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How to Change Domain Name on Wix (Step-by-Step Guide)

 Last Updated: May 11 2026
Contents [Show]
  • Before You Change Your Wix Domain: A Pre-Switch Checklist

    • Rushing a domain change can cause real problems - lost search rankings, broken email, and confused visitors. Before you touch anything in your Wix dashboard, run through this checklist.

  • 1. Understand the SEO impact of a Wix domain change

    • If your current domain has any Google rankings, links pointing to it, or indexed pages, switching to a new domain will reset those unless you redirect properly. Google treats a domain change as a site migration. With a proper 301 redirect in place, most of your ranking authority transfers over time - but it is not instant. Expect some ranking fluctuation in the weeks after the switch.

    If your current domain has zero rankings and no backlinks (for example, you are moving off a Wix free subdomain like yoursite.wixsite.com), there is very little SEO risk involved.

  • 2. Plan your 301 redirects

    • A 301 redirect tells Google and browsers that your old URL has permanently moved to your new one. Without it, anyone visiting your old domain hits a dead end, and any link equity you had built up is lost. You will need to set up a 301 redirect on Wix from your old domain to your new domain before disconnecting the old one. Do this step before you remove the old domain from your Wix account.

  • 3. Check your email accounts

    • If you use a professional email address that matches your current domain (e.g. [email protected]), those email accounts are tied to your domain. Switching domains means you will need to either migrate to a new email address or update your email DNS records to point to the new domain. Notify contacts of the change and set up forwarding where possible to avoid missing messages during the transition.

  • 4. Note your current domain's expiry date

    • If you registered your domain through Wix, you do not need to worry about this - Wix manages renewal automatically. If your domain is registered with a third-party provider (GoDaddy, Namecheap, Google Domains, etc.), check when it expires before you start the migration. You do not want your domain to lapse mid-transition.

  • 5. Make sure you are on a paid Wix plan

    • Custom domains require a paid Wix subscription. Free accounts only get a Wix-branded subdomain (yourname.wixsite.com). If you are not sure which plan covers your needs, see our breakdown of how much Wix costs and what each tier includes.

  • How to Change Your Domain Name on Wix: Step-by-Step

    • The steps below reflect the current Wix dashboard as of 2026. Wix updates its UI periodically, so the exact labels may shift slightly, but the overall flow remains the same.

  • Step 1 - Log in to your Wix account

    • Go to wix.com and click Log In in the top right corner. Enter your email address and password. If you use a social login (Google, Facebook, Apple), use the same method you signed up with. Once logged in, you will land on your My Sites dashboard.

  • Step 2 - Go to your site's dashboard

    • From My Sites, find the website you want to update and click on it. This opens that site's individual dashboard. You will see your site's stats, settings, and management tools on the left-hand panel.

  • Step 3 - Open the Domains section

    • In your site dashboard, look at the left-hand navigation panel and click Domains. This takes you to a page showing all domains currently connected to your site. You will see your current primary domain listed here, along with any additional domains you may have attached.

    Alternatively, you can access domains from the top of your Wix dashboard by clicking your account avatar, selecting Account Settings, and then navigating to Domains - this shows all domains across all your Wix sites in one place.

  • Step 4 - Add your new domain

    • Click + Add Domain (or Connect Domain depending on your view). Wix gives you three options:

    • Buy a new domain through Wix - Search for and purchase a domain directly. Wix registers it on your behalf and handles DNS automatically. This is the simplest option if you do not already have a domain. See our guide on how much a Wix domain costs for pricing details.
    • Connect a domain you already own - If you registered a domain with another provider (GoDaddy, Namecheap, etc.), you can point it to Wix by updating the DNS records at your registrar. You keep ownership and management at the external registrar. Read our full guide on how to connect a domain to Wix for the exact DNS steps.
    • Transfer a domain to Wix - Move full management of your domain from another registrar to Wix. This is a longer process (requires an authorization code from your current registrar and can take several days) but centralises everything under your Wix account.

