Businesses may undergo a series of changes and rebrands throughout the lifetime of the business.
If you sell online on Shopify, your online assets must be updated alongside your rebrands.
In this guide, we’ll discuss how to change Shopify domain name and store name, as well as detail the various ways you can go about these procedures for your online store.
There are numerous benefits to updating the Shopify domain and store name. These include brand affinity, SEO, sales, and some more that we’ll get into later.
Shopify Domain Name vs. Shopify Store Name
The Shopify domain name and the Shopify store name are two totally different things. However, they’re both integral identifying elements of an online brand.
So, you can’t just update one of them. You’ll have to update them both.
What is Your Shopify Domain Name?
It’s crucial to note that a domain is more than just the name seen on the URL bar.
It’s the online pillar that your entire online business rests upon. So, it’s of utmost importance that you keep your domain secure and guard it like your credit cards.
With that said,
The Shopify domain name is the domain that the store is hosted on.
Think of it like a radio channel’s frequency or a television network’s channel. The domain name is your online store’s address in the vast online world.
It’s something like “www.bespokeshirtsandshoes.com,” for example.
This also means that the domain name is an identifying mark of your online business
Furthermore, the domain name is the Shopify URL that site visitors will see on the address bar. Through this address, potential site visitors can visit your site.
Apart from web browsing, your domain name also identifies the individuals of your company when you send emails.
You may usually see business emails containing the domain of the company they’re representing.
So, when someone like “nancy@bespokeshirtsandshoes”, for example, reaches out to a long-time client over email, that client will see the sender’s domain, “@bespokeshirtsandshoes.”
As a result, this informs the recipient that they are communicating with someone from the company, establishing trust and security with the recipient.
What is Your Shopify Store Name?
Your store name, on the other hand, is an identifier for your online store — useful for managing multiple stores and businesses.
However, the store name appears in the following places that are in full view of the public:
- On the browser tab
- On the website header (unless you’ve added a custom logo)
- Various emails sent to customers (e.g., confirmation emails)
- If you’re using a myshopify.com domain, the store name will appear before the domain.
So, it won’t be a good idea to name your store something like “Store A,” or “Store B,” or as if you’re choosing an online username.
Give your store name the proper identifying element for your brand.
Ideally, the store name should contain the brand name.
Benefits of Updating Your Domain Name and Store Name
By default, new Shopify users are given a myshopify.com domain.
This is fine, but there are a handful of benefits that having an on-brand custom domain brings to your online business.
Some Shopify merchants already have a custom domain of their own.
But if their business is going through a rebrand, updating their Shopify domain can bring a whole basket of opportunities as well.
These include:
Brand Reinforcement
One of the most obvious reasons why merchants would want to update their domain name and store name is brand reinforcement.
If a business undergoes any sort of rebranding that involves changing the brand name, the Shopify domain name and store name should reflect this name change.
The very essence of a name change is so that the brand is recognized by a new name — as if they’re a different person. It wouldn’t be beneficial to the rebranding campaign if the store’s domain and name still bear the original title; even if shopify collabs and influencer campaigns were part of the rebranding
This may result in either:
- The rebranding is a success in other areas (e.g., social media, traditional media) but the store name and domain are completely unrecognized due to not being updated with the rebrand, or
- The rebranding isn’t effective because people keep navigating to the old domain and associating the brand with that name, holding back rebranding efforts.
Updating the domain and store name allows a brand’s website to keep up with its rebranding efforts, resulting in a more effective brand overhaul.
SEO
Brand recognition is useless if people can’t search for your brand’s name to navigate to your website.
You’d want your Shopify site to be optimized for your brand’s name when it’s typed into search engines. To do that, you’ll need to update your domain name and store name accordingly.
Make sure that your domain name and store name properly reflect the navigational search query you’re aiming for — in this case, your brand’s name.
How to Change Shopify Domain Name
There are two main ways to change your Shopify domain name — 1) buy a new domain from Shopify, and 2) use an existing domain.
Buy a New Domain from Shopify
Whether you use the default myshopify.com domain or have your own custom domain, the steps for buying a new domain from Shopify remain the same.
From the Shopify admin, click on “Settings” on the lower left.
On the left hand side menu of the settings page, click on the “Domains” tab.
You’ll be presented with three options — 1) connect an existing domain, 2) transfer domain, and 3) buy a new domain.
For now, let’s click on “Buy new domain.”
You’ll be presented with a search box.
Typing into this search box will present a list of available domains and their corresponding prices. Ideally, you’d want to see if a domain representing your desired brand name is available.
So, we recommend to type into the search box your brand name.
Shopify will then present variations and suggestions based on your brand name.
Select the one that you feel best represents your brand and fits your budget.
Click the “Buy” button next to it.
