Move MainWP Dashboard to a New Domain or Subdomain

You can move your MainWP Dashboard to a new domain or subdomain, such as dash.example.com to mainwp.example.com, on the same server or a different server. Migrating the complete WordPress installation preserves your MainWP settings, clients, child site records, and Add-on data, so you do not need to start over.

Before any domain search-replace, exclude wp_mainwp_wp and wp_mainwp_wp_sync, replacing wp_ with your actual table prefix. A replacement that matches child site URLs can change those addresses and break connections. Include these tables in your backup and migration; exclude them only from search-replace.

What You’ll Learn

What to preserve when moving your MainWP Dashboard
How to protect child site URLs during domain or subdomain changes
How to verify connections and Add-ons after the move
How to repair child site URLs changed by an earlier search-replace

Prerequisites

Administrator access to your MainWP Dashboard and any child sites that need troubleshooting
Access to your hosting migration tools, files, and database, or help from your host
A fresh, complete backup of the Dashboard files and database
A list of the correct child site URLs for comparison after the move

For a server move that keeps the same Dashboard URL, see Migrate the MainWP Dashboard.

What Carries Over

The complete Dashboard database contains MainWP settings, clients, child site records and their settings, and database-stored Add-on data. The files contain WordPress, MainWP Dashboard, installed Add-ons such as Pro Reports, uploads, and encryption-key files. Copy both the database and files to retain the installation. A database-only transfer does not include Add-on code or the key files needed to decrypt connection keys and other encrypted data. Preserve the entire MainWP uploads directory, normally wp-content/uploads/mainwp/, including its pk directory. If your uploads location is customized, include the corresponding directory there. After a complete migration, check Add-on license activation at the new address. License reactivation may be needed; it does not require recreating your clients, site records, or report settings.

Understanding the Risk

MainWP stores child site addresses in wp_mainwp_wp. Search-replace changes a child site URL only when the searched text occurs in that URL. For example, replacing example.com with example.net throughout the database also changes https://client.example.com to https://client.example.net. If the child site still lives at its original address, the Dashboard will try to connect to the wrong URL. Unrelated child site domains that do not contain the searched text are not changed by that replacement. Some migration plugins and host one-click tools perform automatic URL replacement. Before starting, check which tables they change and whether they support exclusions specifically for search-replace. A setting that excludes a table from the migration backup is not a substitute.

Before Changing Your Dashboard Domain

Sync sites and record their URLs

Open MainWP > Sites > Manage Sites (/wp-admin/admin.php?page=managesites) and click Sync in the header to sync all sites. Record the current child site URLs, or export your site list for comparison. The site list is not a full Dashboard backup.

Create and verify a complete backup

Back up the full Dashboard database, all WordPress files, and configuration. Include MainWP and Add-on tables, installed Add-on files, and the MainWP uploads directory with its encryption-key files. Verify that the backup completed and contains these items before proceeding.

Confirm the search-replace exclusions

Configure the tool or ask your host to exclude wp_mainwp_wp and wp_mainwp_wp_sync from URL replacement, using your actual prefix. Confirm that the same exclusions apply to any automatic replacement during import or restoration. If the tool cannot do this, ask your host to use a controlled migration method.

Prepare the destination

Configure the new domain or subdomain to serve the Dashboard installation and arrange a valid HTTPS certificate. If changing servers, confirm that the destination meets the MainWP Dashboard requirements.

Move the Dashboard Installation

If changing servers or moving into a different WordPress directory, transfer the complete database and files. Preserve the existing MainWP and Add-on data and encryption-key files. Update the destination’s database connection settings in wp-config.php if needed. For a domain-only change on the same installation, keep the existing files and database in place. In either case, update the Dashboard’s own WordPress URLs using one of the methods below and protect child site data from replacement. Keep the original backup available until verification is complete. After the move, use the new Dashboard as the active installation and stop scheduled work on any old copy so both copies do not manage the same child sites. For the underlying WordPress transfer process, see Migrating WordPress.

Preventing URL Corruption

Method 1: Exclude Tables with WP-CLI

For a server move, run the command against the restored Dashboard at the destination. For a domain-only change, use the existing Dashboard installation. Replace the example URLs with the full old and new Dashboard URLs, including the scheme and any directory path. Replace wp_ in both table names with your actual prefix. First, preview the changes without modifying the database:

wp search-replace \
  'https://dash.example.com' \
  'https://mainwp.example.com' \
  --skip-tables=wp_mainwp_wp,wp_mainwp_wp_sync \
  --skip-columns=guid \
  --dry-run

Review the reported tables and replacements. If they match the intended Dashboard URL change, run the same command without --dry-run:

wp search-replace \
  'https://dash.example.com' \
  'https://mainwp.example.com' \
  --skip-tables=wp_mainwp_wp,wp_mainwp_wp_sync \
  --skip-columns=guid

This example uses WP-CLI’s default table selection. Have your host review any additional tables that need changes before broadening the operation. These exclusions apply to this command; configure any migration tool’s separate automatic replacement as well. See the WP-CLI search-replace reference for table selection and dry-run behavior.

Method 2: Request Table Exclusion from Host

Give your host the old and new Dashboard URLs and ask them to:

Migrate the complete database and files, including MainWP encryption-key files.
Exclude wp_mainwp_wp and wp_mainwp_wp_sync from every automatic or manual domain search-replace, using your actual table prefix.
Keep the child site URLs unchanged and verify them against your original site list.