    Choose the option that fits your situation and follow the on-screen prompts. If you are buying through Wix, the domain is ready almost immediately. If you are connecting or transferring an external domain, you will need to wait for DNS propagation, which can take anywhere from a few minutes to 48 hours depending on your registrar's TTL settings.

  • Step 5 - Set the new domain as your primary domain

    • Once your new domain is connected and verified, go back to the Domains section of your site dashboard. You will see both your old domain and your new domain listed. Click the three-dot menu (or the action options) next to your new domain and select Set as Primary.

    Your primary domain is what visitors see in the address bar and what Wix uses as the canonical URL for your site. All other connected domains become secondary and will redirect visitors to your primary domain automatically by default.

  • Step 6 - Verify the change and test your site

    • After setting your new domain as primary, open a new browser tab and type in your new domain. Confirm that your Wix site loads correctly. Check a few internal pages to make sure navigation works as expected.

    If you connected an external domain and your site is not loading yet, DNS propagation may still be in progress. You can check propagation status using a free tool like whatsmydns.net - enter your domain and look for the A record or CNAME to confirm it has updated globally.

  • Step 7 - Set up your 301 redirect from the old domain

    • Do not disconnect your old domain immediately. Instead, keep it connected to Wix and set up a 301 redirect so that anyone visiting your old domain gets sent automatically to your new one. This protects your search engine rankings and ensures no one lands on a broken page.

    In Wix, you can set up URL redirects from your site dashboard under Settings > URL Redirect Manager. For a full domain redirect (rather than individual page redirects), you will typically manage this at the domain or DNS level, keeping the old domain pointed to Wix and using Wix's redirect tools to forward all traffic.

    Keep the old domain active and redirecting for at least 6–12 months. This gives Google time to fully crawl and recrawl your site under the new domain.

  • Step 8 - Update any third-party tools and listings

    • Your new domain needs to be updated anywhere your old domain was referenced. Work through this list:

    • Google Search Console - Add your new domain as a property and submit your sitemap. Use the Change of Address tool to notify Google of the migration.
    • Google Analytics - Update the domain in your GA4 property settings if you are using domain-level configuration.
    • Social media profiles - Update the website URL on your Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, X, and any other profiles.
    • Email signatures - Update your domain across any email signatures or templates.
    • Business listings - Google Business Profile, Yelp, directories, and any citations that link to your site.
    • Backlinks - Reach out to important linking sites to update their links to your new domain, where feasible. Your 301 redirects handle the authority transfer in the meantime.
  • What Happens to Your Old Wix Domain?

    • When you switch your primary domain, your old domain does not disappear unless you actively disconnect or let it expire. Keeping it attached to your Wix site (even as a secondary domain) means visitors who type the old address will be redirected to your new primary domain. This is the recommended approach for at least the first year after a domain change.

    If your old domain was a free Wix subdomain (yourname.wixsite.com), you cannot control or redirect that URL the same way - Wix does not allow you to set up 301 redirects from free subdomains. This is one of the strongest reasons to move to a custom domain as early as possible.

  • How Long Does a Wix Domain Change Take?

    • The time varies depending on the method:

    • Buying a new domain through Wix: Near-instant - usually live within minutes.
    • Connecting an existing domain via DNS: 1–48 hours for propagation, depending on your registrar's TTL settings.
    • Transferring a domain to Wix: 5–7 days - domain transfers require an authorization code and have a mandatory waiting period set by ICANN rules.
  • Troubleshooting Wix Domain Change Issues

    • If your domain change isn't behaving as expected, here's how to diagnose the most common problems:

  • New Domain Shows a Blank Page or Error

    • This almost always means DNS propagation hasn't finished yet. Wait a few hours and try again. If the issue persists after 48 hours, go to your registrar and confirm that the nameservers or CNAME records are pointing to Wix correctly. The nameservers Wix requires are ns1.wixdns.net and ns2.wixdns.net - confirm those are set at your registrar and haven't reverted. You can also use whatsmydns.net to check whether your domain's DNS is resolving to Wix globally.