Verify the details at checkout. You also have the option to enable annual auto-renew.
Once everything looks okay, click on “Buy Domain.”
This will finalize your purchase of your desired domain.
Great! You’ve bought a new domain for your Shopify store.
However, it won’t be active unless you set it as your store’s new URL. For more instructions on how to do that, skip to the “Update Your Store URL” section of this guide.
Use an Existing Domain
Perhaps the business already has a domain outside Shopify, maybe one that has a better domain rating. Or they might be actively looking for domains but aren’t turning to Shopify’s domains.
In these instances, Shopify allows merchants to use an already-existing domain and connect it to the store.
These next sections will be a bit more advanced, so it’s recommended to grasp first the basics such as how does shopify work before moving on.
There are a few reasons why merchants would want to purchase a domain outside of Shopify.
- Wider availability of domain names outside of Shopify. Compared to dedicated domain registrars, Shopify’s selection of domains may be limited.
- Risk management. While Shopify offers tremendous utility for your online business, it is not a specialized and dedicated domain name provider. So, if something were to happen to your Shopify account (e.g., Shopify ban, malicious hacking intent, etc.), you may lose your domain as well.
- Affordability. Some merchants may find it more affordable to acquire domains from other domain providers than getting them from Shopify.
Features. There is a barrel full of dedicated domain name registrars that offer additional features with their domains that may be beneficial to your online business in terms of customer experience, cybersecurity, and SEO. These include SSL certificates, privacy protection features, email hosting, and more.
Where to Get Reliable Third-Party Domains
If you prefer to acquire your domain outside Shopify, we have a few suggestions on other domain registrars to check out — all of which are popular and reliable choices.
Namecheap
Namecheap is one of the most affordable providers of domains. As of writing, they’re giving .com domains for $5.98 for the first year to newly registered customers.
Their regular renewal price is $15.88 every year.
NameSilo
NameSilo offers free privacy protection for their domains. They also provide bulk discounts, allowing merchants and webmasters to get a deal from acquiring multiple domains.
This makes NameSilo an ideal solution for agencies and larger businesses.
Cloudflare
Like Shopify, Cloudflare isn’t mainly a domain registrar.
However, they claim to provide domain name registration services at cost. They also offer free security and bulk discounts with their domains.
This can be beneficial for Shopify merchants, especially to shopify collective users who look to increase their margins.
Transferring vs. Connecting a Third-Party Domain
There are two ways to go about using an existing domain — 1) transferring a third-party domain and 2) connecting a third-party domain.
Transferring a Third-Party Domain to Shopify
Transferring (not connecting) a domain allows merchants to manage their third-party domain from their Shopify account.
Should you have any issues with your third-party domain, you may contact Shopify for help with your domain instead of your domain registrar.
Do note, there’s a fee associated with having Shopify manage your third-party domain for 12 months.
Also, some TLDs, such as .ca or .co.uk, aren’t eligible for transfer. Shopify reliably accepts .com domains, though.
Furthermore, a third-party domain must have been registered for 60 days before it could be transferred to Shopify.
With all that said, here’s how you can transfer your domain to Shopify
From your domain provider, go to your domain management section. You may find there the option to unlock the domain for transfer purposes. Before proceeding with the steps below, make sure to unlock your domain.
This process will look different depending on your chosen domain name registrar. Shown above is how that might look for Namecheap.
Also, be sure to get an authorization code. This is crucial to verify the transfer later on.
Go to “Settings” from the Shopify admin dashboard.
Click on the “Domains” tab.
Select “Transfer Domain.”
Type your domain into the text field that shows. Don’t include the “www.”
Click on “Next.”
Click on “Verify Domain.”
Shopify will then ask for the authorization code. Fill in this field with the authorization code you acquired from your domain provider earlier.
Review the details before approving the charge.
Once everything’s in order, click “Approve.”
Great! Now we just have to wait up to 20 days for the third-party domain to be transferred into the hands of Shopify.
If in case the domain transfer isn’t successful, or Shopify rejects the domain, the 12-month registration charge is refunded.
Connecting a Third-Party Domain to Shopify
If a merchant’s third-party domain isn’t eligible for transfer, or if they simply prefer to manage domain settings from their third-party domain provider’s account, then connecting would be the ideal option.
By using the connect option, the third-party domain is still managed by the third-party provider. So, should any issues arise, the Shopify merchant would have to call up their domain provider instead of Shopify.
However, connecting instead of transferring safeguards the domain against Shopify-related issues, such as hacking attempts or Shopify bans. This makes it ideal for more advanced, hands-on users.
Here’s how merchants can connect a third-party domain to their Shopify store.
These next steps will be quite advanced, so read carefully.
