My WordPress Site Keeps Redirecting to the Old Domain

What's happening

You moved your site to a new domain name, or from a temporary address to the real one, and it won't stay put. Type the new address and you land on the old one, or on a page that doesn't load, or in a loop between the two. Sometimes the homepage works and every link inside it points back to the old domain. Sometimes the page loads but looks broken, because its styling and images are still being fetched from the old address.

WordPress stores its own address in several places, and it uses those to build every link and to decide where to send visitors. Until every one of them says the new address, parts of the site keep pointing home.

Why it happens

The site's address is saved in the settings, but it's also written into the content of every page, into image links, into the theme and plugin settings, and sometimes into a configuration file that overrides everything else. A migration that copies the files and database but doesn't update all of those leaves a mix of old and new. A caching plugin or a hosting cache can hold on to the old pages too, so the site looks broken even after the settings are right. And if the old domain is still live and set to redirect somewhere, that redirect can fight with the new site's own.

The related but different problem is a redirect loop, where the browser gives up with "too many redirects". That often shows up here too, when the old and new addresses keep bouncing to each other.

What you can safely try

• Open the site in a private window and on your phone. Your own browser may be remembering old redirects.
• Check Settings, then General. Both the WordPress Address and Site Address should show the new domain, spelled exactly the same way, with the same https. If you can't edit them, a configuration file is overriding them.
• Clear your caching plugin's stored pages, and your host's cache if the control panel offers it.
• Note what still points to the old domain: links, images, or the whole site. That tells whoever fixes it where the old address is hiding.
• Don't run a find-and-replace on the database yourself. Done carelessly, it corrupts settings and breaks pages that were fine.

When to call us

Finishing a domain move properly means updating the address everywhere it's stored, safely, in one pass; clearing every cache; setting up the right redirect from the old domain so your search listings and old links carry over; and checking that the site's certificate, images and forms all work on the new address. We do this on business websites at a flat rate you approve before any work starts. Start with Emergency WordPress Fixes. If you're planning a move rather than stuck in one, moving in is free with any care plan.