--- title: "WordPress – Changing the Site URL and Home Settings" description: "If you need to migrate your WordPress site or change the domain name or location of your WordPress installation, it's good to keep in mind how WordPress keeps track of itself via the WordPress..." url: https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/edu/wordpress/wordpress-changing-the-site-url-and-home-settings/ date: 2011-11-04 modified: 2026-01-22 author: "Jesse Owens" categories: ["WordPress Hosting", "WordPress Tutorials"] type: post lang: en --- # WordPress – Changing the Site URL and Home Settings If you need to migrate your **WordPress site** or change the domain name or location of your WordPress installation, it’s good to keep in mind how WordPress keeps track of itself via the **WordPress Address** and **Site Address** settings. These settings can be adjusted directly in the WordPress admin dashboard from [**Settings > General**](#admin-dashboard) or you can make these modifications to **wp_options** table in the database. **Tip:** In the vast majority of cases, both the Site URL and Home fields will be the same address. You only need to change the Site URL setting to be different if you have a custom installation in which your system administrator has placed the core files outside of the document root directory of your website. ## WordPress WP_HOME and WP_SITEURL Settings There are 2 WordPress options that you can adjust to change the behavior of how WordPress works. - **WordPress Address (URL) / WP_SITEURL:** The address where your WordPress core files reside. - **Site Address (URL) / WP_HOME: **The address typed in a browser to reach your WordPress blog. | **WordPress Address (URL) / WP_SITEURL** | **Site Address (URL) / WP_HOME** | | --- | --- | | ![cPanel File Manager showing WordPress core files](/support/images/stories/wordpress/change-url/file-manager-wordpress-core-files.png) | ![Web browser showing WordPress site URL setting](/support/images/stories/wordpress/change-url/web-browser-site-url-showing.png) | ![WordPress URL settings in admin dashboard](/support/images/stories/wordpress/change-url/url-settings-in-wordpress-dashboard.png) As you can see from the example above, I have my WordPress core files stored inside my **/public_html/wp** directory so that they aren’t clogging up my root directory. However I still want people just to type in **https://www.example.com** to get to my WordPress site, so I’ve left that set as my **Site Address** so WordPress knows this is what I want displayed instead of the core files location. This is just one example of what can be done with WordPress URL settings. You might also need to modify these settings after moving your WordPress website to a new server, or testing a new structure for your website. ## How to Change Your WordPress Site URL in Admin Dashboard You can also adjust your WordPress URL settings directly from the admin dashboard. This method will typically work if you haven’t moved your WordPress installation and aren’t having any issues access it. 1. [Login to WordPress admin dashboard](/support/edu/wordpress/logging-into-wordpress-dashboard/). 2. Click on **Settings > General**. 3. Fill in your **WordPress Address** and **Site Address** and click **Save**.**Note:** Be aware with these settings in the **wp-config.php** file, the ability to modify them from the dashboard is lost. 4. [Edit](/support/website/how-to-edit-a-file/) your **wp-config.php** file. 5. Define your `WP_HOME` and `WP_SITEURL` settings by inserting these lines of code towards the top: define('WP_HOME','https://example.com'); define('WP_SITEURL','https://example.com'); ## How to Change Your WordPress Site URL in the Database You can also directly modify your WordPress URL settings in the WordPress database using the phpMyAdmin tool. 1. [Backup your database in cPanel](/support/edu/cpanel/cpanel-backups/#database) prior to making changes. 2. Use [phpMyAdmin](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/website/installing-phpmyadmin-on-your-account/) to manage your WordPress database. 3. Select your WordPress database from the left.![phpMyAdmin select WordPress database](/support/images/stories/wordpress/change-url/phpmyadmin-select-wordpress-database.png) 4. Then select your **wp_options** table. Your **wp_** prefix may differ depending on your install settings.![phpMyAdmin select WordPress options table](/support/images/stories/wordpress/change-url/phpmyadmin-select-wordpress-options-table.png) 5. Click **Edit** beside either the **siteurl** or **home** entries. You may need to search for them with the **Filter rows** function at the top.![phpMyAdmin click edit on siteurl](/support/images/stories/wordpress/change-url/phpmyadmin-click-edit-on-siteurl.png) 6. Enter in your new value in the `option_value` field, then click **Go** to save the changes.![phpMyAdmin update siteurl](/support/images/stories/wordpress/change-url/phpmyadmin-update-siteurl.png) ## Detect and Change WordPress Address with RELOCATE If you’re having issues accessing your WordPress dashboard, you can have WordPress automatically try to figure out what the correct **WordPress Address** should be using the `RELOCATE` flag in your **wp-config.php** file. With the `RELOCATE` flag set, WordPress will automatically update your WordPress core files path to the URL used to attempt to access the **wp-login.php** script. This only affects the WordPress dashboard and not the site itself. 1. [Edit](/support/website/how-to-edit-a-file/) your **wp-config.php** file. 2. At the top of the file, add the following line of code: define('RELOCATE',true); 3. Now visit your **https://www.example.com/wp/wp-login.php** page in your web browser. Be sure to type in the path of your WordPress core files before **wp-login.php** 4. Log into your WordPress dashboard as you would normally. 5. If you navigate to **Settings > General**, you should now see that WordPress has automatically populated the **WordPress Address (URL)** field for you, with the path to your WordPress files. **Hosting Optimized for WordPress** Purpose-built infrastructure optimizes WordPress sites for speed and security. Get server-level caching, automated updates, and WordPress-specific security hardening managed by experts who understand the platform. ![check mark](https://design.inmotionhosting.com/assets/icons/standard/check-blue.svg)Free Website Builder     ![check mark](https://design.inmotionhosting.com/assets/icons/standard/check-blue.svg)Free SSLs     ![check mark](https://design.inmotionhosting.com/assets/icons/standard/check-blue.svg)Unlimited Bandwidth [WordPress Hosting](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/shared-hosting/wordpress?mktgp=t&irgwc=1&affiliates=5001860&utm_campaign=Jumbotron&utm_source=supportcenter&utm_medium=cta&utm_term=legacy-wp-cta) ## Watch the Video – 4 Ways to Change Your Site URL in WordPress Are you a visual learner? Watch our video to learn how to change your Site URL and Home URL settings in WordPress. - Method 1: Change Your URL From The WordPress Dashboard - Method 2: Change Your Site URL with a Search & Replace Plugin - Method 3: Change Your Site URL With WP-Config File (Advanced) - Method 4: Change Your Site URL With WP-CLI (Expert) Looking for more guides? We have over 400 [WordPress How To Articles](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/edu/wordpress/wordpress-how-to-articles/) to help you!