Changing URL's

Delete the previous domain name first. But make sure you do not delete the directory and files asscoiated. You'll most likely have this option when deleting a domain name. If you do not have this option, do not delete the domain name. Consult your web host for a solution.

Map the new domain name to the exisiting directory. The new domain name should then point to the existing directory and files, and should act like your previous website.

Alternatively, if your web host allows the facility to host multiple domain names under same account, you can register the new domain name and map it to the already exisiting directory of your previous domain name. However, I'm not sure if two or more domain names can be made to point the same directory. If the above works, you can check after some time (usually 48 hrs) to see if your new domain name loads your existing web site. If yes, you can delete your previous domain name.

Please, note that mapping usually takes 24-48 hrs to take effect. Hence do not take steps in haste.

As a precautionary measure, I would suggest you write to your web host first if the above procedure is possible or not.

Maping is a term used to specify where your domain name points to a physical location of the server where your domain name is hosted.

Servers are basically two types - Unix/Linux and Windows. Unix servers are very popular and is the preferred choice of many. I'm guessing that the server you are hosted is a unix/Apache server.



In the above image, "/usr/www/username/domain-name.com" is the path to the directory where files of domain-name.com resides. So basically, when you try to access domain-name.com, the file that will be displayed is "/usr/www/username/domain-name.com/index.html" (assuming index.html is the default home page).

The above image is just a hypothetical example and file locations will vary from server to server.

Quoting: WhitePhoenixMy website host server is in Australia. I hope that doesn't matter?!

No it will not matter where your server is located.

Quoting: WhitePhoenixAny good books out there that you could recommend that wouldn't put me to sleep or overwhelm me with too much information?

Internet! If you know how to search wisely, you can literally find information on anything on the Net. I owe a lot to the Net. And of course, one must have the courage to experiment with new things. Only then you can help your mind grow. And when you find and learn new things on the Net, don't forget to bookmark those sites/pages with link management tools like LinkMan or del.icio.us. Over the time, you will have built your personal mini encyclopedia which you can refer again and again.

Quoting: WhitePhoenixMy hesitance in using the net for research is accuracy. But I suppose if you check out 2 or more sites and they say the same thing, then you can figure it's accurate information.

Yes, the Internet has exploded, but if you are a regular to searching information, you will, sooner or later, develop the wisdom to quickly identify authority sites, by their design and content. For popular topics, the sites that rank well on search engines, are usually authority sites, as they take into consideration the no. of links pointing to these sites. So you can be pretty sure the information is accurate.

For less searched topics, like you said, it pays to do proper research before jumping to any conclusions. Overall, yes, it's always in best interest to cross-check the information on 2 or more sites.