There are three things we’d want to take note of:
- A record. This should be changed to the Shopify IPv4 address, 23.227.38.65
- AAAA record. This should be changed to the Shopify IPv6 address 2620:0127:f00f:5::
- CNAME record. This should be changed to “shops.myshopify.com.” Include the period at the end.
The values for these records can be edited in your domain’s DNS settings or domain management section.
Make sure to change those settings. Navigating to these settings will look different depending on your domain provider.
Shown above is how it might look for Hostinger.
Once that’s done, go to your Shopify account and connect your domain to Shopify.
Go to the “Domains” tab from the “Settings.”
Select “Connect Existing Domain.”
In the field that follows, enter the domain you’d like to connect to your Shopify store.
Click “Connect Domain.”
This process can take up to 48 hours, so be patient.
Update your Store URL
After you’ve acquired a new domain, it won’t immediately host your store yet.
You’ll need to set your store’s domain from the “Domains” tab.
You’ll be taken to the domains page. Once there, click on the custom domain name you’ve just acquired.
Then click “Set as primary.”
This will set your custom domain as your new primary domain.
Congrats! Your store now has a new domain that, hopefully, reflects your brand identity.
How to Change the Name of Shopify Store
Changing the name of your Shopify store is much simpler and less complicated than changing your domain name.
Ideally, your store name should be the same or similar to your domain name, considering that site visitors could still see your Shopify store’s name in some areas.
Here’s how you can change your Shopify store’s name:
From the Shopify admin panel, go to “Settings.”
Select the “Store Details” tab
Underneath the “Basic Information” section, click on “Edit.”
Change the store name to something more desired.
Click “Save” on the upper-right corner
Now, we’ve successfully updated our store and domain name. But it’s not over yet.
What to do After You’ve Changed your Domain Name
If your previous domain acquired decent site traffic and gets frequent return customers, you wouldn’t want to lose their business.
Here’s a number of things you need to do IMMEDIATELY after updating your Shopify store’s domain name.
Redirect website visitors from the old domain to the new one
This should be the FIRST thing you do after transferring your store to a new domain.
There might be billboards, out-of-home ads, radio ads, etc. out there in circulation that still direct people to your previous domain.
The same goes with social media ads (e.g., Facebook traffic campaigns, organic posts linking to the old domain), affiliate links, backlinks, and things of that nature.
Until you update your marketing efforts, you’d want to have a “new domain” notice or URL redirect from your previous domain to your new domain.
Luckily, Shopify automatically places redirects on all the domains you own; directing people who visit those domains to your new primary domain.
You’ll notice this when you go to your “Domains” tab.
The globe icon indicates the main domain where your store is hosted. This is the primary domain. You can only have one primary domain.
Meanwhile, the arrow icons indicate the redirecting domains. The redirecting domains’ details provide information on where they redirect to. In this case, they should redirect to the current domain.
Any domain name you have that isn’t your primary domain will automatically redirect visitors to your primary domain name.
Update your marketing collateral
Take note of all your marketing collateral that contains the previous domain. Keep track of them until they aren’t in circulation anymore.
From there, you’d want to provide solid notes to your copywriters, graphic designers, and other creative staff regarding the crucial update to the new domain. That way, all material produced from then on will contain the updated domain name URL.
For social media campaigns, make sure to update the URL they’re driving traffic to.
It will be hard to remember where to check for backlinks to the previous domain, so make sure to keep a checklist.
Update your website trackers (e.g., Meta Pixel, Google Analytics)
There are a handful of “trackers” that online businesses commonly use — meta pixel, Google Analytics, and heatmaps, among others.
Make sure that these are updated with your “new” domain, not the “old” one.
That way, you’ll be monitoring your updated domain’s customer activity, and not the previous one.
Inform your loyal customers
You might have your most loyal customers’ email information stored in an email list.
Email marketing is commonly used to inform customers of new deals, upsells, and upcoming events, among other things, to increase conversions.
In this case, you’d want to inform your loyal customers that your store has migrated to another domain. That way, you’ll retain their patronage and their business.
Reach out to referring domains that have links to your old Shopify site
In addition to the aforementioned marketing collaterals, also reach out to any blog sites, online publications, and affiliates that link to your previous domain. Give them updated instructions to reduce conflict in the future.
Conclusion
Changing the store name is easy and straightforward.
On the other hand, there are a ton of ways to go about a default domain change. You may either use Shopify domains, acquire an external domain, or use an existing one. After you’ve acquired your own external domain, you even have the option of connecting it or transferring it to Shopify.
Whichever route you take to update your store’s domain, you must see to it that you have the proper redirects in place, update your marketing collateral and campaigns, and reach out to loyal customers about the change.
When done properly, your rebranding should have a smooth transition, mitigating any dip in SEO rankings, as well as maintaining its usual stream of sales.
