How to Easily Change Your WordPress Site URL

Learning how to change your WordPress site URL is a common need for site owners. Whether you’re moving to a new domain, switching to HTTPS, or taking a site live from staging, updating your URL settings is essential.

Many guides make this process sound complicated, involving database edits or risky changes to configuration files. But with RunCloud, you can update your WordPress site URL in seconds, directly from your dashboard.

In this article, we’ll walk through the main reasons you might need to change your WordPress URL and show you the safest, simplest methods to do it.

Why Would You Need to Change Your WordPress Site URL?

The “WordPress Address (URL)” and “Site Address (URL)” settings tell WordPress where its files are stored and what address visitors use to reach your site.

You won’t usually need to change them, but there are common scenarios where it’s essential:

• Switching to HTTPS: After installing an SSL certificate, you should change your URLs from http:// to https://. If you don’t, browsers will show ‘mixed content’ warnings, which can damage trust and hurt SEO.
• Migrating to a New Domain: If you’re moving your website from old-domain.com to new-domain.com, updating these URLs is the first and most important step to make your site functional on the new address.
• Adding or Removing ‘www’: A common setup choice is whether to use https://www.runcloud-demo.com or https://runcloud-demo.com. Once you choose, update your WordPress settings to match.
• Moving from a Temporary Domain: When moving a site from a temporary or staging domain (like dev.runcloud-demo.com) to its live domain, update the address before launch.

3 Ways to Change Your WordPress URL

Traditionally, changing these URLs meant editing wp-config.php, running WP-CLI commands, or modifying your database in phpMyAdmin. These methods are error-prone and can break your site if done incorrectly.

With RunCloud, it’s much easier. Just edit the URL field in your dashboard, and RunCloud takes care of the backend changes automatically.

Changing Your WordPress URL in RunCloud (Recommended)

Follow these simple steps to update your site’s address without touching a single line of code.

Step 1: Open WordPress Settings

In your Web Application’s management menu (on the left-hand side), click on General Settings. This opens your WordPress settings.

Step 2: Edit Your URLs

You will land on the General Settings tab. Under the Basic section, you will see two important fields:

• WordPress Address: This is where your core WordPress files are stored.
• Site Address: This is the public-facing address that visitors type into their browser.

In most cases, both URLs are the same.

Simply click into these text fields and type in your new URL. For example, if you are moving to a live domain with SSL, you would change it to https://www.runcloud-demo.com.

Step 3: Save Your Changes

After entering your new URL, scroll down and click the “Save Details” button.

That’s it! RunCloud will automatically and safely update your WordPress configuration. Your site will now respond to the new URL.

Alternative Method 1: Change WordPress URL via the Admin Dashboard

If your site is working correctly and you can access your dashboard, you can use the standard built-in WordPress settings. This works well for small changes, like switching to HTTPS after installing an SSL certificate.

Step 1: Navigate to General Settings

Log in to your WordPress site with your administrator account. In the left-hand admin menu, hover over Settings and click on General.

Step 2: Update the URL Fields

On the General Settings screen, you will see two fields that need to be updated: WordPress Address and Site Address (URL). For most standard installations, these two URLs should be identical. Enter your new URL into both fields.

Step 3: Save the Changes

Scroll to the bottom of the page and click the “Save Changes” button. After saving, WordPress updates your settings and may ask you to log in again. Your site will now be accessible via the new address.

Alternative Method 2: Change WordPress URL in wp-config.php

While the RunCloud panel is the most direct way to manage your core settings, RunCloud is flexible and never locks you out of traditional methods. Editing wp-config.php is useful if you’re locked out of your WordPress dashboard after a failed URL change.

The wp-config.php file is a core WordPress configuration file in your site’s root directory. You can easily access RunCloud using the built-in File Manager or SSH/SFTP.

Step 1: Access Your wp-config.php File

• Using RunCloud’s File Manager: Navigate to your Web Application in RunCloud, click on File Manager, and see the wp-config.php file in the main folder list. Click to edit it.

• Using SFTP/SSH: Connect to your server using the credentials provided in your RunCloud dashboard. Navigate to your application’s root directory, usually /home/runcloud/webapps/YOUR_APP_NAME/.

Step 2: Add the URL Definitions

Open the wp-config.php file and add the following two lines of code just above the /* That’s all, stop editing! Happy publishing. */ line.

define( 'WP_HOME', 'https://www.runcloud-demo.com' );
define( 'WP_SITEURL', 'https://www.runcloud-demo.com' );

Important: Replace https://www.runcloud-demo.com with your actual, correct WordPress site URL. Be sure to use https if you have an SSL certificate installed.

Step 3: Save Your Changes

Save the file and close the editor. This method hard-codes your site URL and overrides the database settings. Your WordPress site will now load from the new address.

Conclusion: Save Time and Avoid Headaches with RunCloud

Changing your WordPress site URL shouldn’t require database edits or command-line work. With RunCloud, it takes less than a minute – no risk, no downtime.

This is just one example of how RunCloud makes managing servers and WordPress easier. By handling the technical work, RunCloud frees you to focus on building your site and growing your business.

Ready to simplify WordPress management? Sign up for RunCloud today.