Changing the WordPress Site URL is a common task when migrating a website to a new domain, moving from HTTP to HTTPS, restoring a backup, or deploying a site to a new server. While WordPress provides options to update the site address from the admin dashboard, there are situations where accessing the dashboard is not possible due to configuration issues, domain changes, or migration-related problems.<\/p>\n
In such cases, updating the Site URL directly from the MySQL or MariaDB database is a reliable and efficient solution. WordPress stores website URLs in multiple database tables, including site settings, posts, pages, media attachments, and custom fields. To ensure the website functions correctly after a domain change, all references to the old URL must be updated.<\/p>\n
This guide demonstrates how to safely modify the WordPress Site URL using SQL queries, verify the changes, and avoid common issues that may arise during the migration process. Whether you are changing domains, enabling HTTPS, or moving a WordPress installation to a new environment, these steps will help ensure a smooth transition.<\/p>\n
Before proceeding, ensure that:<\/p>\n
This guide works regardless of the web server being used (Nginx, Apache, LiteSpeed, etc.) and is applicable to both MySQL and MariaDB databases.<\/p>\n
Assume your current WordPress website URL is:<\/p>\n
http:\/\/domainA.com<\/code><\/pre>\nYou want to change it to:<\/p>\n
http:\/\/domainB.com<\/code><\/pre>\nStep 1: Backup the Database<\/h2>\n
Always create a backup before making any database modifications.<\/p>\n
mysqldump -u root -p wordpress_db > wordpress_backup.sql<\/code><\/pre>\nReplace wordpress_db<\/code> with your actual database name.<\/p>\nStep 2: Login to MySQL or MariaDB<\/h2>\n
Connect to the database server:<\/p>\n
mysql -u root -p<\/code><\/pre>\nSelect the WordPress database:<\/p>\n
USE wordpress_db;<\/code><\/pre>\nStep 3: Update the WordPress Site URL<\/h2>\n
The WordPress site URL is stored in the wp_options<\/code> table.<\/p>\nExecute the following query:<\/p>\n
UPDATE wp_options\nSET option_value = REPLACE(\n option_value,\n 'http:\/\/domainA.com',\n 'http:\/\/domainB.com'\n)\nWHERE option_name IN ('home', 'siteurl');<\/code><\/pre>\nThis updates both:<\/p>\n
\nhome<\/code> \u2013 The website homepage URL<\/li>\nsiteurl<\/code> \u2013 The WordPress installation URL<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nStep 4: Update URLs in Posts and Pages<\/h2>\n
WordPress stores links and media references inside post content. Update them using:<\/p>\n
UPDATE wp_posts\nSET post_content = REPLACE(\n post_content,\n 'http:\/\/domainA.com',\n 'http:\/\/domainB.com'\n);<\/code><\/pre>\nStep 5: Update GUID Values<\/h2>\n
The GUID field contains permanent identifiers for posts and attachments.<\/p>\n
UPDATE wp_posts\nSET guid = REPLACE(\n guid,\n 'http:\/\/domainA.com',\n 'http:\/\/domainB.com'\n);<\/code><\/pre>\nStep 6: Update URLs in Custom Fields<\/h2>\n
Many themes and plugins store URLs in the wp_postmeta<\/code> table.<\/p>\nUPDATE wp_postmeta\nSET meta_value = REPLACE(\n meta_value,\n 'http:\/\/domainA.com',\n 'http:\/\/domainB.com'\n);<\/code><\/pre>\nStep 7: Update HTTP to HTTPS (Optional)<\/h2>\n
If you are migrating from HTTP to HTTPS, update the URLs accordingly.<\/p>\n
Update Site URL<\/h3>\nUPDATE wp_options\nSET option_value = REPLACE(\n option_value,\n 'http:\/\/domainA.com',\n 'https:\/\/domainB.com'\n)\nWHERE option_name IN ('home', 'siteurl');<\/code><\/pre>\nUpdate Post Content<\/h3>\nUPDATE wp_posts\nSET post_content = REPLACE(\n post_content,\n 'http:\/\/domainA.com',\n 'https:\/\/domainB.com'\n);<\/code><\/pre>\nUpdate GUID Values<\/h3>\nUPDATE wp_posts\nSET guid = REPLACE(\n guid,\n 'http:\/\/domainA.com',\n 'https:\/\/domainB.com'\n);<\/code><\/pre>\nUpdate Custom Fields<\/h3>\nUPDATE wp_postmeta\nSET meta_value = REPLACE(\n meta_value,\n 'http:\/\/domainA.com',\n 'https:\/\/domainB.com'\n);<\/code><\/pre>\nStep 8: Verify the Changes<\/h2>\n
Check whether the URLs have been updated successfully.<\/p>\n
SELECT option_name, option_value\nFROM wp_options\nWHERE option_name IN ('home', 'siteurl');<\/code><\/pre>\nExample output:<\/p>\n
home https:\/\/domainB.com\nsiteurl https:\/\/domainB.com<\/code><\/pre>\nStep 9: Clear Cache and Restart Services<\/h2>\n
After updating the database:<\/p>\n
Clear WordPress Cache<\/h3>\n
If you use caching plugins such as:<\/p>\n
\n- WP Rocket<\/li>\n
- LiteSpeed Cache<\/li>\n
- W3 Total Cache<\/li>\n
- WP Super Cache<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Clear all cached data.<\/p>\n
Clear Redis Cache<\/h3>\nredis-cli FLUSHALL<\/code><\/pre>\nRestart PHP-FPM<\/h3>\nsystemctl restart php-fpm<\/code><\/pre>\nOr:<\/p>\n
systemctl restart php8.2-fpm<\/code><\/pre>\nRecommended Method: WP-CLI<\/h2>\n
Direct database updates work well for simple websites. However, modern WordPress installations often contain serialized data stored by themes and plugins.<\/p>\n
Updating serialized data with SQL can corrupt values and break the website.<\/p>\n
A safer approach is to use WP-CLI:<\/p>\n
wp search-replace 'https:\/\/domainA.com' 'https:\/\/domainB.com' --all-tables<\/code><\/pre>\nBenefits of WP-CLI:<\/p>\n