  • Old Domain Is Still Loading Instead of the New One

    • Your browser may be caching the old domain. Try opening your new domain in an incognito or private browsing window, or clear your browser cache. If the old domain still loads across multiple devices and browsers, check that you correctly set the new domain as primary in your Wix Domains settings - it's a common mistake to connect the new domain but forget to change the primary setting.

  • Can't Set the New Domain as Primary

    • Wix requires that a domain be verified and active before you can set it as primary. If the "Set as Primary" option is greyed out, the domain hasn't finished connecting yet - DNS propagation may still be in progress. If the domain shows as connected but the option is still unavailable, try disconnecting and reconnecting the domain, then waiting a few minutes before attempting to set it as primary again. If you see an error about your Wix plan, you may need to upgrade to a plan that supports custom domains.

  • Email Stopped Working After Domain Change

    • If your professional email stopped working after switching domains, the MX records for your email provider are still pointing to your old domain setup. Go to your domain registrar (or Wix if your domain is managed there) and update the MX records to reflect your new domain. If you use Wix Email Hosting, go to your Wix Dashboard, navigate to Email & Marketing, and reconnect your email under the new domain. Contact your email provider's support if you're unsure which DNS records need updating.

  • What to Expect for SEO After a Wix Domain Change

    • Even with a perfect 301 redirect setup, a domain change causes a temporary disruption to your search rankings. Here's a realistic timeline of what to expect:

    • Days 1–14: Google begins discovering your new domain. You may see ranking drops as Google processes the migration. This is normal and not permanent. Submit your new domain as a property in Google Search Console and use the Change of Address tool to speed up Google's recognition of the migration.
    • Weeks 2–6: Rankings gradually stabilize as Google recrawls your site under the new domain and transfers authority from your old domain via the 301 redirects. Sites with strong backlink profiles recover faster than those starting from scratch.
    • Months 2–3: Most sites have returned to or exceeded their pre-migration rankings by this point, assuming the 301 redirects are in place and the new domain is properly set up in Search Console. If you're still seeing significant drops after 3 months, check that your old domain is still redirecting (it sometimes lapses if you forget to renew it) and that your sitemap is submitted under the new domain property.

    Sites migrating from a Wix free subdomain (yourname.wixsite.com) to a new custom domain typically see a faster recovery since the subdomain rarely had significant ranking authority to begin with. The bigger risk in this scenario is that Google has already indexed some of your pages under the wixsite.com URL - those indexed pages will 404 since you can't redirect from a Wix free subdomain. There's no fix for this other than time: Google will de-index the old subdomain pages and reindex under your new custom domain as it crawls.

  • Conclusion
How to Change Domain Name on Wix (Step-by-Step Guide)

Changing your domain name on Wix is more straightforward than it sounds - but getting it right matters. The domain you use affects your Google rankings, your email setup, and how visitors find your site. Whether you are rebranding, upgrading from a free Wix subdomain, or replacing a domain that never performed well, this guide walks you through every step using the current Wix dashboard.

Key Takeaways
1
You need a paid Wix plan to use a custom domain - free accounts only get a Wix subdomain.
2
Set up a 301 redirect from your old domain before you disconnect it to protect your SEO.
3
DNS propagation can take up to 48 hours after connecting a new domain.

Before You Change Your Wix Domain: A Pre-Switch Checklist

Rushing a domain change can cause real problems - lost search rankings, broken email, and confused visitors. Before you touch anything in your Wix dashboard, run through this checklist.

1. Understand the SEO impact of a Wix domain change

If your current domain has any Google rankings, links pointing to it, or indexed pages, switching to a new domain will reset those unless you redirect properly. Google treats a domain change as a site migration. With a proper 301 redirect in place, most of your ranking authority transfers over time - but it is not instant. Expect some ranking fluctuation in the weeks after the switch.

If your current domain has zero rankings and no backlinks (for example, you are moving off a Wix free subdomain like yoursite.wixsite.com), there is very little SEO risk involved.

