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How to Change Shopify Domain Name

how to change shopify domain name

Imagine you have the perfect product to sell and know it can be successful. However, the name of your Shopify store doesn’t exactly match the products you have.

Fortunately, you can learn how to change the Shopify domain name. That way, your store will match the products in your inventory, so read on to learn how to update your domain.

How Shopify Domains Work

When you sign up for a Shopify account, it will assign you a subdomain, such as shopname.shopify.com. You can use that domain to manage your store and share it with other people.

However, you may not want to use that domain since it doesn’t look very professional. Fortunately, you can add or change the domain in your Shopify account.

That way, you and others can visit your store at shopname.com, for example. You’ll need to take a few steps to buy or connect a domain so that you don’t have to use the free Shopify domain.

How to Buy a Domain on Shopify

The easiest way to change your Shopify store name is to buy a domain through the platform. You can search for the name you want to see if it’s available and if so, you can buy it.

Follow these steps on how to change the Shopify domain name right within your account.

Open Your Admin Panel

First, you’ll need to log into your Shopify account and go to the admin panel. Under the Sales Channels section, click on Online Store, then Domains.

This will take you to a screen where you can buy a new domain or connect one you’ve registered elsewhere. Let’s assume you don’t have a domain and need to register one.

Buy a New Domain

On the domains screen, you’ll click “Buy a new domain,” then follow the prompts that appear. You can enter just the first part of the name, such as “shopname,” or you can include the top-level domain (TLD) or extension that you want.

The screen will then bring up a list of available domain names based on your search. You can see the most popular extensions, such as .com, but it will show you other options as well.

If a domain is available, you’ll be able to see how much it costs to register it for a year. Once you see the domain and extension you want, you can click on it to move to the next step.

Otherwise, you may need to search a few more terms if your first choice isn’t available. You can add words like “shop” to the domain to see if there are other options for sale.

Review the Details

You’re almost ready to buy the domain, but you should review your payment details. Make sure the domain name and your personal information is correct.

Next, you can check a box to automatically renew the domain each year, which will keep others from taking the domain. Another thing to consider is WHOIS domain privacy to keep your personal information off of the WHOIS database.

Make sure you also check the box stating that you agree to the terms of the domain registration. Then, you can pay for the domain registration, and it should automatically connect your domain to your Shopify store.

How to Connect an External Domain

Another method for how to change the Shopify domain for your store is to connect an existing domain. Maybe you’ve had an idea for your store for a while, but you bought the domain through GoDaddy or another registrar.

Luckily, you can use that name with your Shopify store. Unfortunately, it can take a couple of extra steps to connect the domain to your website.

Here’s what you’ll need to do to change the Shopify name to an external domain.

Go to the Admin Panel

You’ll start off with the same steps as buying a domain through Shopify. Go to the admin panel in your Shopify account and click on Online Store, then Domains.

This will bring up the same page as before, but you don’t want to click on the buy button.

Connect Existing Domain

Instead, you’ll click on “Connect existing domain.” The page will then ask you to enter the domain name you have so that it will know where to point your Shopify store.

After that, you can open a new tab and log into your domain registrar account. This could be with GoDaddy, Namecheap, or any other domain registrar.

In your domain account, you’ll need to edit the settings so that the DNS servers point to Shopify. Use Shopify’s IP address, which is 23.227.38.32, and you can set “Now” as the TTL (time-to-live).

Be Patient

Sadly, even if you set the domain TTL to “Now,” it can take up to 72 hours for the servers to update. During this time, you’ll need to use the old domain to access your Shopify store.

However, you can keep checking the new domain as it may take less time to process. You may or may not receive a notification when the process is complete.

If possible, consider not doing anything with your Shopify store for 72 hours. After the time is up, you can make sure the site is working, and you can contact Shopify or your domain registrar if something’s wrong.

Assuming everything works, you’ll need to go to your settings and find your list of domains. Then, you can make the new domain your primary domain.

How to Change the Shopify Store Name

Buying a domain through Shopify is easy because they can automatically update the domain name for you. However, this won’t update the title of your store.

In this case, you’ll need to go to your admin panel and click on Settings, then General. Under the Store Details section, you can clear the Store name text box and enter the new name so that it matches your domain.

Why Change Your Shopify Domain Name

As you start your Shopify store, you may wonder why you need to learn how to change the Shopify domain. Like any business, you need to choose a good name that explains what you sell.

Consider the following reasons why you might want to change the Shopify domain name.

Be More Professional

First, you should change your domain to make it more professional. Using a Shopify subdomain might be fine when you start, but it doesn’t look very good.

It can also confuse visitors and make them think they’re buying from Shopify, not your business. If you want to clear up that confusion and look more professional, you need to use your own domain name.

Of course, you’ll need to update the domain name in your Shopify to use the more professional domain. A good domain will cost money, but it’s a business expense that’s well worth it.

Stand Out

Another benefit of buying and connecting a domain is that it can help your store stand out. When you use a Shopify subdomain, you could accidentally choose a name that another store already uses.

However, if you search for the domain, you’ll find that someone else has taken it. Then, you can choose a different name that works well for your business.

You’ll be able to make sure the name is unique to help avoid confusion. Having a unique name can also help you create a full brand, including written content to help market your website.

Update Your Branding

Maybe you start with a store name that you love, and you don’t think you’ll ever change it. Over time, your business can grow and change, and the old name might not work as well anymore.

In that case, you might want to change the name so that it better reflects what you sell on Shopify. Developing your brand is a never-ending project, which can be frustrating.

However, you can add a new domain and change the primary domain in your Shopify account. That way, you can start to use the new name in your marketing materials.

Fix a Misspelling

Even the best writers and editors make mistakes, and it can happen in a domain name. Maybe you misspelled the name the first time, or maybe you know a lot of people misspell your domain.

In the first case, you can change the domain to be the correct spelling. And in the second case, you can add the common misspelling to your list of domains and redirect it to your main site.

You can also update a domain with a new domain extension. While this may not be a misspelling, you might have started with a domain ending in a country code, such as .us.

But as your business expands, you can change the primary domain to end in .com. That way, you can start to attract customers from all over the world.

Do You Know How to Change the Shopify Domain Name?

Whether you’re new to Shopify or not, you should learn how to change the Shopify domain name for your store. That way, you don’t have to use the default free subdomain.

You can also change the name if you ever want to update your branding. Then, you can buy a new domain or connect an external domain you already registered.

Do you want to grow your Shopify store with written content? View our pricing to learn more.

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