brand identity to your followers. When you change your URL, you must update the URL on your social media handles or create new accounts in case of a complete switch over to a new website. Failing to do so could mean losing your followers and customer base established on these accounts.

Your Website Traffic

A URL change can impact your website traffic. If your customers can’t find your store or products in search engines or via direct links, they may assume you have closed down your business. Make sure you inform your loyal customers, notify them of the website change, and provide them with new URLs. Ensure the new URLs are visible in all prominent locations and pinned on social media handles.

By taking these factors into consideration ahead of time, you can ensure that your shift to a new Shopify URL goes smoothly. Remember, making careful and informed decisions can help your ecommerce business grow and prosper!

Step-by-Step Guide to Changing Your Shopify URL

Changing your Shopify website’s URL can help you rebrand your online store, improve your SEO, or simply make your store’s URL easier for customers to remember. Whatever your reason for changing your URL, it’s important to follow the right steps to avoid any negative effects on your search engine rankings or customer experience. In this guide, I will walk you through the process of changing your Shopify URL.

Step 1: Log in to Your Shopify Account

To get started, log in to your Shopify account and visit your Shopify admin page.

Step 2: Go to Online Store > Domains

On your Shopify admin page, go to “Online Store” option on the left-hand side of the screen, and click on the “Domains” option below it.

Step 3: Click on “Add Existing Domain”

On the domains page, click on “Add Existing Domain” and enter your new URL that you want to use for your store.

Step 4: Verify your domain

Once you’ve entered the new URL, you need to verify the domain ownership. There are two ways to do this. First, if you are using a domain purchased through Shopify, you can simply click “Verify connection” next to the domain name. If you’re using a domain that you purchased elsewhere, you will need to verify ownership through your domain registrar by adding a TXT, CNAME, or A record to your domain settings.

Step 5: Update your DNS settings

After your domain is verified, you’ll need to update your DNS settings to point to your Shopify store. This involves changing the DNS settings with your registrar to include Shopify’s servers. Shopify will provide you with the details you need to update your DNS settings.

Step 6: Wait for the DNS to Propagate

After you’ve updated your DNS settings, it may take some time for the changes to take effect. This is known as DNS propagation and can take anywhere from a few minutes to 48 hours. During this time, your website may be unavailable or experience intermittent downtime.

Step 7: Test Your New URL

Once the DNS has propagated, test your new URL to make sure everything is working as expected. Check that all of your links and images are correctly displaying and that your website is properly secure with the new URL.

By following these simple steps, you can safely change your Shopify URL without negatively impacting your website’s SEO or customer experience. Remember to take your time with the process, and if you encounter any issues, reach out to Shopify support for assistance.

When you change your Shopify store’s URL, it’s essential to update your website content to reflect the new URL. This includes your website’s pages, blog posts, and any other content that references your store’s old URL. Follow these steps to ensure that your website content is up-to-date after changing your Shopify URL.

Updating Your Website Content to Reflect the New URL

1. Review your website’s pages and blog posts. Make a list of all pages and blog posts that reference your store’s old URL. This could include links, buttons, and any other mentions of the old URL.

2. Update all links and references to the new URL. Go through each page and blog post and update all links and references to your store’s new URL. This includes any internal links within your website, as well as any external links pointing to your old URL.

3. Check all images and media. If you have any images or media that reference your old URL, be sure to update them with the new URL. This ensures that all content on your website is consistent with your new URL.

4. Test your website thoroughly. Once you’ve updated all your website content, test your website thoroughly to ensure that everything is working correctly. This includes testing all links and buttons to make sure they are pointing to the correct URL.

By following these steps, you can ensure that your website content is up-to-date and consistent with your new Shopify URL. This helps ensure a seamless transition for your customers as they navigate your website.

Redirecting Your Old URL to Your New URL

After changing your Shopify URL, it’s important to redirect your old URL to your new one to ensure that anyone who visits your old URL is automatically sent to your new one. This way, you can avoid losing traffic and potential customers. Here’s how you can redirect your old URL to your new one:

1. Log in to your Shopify account and go to “Online Store” > “Navigation”.
2. Click on “URL Redirects”.
3. Click on “Create URL redirect”.
4. In the “Redirect from” field, enter your old URL.
5. In the “Redirect to” field, enter your new URL.
6. Choose the redirect type you want to use – either a 301 or a 302 redirect.
7. Click “Save” to create the redirect.

It’s important to note that a 301 redirect is a permanent redirect, while a 302 redirect is a temporary one. If you’re planning on using your new URL permanently, it’s best to use a 301 redirect.

Once you’ve created your redirect, it may take some time for it to take effect. It’s also a good idea to test your new URL to make sure your redirect is working properly.

Redirecting your old URL to your new one is a simple process that can help you maintain your website’s traffic and SEO ranking. By following these steps, you should be able to redirect your old URL to your new one without any issues.

Here’s the content for the section titled “Testing Your New URL and Finalizing the Changes”:

Testing Your New URL and Finalizing the Changes

Once you’ve completed the steps to update your Shopify store’s URL, it’s important to test the changes to make sure everything is working as intended. Here’s what you should do:

1. Test the new URL: Once you’ve updated the primary domain, check that your store is accessible using the new URL. Go to your website and make sure all of the pages, links, and content display correctly.

2. Test the HTTPS encryption: If you’ve enabled HTTPS, confirm that your website’s SSL is working properly by going to your website and checking for the green padlock in the address bar. If you don’t see it, contact Shopify support for assistance.

3. Review your SEO settings: Check the new URL’s page titles, meta descriptions, and keywords to ensure they’re still accurate. If you’ve changed the URL structure, you’ll need to update any internal links as well as any external backlinks.

4. Update your Google Analytics: If you use Google Analytics, update your default URL to the new primary domain in the property settings. This will ensure that Google can track your website’s traffic accurately.

5. Redirect old URLs: To preserve your search engine rankings and avoid broken links, create URL redirects from the old pages to the new pages. You can set up these redirects by going to Online Store > Navigation in your Shopify admin and selecting “URL Redirects.”

Once you’ve completed these steps, you’ve successfully changed your Shopify store’s URL. However, keep in mind that it can take several weeks for search engines to update their records with the new URLs. So, don’t panic if you don’t see an immediate improvement in your search engine rankings. Over time, your new URLs will replace the old ones in search engine results pages.