2. Plan your 301 redirects

A 301 redirect tells Google and browsers that your old URL has permanently moved to your new one. Without it, anyone visiting your old domain hits a dead end, and any link equity you had built up is lost. You will need to set up a 301 redirect on Wix from your old domain to your new domain before disconnecting the old one. Do this step before you remove the old domain from your Wix account.

3. Check your email accounts

If you use a professional email address that matches your current domain (e.g. [email protected]), those email accounts are tied to your domain. Switching domains means you will need to either migrate to a new email address or update your email DNS records to point to the new domain. Notify contacts of the change and set up forwarding where possible to avoid missing messages during the transition.

4. Note your current domain's expiry date

If you registered your domain through Wix, you do not need to worry about this - Wix manages renewal automatically. If your domain is registered with a third-party provider (GoDaddy, Namecheap, Google Domains, etc.), check when it expires before you start the migration. You do not want your domain to lapse mid-transition.

5. Make sure you are on a paid Wix plan

Custom domains require a paid Wix subscription. Free accounts only get a Wix-branded subdomain (yourname.wixsite.com). If you are not sure which plan covers your needs, see our breakdown of how much Wix costs and what each tier includes.

How to Change Your Domain Name on Wix: Step-by-Step

The steps below reflect the current Wix dashboard as of 2026. Wix updates its UI periodically, so the exact labels may shift slightly, but the overall flow remains the same.

Step 1 - Log in to your Wix account

Go to wix.com and click Log In in the top right corner. Enter your email address and password. If you use a social login (Google, Facebook, Apple), use the same method you signed up with. Once logged in, you will land on your My Sites dashboard.

Step 2 - Go to your site's dashboard

From My Sites, find the website you want to update and click on it. This opens that site's individual dashboard. You will see your site's stats, settings, and management tools on the left-hand panel.

Step 3 - Open the Domains section

In your site dashboard, look at the left-hand navigation panel and click Domains. This takes you to a page showing all domains currently connected to your site. You will see your current primary domain listed here, along with any additional domains you may have attached.

Alternatively, you can access domains from the top of your Wix dashboard by clicking your account avatar, selecting Account Settings, and then navigating to Domains - this shows all domains across all your Wix sites in one place.

Step 4 - Add your new domain

Click + Add Domain (or Connect Domain depending on your view). Wix gives you three options:

  • Buy a new domain through Wix - Search for and purchase a domain directly. Wix registers it on your behalf and handles DNS automatically. This is the simplest option if you do not already have a domain. See our guide on how much a Wix domain costs for pricing details.
  • Connect a domain you already own - If you registered a domain with another provider (GoDaddy, Namecheap, etc.), you can point it to Wix by updating the DNS records at your registrar. You keep ownership and management at the external registrar. Read our full guide on how to connect a domain to Wix for the exact DNS steps.
  • Transfer a domain to Wix - Move full management of your domain from another registrar to Wix. This is a longer process (requires an authorization code from your current registrar and can take several days) but centralises everything under your Wix account.

Choose the option that fits your situation and follow the on-screen prompts. If you are buying through Wix, the domain is ready almost immediately. If you are connecting or transferring an external domain, you will need to wait for DNS propagation, which can take anywhere from a few minutes to 48 hours depending on your registrar's TTL settings.

Step 5 - Set the new domain as your primary domain

Once your new domain is connected and verified, go back to the Domains section of your site dashboard. You will see both your old domain and your new domain listed. Click the three-dot menu (or the action options) next to your new domain and select Set as Primary.

Your primary domain is what visitors see in the address bar and what Wix uses as the canonical URL for your site. All other connected domains become secondary and will redirect visitors to your primary domain automatically by default.

Step 6 - Verify the change and test your site

After setting your new domain as primary, open a new browser tab and type in your new domain. Confirm that your Wix site loads correctly. Check a few internal pages to make sure navigation works as expected.

If you connected an external domain and your site is not loading yet, DNS propagation may still be in progress. You can check propagation status using a free tool like whatsmydns.net - enter your domain and look for the A record or CNAME to confirm it has updated globally.

