> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.mainwp.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Changing the domain of your MainWP Dashboard site

> When changing your MainWP Dashboard domain, prevent child site URL corruption by excluding MainWP tables from search-replace operations.

When you change your MainWP Dashboard domain (for example, from `olddashboard.com` to `newdashboard.com`), some hosting platforms or migration tools automatically perform a **database-wide search and replace**. This can corrupt child site URLs stored in MainWP tables, causing connection failures.

## What You'll Learn

* How to prevent child site URL corruption during domain changes
* How to identify and fix corrupted child site URLs
* Which MainWP tables to protect from search-replace

## Prerequisites

* Database access (phpMyAdmin, Adminer, or similar)
* Full database backup completed
* List of all connected child site URLs

***

## Understanding the Risk

MainWP stores child site URLs in the `wp_mainwp_wp` table. When search-replace tools modify this table, they may:

* Replace parts of child site URLs with your new Dashboard domain
* Break connections to all child sites
* Require manual database corrections

**Example of corruption**: A child site URL `https://clientsite.com` gets incorrectly changed to `https://clientsite-newdomain.com` because the old Dashboard domain appeared as a substring.

***

## Before Changing Your Dashboard Domain

<Warning>
  Create a full backup (files and database) before changing domains.
</Warning>

<Steps>
  <Step title="Export database backup">
    Create a complete database backup you can restore if needed.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Check migration tool behavior">
    Ask your hosting provider or check migration plugin settings to see if search-replace runs on all tables.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Document child site URLs">
    Note the exact URLs of all connected child sites for verification after migration.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Plan table exclusions">
    Identify how to exclude MainWP tables from the search-replace process.
  </Step>
</Steps>

***

## Preventing URL Corruption

### Method 1: Exclude Tables with WP-CLI

When using WP-CLI for domain changes, exclude MainWP tables:

```bash theme={null}
wp search-replace 'olddomain.com' 'newdomain.com' --skip-tables=wp_mainwp_wp,wp_mainwp_wp_sync
```

<Note>
  Replace `wp_` with your actual table prefix if different.
</Note>

### Method 2: Request Table Exclusion from Host

Contact your hosting provider before migration and request that these tables be excluded from search-replace:

* `wp_mainwp_wp`
* `wp_mainwp_wp_sync`

### Method 3: Manual Domain Change

Change the domain manually by:

1. Updating `siteurl` and `home` in `wp_options`
2. Running search-replace only on WordPress core tables
3. Leaving MainWP tables untouched

***

## Fixing Corrupted Child Site URLs

If child site URLs were modified incorrectly, you must fix them directly in the database. The MainWP Dashboard interface doesn't allow URL editing for security reasons.

### Find Affected Sites

<Steps>
  <Step title="Access your database">
    Open phpMyAdmin, Adminer, or your hosting database manager.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Select your Dashboard database">
    Navigate to the WordPress database for your Dashboard site.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Run a search query">
    Identify sites with incorrect URLs:

    ```sql theme={null}
    SELECT id, name, url
    FROM wp_mainwp_wp
    WHERE url LIKE '%wrongdomain.com%';
    ```

    Replace `wrongdomain.com` with the incorrect domain appearing in your URLs.
  </Step>
</Steps>

### Fix URLs Manually (Few Sites)

For a small number of affected sites:

1. Open the `wp_mainwp_wp` table
2. Click the row to edit
3. Update the `url` column to the correct child site address
4. Save changes
5. Repeat for each affected site

### Fix URLs with SQL (Many Sites)

For multiple affected sites, use an UPDATE query:

```sql theme={null}
UPDATE wp_mainwp_wp
SET url = REPLACE(url, 'wrongdomain.com', 'correctdomain.com')
WHERE url LIKE '%wrongdomain.com%';
```

<Warning>
  Test UPDATE queries with SELECT first. Run the SELECT version to verify which rows will change before executing the UPDATE.
</Warning>

***

## After Fixing URLs

<Steps>
  <Step title="Log in to Dashboard">
    Access your MainWP Dashboard at the new domain.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Navigate to Manage Sites">
    Go to **MainWP > Sites > Manage Sites**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Sync all sites">
    Click **Sync All** to verify connections.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Test site access">
    Use **Jump to WP Admin** on several sites to confirm access works.
  </Step>
</Steps>

### If Sites Still Fail to Connect

Verify:

| Check                 | Action                                                               |
| --------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Child site accessible | Visit the child site URL directly in a browser                       |
| Child plugin active   | Confirm MainWP Child plugin is activated on the child site           |
| No blocking           | Check that firewalls or security plugins aren't blocking connections |
| Correct URL           | Ensure the database URL matches the actual child site address        |

***

## Self-Check Checklist

* [ ] Full backup created before domain change
* [ ] MainWP tables excluded from search-replace (or URLs fixed after)
* [ ] Dashboard accessible at new domain
* [ ] All child sites show correct URLs in Manage Sites
* [ ] Sync successful for all child sites
* [ ] Jump to WP Admin works for child sites

***

## Related Resources

* [Migrate Dashboard](/advanced/how-to-migrate-the-mainwp-dashboard) - Server migration guidance
* [Move Child Sites](/advanced/move-child-sites-to-another-mainwp-dashboard) - Transfer sites between Dashboards
* [Reconnecting Child Sites](/getting-started/child-plugin-5-2-1-reconnecting-child-sites-with-unique-security-id) - Reconnection process