Step 7 - Set up your 301 redirect from the old domain

Do not disconnect your old domain immediately. Instead, keep it connected to Wix and set up a 301 redirect so that anyone visiting your old domain gets sent automatically to your new one. This protects your search engine rankings and ensures no one lands on a broken page.

In Wix, you can set up URL redirects from your site dashboard under Settings > URL Redirect Manager. For a full domain redirect (rather than individual page redirects), you will typically manage this at the domain or DNS level, keeping the old domain pointed to Wix and using Wix's redirect tools to forward all traffic.

Keep the old domain active and redirecting for at least 6–12 months. This gives Google time to fully crawl and recrawl your site under the new domain.

Step 8 - Update any third-party tools and listings

Your new domain needs to be updated anywhere your old domain was referenced. Work through this list:

  • Google Search Console - Add your new domain as a property and submit your sitemap. Use the Change of Address tool to notify Google of the migration.
  • Google Analytics - Update the domain in your GA4 property settings if you are using domain-level configuration.
  • Social media profiles - Update the website URL on your Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, X, and any other profiles.
  • Email signatures - Update your domain across any email signatures or templates.
  • Business listings - Google Business Profile, Yelp, directories, and any citations that link to your site.
  • Backlinks - Reach out to important linking sites to update their links to your new domain, where feasible. Your 301 redirects handle the authority transfer in the meantime.

What Happens to Your Old Wix Domain?

When you switch your primary domain, your old domain does not disappear unless you actively disconnect or let it expire. Keeping it attached to your Wix site (even as a secondary domain) means visitors who type the old address will be redirected to your new primary domain. This is the recommended approach for at least the first year after a domain change.

If your old domain was a free Wix subdomain (yourname.wixsite.com), you cannot control or redirect that URL the same way - Wix does not allow you to set up 301 redirects from free subdomains. This is one of the strongest reasons to move to a custom domain as early as possible.

How Long Does a Wix Domain Change Take?

The time varies depending on the method:

  • Buying a new domain through Wix: Near-instant - usually live within minutes.
  • Connecting an existing domain via DNS: 1–48 hours for propagation, depending on your registrar's TTL settings.
  • Transferring a domain to Wix: 5–7 days - domain transfers require an authorization code and have a mandatory waiting period set by ICANN rules.

Troubleshooting Wix Domain Change Issues

If your domain change isn't behaving as expected, here's how to diagnose the most common problems:

New Domain Shows a Blank Page or Error

This almost always means DNS propagation hasn't finished yet. Wait a few hours and try again. If the issue persists after 48 hours, go to your registrar and confirm that the nameservers or CNAME records are pointing to Wix correctly. The nameservers Wix requires are ns1.wixdns.net and ns2.wixdns.net - confirm those are set at your registrar and haven't reverted. You can also use whatsmydns.net to check whether your domain's DNS is resolving to Wix globally.

Old Domain Is Still Loading Instead of the New One

Your browser may be caching the old domain. Try opening your new domain in an incognito or private browsing window, or clear your browser cache. If the old domain still loads across multiple devices and browsers, check that you correctly set the new domain as primary in your Wix Domains settings - it's a common mistake to connect the new domain but forget to change the primary setting.

Can't Set the New Domain as Primary

Wix requires that a domain be verified and active before you can set it as primary. If the "Set as Primary" option is greyed out, the domain hasn't finished connecting yet - DNS propagation may still be in progress. If the domain shows as connected but the option is still unavailable, try disconnecting and reconnecting the domain, then waiting a few minutes before attempting to set it as primary again. If you see an error about your Wix plan, you may need to upgrade to a plan that supports custom domains.

Email Stopped Working After Domain Change

If your professional email stopped working after switching domains, the MX records for your email provider are still pointing to your old domain setup. Go to your domain registrar (or Wix if your domain is managed there) and update the MX records to reflect your new domain. If you use Wix Email Hosting, go to your Wix Dashboard, navigate to Email & Marketing, and reconnect your email under the new domain. Contact your email provider's support if you're unsure which DNS records need updating.

What to Expect for SEO After a Wix Domain Change

Even with a perfect 301 redirect setup, a domain change causes a temporary disruption to your search rankings. Here's a realistic timeline of what to expect:

  • Days 1–14: Google begins discovering your new domain. You may see ranking drops as Google processes the migration. This is normal and not permanent. Submit your new domain as a property in Google Search Console and use the Change of Address tool to speed up Google's recognition of the migration.
  • Weeks 2–6: Rankings gradually stabilize as Google recrawls your site under the new domain and transfers authority from your old domain via the 301 redirects. Sites with strong backlink profiles recover faster than those starting from scratch.
  • Months 2–3: Most sites have returned to or exceeded their pre-migration rankings by this point, assuming the 301 redirects are in place and the new domain is properly set up in Search Console. If you're still seeing significant drops after 3 months, check that your old domain is still redirecting (it sometimes lapses if you forget to renew it) and that your sitemap is submitted under the new domain property.

Sites migrating from a Wix free subdomain (yourname.wixsite.com) to a new custom domain typically see a faster recovery since the subdomain rarely had significant ranking authority to begin with. The bigger risk in this scenario is that Google has already indexed some of your pages under the wixsite.com URL - those indexed pages will 404 since you can't redirect from a Wix free subdomain. There's no fix for this other than time: Google will de-index the old subdomain pages and reindex under your new custom domain as it crawls.

Conclusion

Changing your domain name on Wix is a straightforward process when you follow the right order of operations. Set up your new domain, make it primary, then redirect your old domain before you do anything else. Take the extra time to notify Google Search Console and update your third-party listings - these steps are what protect your traffic and rankings through the transition.

If you are still working out which domain to use, our guide on Wix domain pricing and Wix plan costs can help you budget the full setup.

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FAQs

It depends on how your email is set up. If you use Wix Email (powered by Google Workspace) or a third-party email service connected to your current domain, changing your domain will affect those email addresses — they are tied to the domain name. You will need to update your email provider settings to work with the new domain and set up forwarding from any old addresses to avoid missing messages. If your email is hosted entirely outside of Wix (for example, through your own Google Workspace account linked to an external registrar), you manage the transition directly with that provider. Either way, plan your email migration alongside the domain switch and notify important contacts in advance.

No. Free Wix accounts only support a Wix-branded subdomain in the format yourname.wixsite.com/sitename. You cannot connect, buy, or transfer a custom domain on a free plan. To use your own domain name, you need to upgrade to any paid Wix plan — even the entry-level tier includes one free domain for the first year. You also cannot set up 301 redirects from a free Wix subdomain, which is another strong reason to upgrade before you start building serious SEO value on your site.

Yes. Your Wix site content — blog posts, pages, images, settings, and everything else — is tied to your Wix account and site, not to the domain name itself. Changing your primary domain does not alter any of your content. The only thing that changes is the URL your visitors use to reach it. However, if your blog posts are already indexed by Google under your old domain URLs, those old URLs will return 404 errors until you set up 301 redirects. That is why setting up redirects immediately after the domain switch is critical — it preserves both your traffic and your search rankings during the transition.

Google typically begins discovering and processing a domain change within a few days of you setting up the new domain and submitting it in Google Search Console. To speed this up, use the Change of Address tool in Search Console (found under Settings > Change of Address) — this directly signals to Google that your site has moved to a new domain. Full re-indexing of your site under the new domain can take 2–6 weeks depending on how often Google crawls your site. If you have 301 redirects properly set up from your old domain, most of your ranking authority will transfer, though expect some fluctuation during the transition period.

Yes. Your Google Business Profile likely shows your old domain as the website URL. After changing your domain on Wix, log into your Google Business Profile at business.google.com, navigate to your profile's Edit Profile section, and update the website field to your new domain. This update is important for local SEO — Google uses the website URL in your Business Profile to validate NAP (name, address, phone) consistency and to understand what your business website is. If the Business Profile still shows the old domain after your site has moved, it can cause a mismatch in how Google presents your business in local search results.

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