Method 3: Manual Domain Change

Update only the siteurl and home rows in the Dashboard’s wp_options table to the appropriate new WordPress URLs. Use your actual table prefix. If WP_SITEURL or WP_HOME is already defined in wp-config.php, update that override too.
If Dashboard content still contains the old URL, use a tool that handles serialized data to search-replace only the required WordPress core tables. Preview the replacements first.
Leave MainWP tables untouched. Avoid running a broad SQL replacement across the database.

After Moving Your Dashboard

Verify access and retained data

Log in at the new Dashboard URL. Confirm that your settings, clients, child site records, and installed Add-ons are present. Check saved Add-on settings, such as Pro Reports templates and schedules.

Check Add-on licenses

Open MainWP > Add-ons > Manage Add-ons (/wp-admin/admin.php?page=Extensions). If license activation is needed, follow Activate Add-ons.

Sync all child sites

Open MainWP > Sites > Manage Sites (/wp-admin/admin.php?page=managesites) and click Sync in the header. Compare child site URLs with your saved list and check the sync results. A successful sync updates the Dashboard address stored by MainWP Child automatically.

Test access to child sites

Use Jump to WP Admin on several child sites and confirm that the Updates view loads their current information.

If Sites Still Fail to Connect

Check the reported error before reconnecting:

Check	Action
Incorrect child site URL	Compare with your saved list and use the recovery section below if search-replace changed it
Missing key files	Verify that the original MainWP uploads directory and encryption-key files were copied completely
Child site unavailable	Visit its URL directly and confirm that MainWP Child is active
Requests blocked after a server change	Check whether the child site’s firewall or security service needs to allow the new Dashboard server IP

Once the underlying issue is corrected, use Reconnect in the affected site’s action menu under Sites > Manage Sites (/wp-admin/admin.php?page=managesites). If requested, enter the child site’s current Unique Security ID. MainWP Child has no editable Dashboard URL field. You do not need to visit every child site to change that address manually. For unresolved errors, follow Troubleshoot Connection Problems.

Fixing Corrupted Child Site URLs

Use this section only if a previous search-replace changed child site addresses. MainWP Dashboard does not allow editing the hostname in a child site’s URL field, so correcting these records requires database access.

Create a fresh database backup before making repairs, and keep the pre-migration backup and original site list. Replace wp_ in every query below with your actual prefix. Run queries only against the Dashboard database.

Find Affected Sites

Open your Dashboard database in phpMyAdmin, Adminer, or your host’s database manager. Find records containing the incorrect domain:

SELECT id, name, url
FROM wp_mainwp_wp
WHERE url LIKE '%wrongdomain.com%';

Replace wrongdomain.com with the incorrect text introduced by the earlier replacement. Compare each result with your original site list; matching this query does not by itself prove that a URL is wrong.

Fix URLs Manually (Few Sites)

For a small number of affected sites, edit the identified rows in wp_mainwp_wp, set each url to its exact original child site address, and save. Keep the existing site IDs and other fields unchanged.

Fix URLs with SQL (Many Sites)

Use a bulk replacement only when every selected URL needs the same correction. Replace the example IDs 12, 34 with the IDs you verified, and substitute the incorrect and correct domain text. First, preview both the current and proposed URLs:

SELECT id, name, url AS current_url,
       REPLACE(
         url, 'wrongdomain.com', 'correctdomain.com'
       ) AS proposed_url
FROM wp_mainwp_wp
WHERE id IN (12, 34)
  AND url LIKE '%wrongdomain.com%';

Confirm every proposed URL against your original site list. Then use the same IDs and replacement strings in the update:

UPDATE wp_mainwp_wp
SET url = REPLACE(
  url, 'wrongdomain.com', 'correctdomain.com'
)
WHERE id IN (12, 34)
  AND url LIKE '%wrongdomain.com%';

If sites require different corrections, repair them individually or in separately verified groups. Do not reverse a domain replacement across the entire database; it could also undo the intended Dashboard URL change.

Read back the repaired records:

SELECT id, name, url
FROM wp_mainwp_wp
WHERE id IN (12, 34);

After Fixing URLs

Repeat the sync and Jump to WP Admin checks in After Moving Your Dashboard. These queries repair the connection URL field only. If the earlier replacement changed other MainWP data, ask your host or MainWP Support to assess recovery from the pre-migration backup.

Self-Check Checklist

Complete files and database backup verified before the move
MainWP tables included in the migration and excluded from domain search-replace
MainWP encryption-key files preserved
Dashboard accessible at the new domain or subdomain
Settings, clients, child site records, and Add-on data present
Add-on licenses checked
Child site URLs unchanged or repaired against the original list
Sync and Jump to WP Admin checks successful
Scheduled work stopped on any old Dashboard copy

Migrate the MainWP Dashboard - Server migration guidance
Move Child Sites - Transfer sites between separate Dashboards
Reconnect a Child Site - Single-site and bulk reconnection

Getting Started

Understanding MainWP

Dashboard

Sites

Users

Updates

Plugins

Themes

Content Operations

Clients

MCP Server

API Reference

Troubleshooting

Customization

Advanced

Resources

Move MainWP Dashboard to a New Domain or Subdomain

What You’ll Learn

Prerequisites

What Carries Over

Understanding the Risk

Before Changing Your Dashboard Domain

Move the Dashboard Installation

Preventing URL Corruption

Method 1: Exclude Tables with WP-CLI

Method 2: Request Table Exclusion from Host

Method 3: Manual Domain Change

After Moving Your Dashboard

If Sites Still Fail to Connect

Fixing Corrupted Child Site URLs

Find Affected Sites

Fix URLs Manually (Few Sites)

Fix URLs with SQL (Many Sites)

After Fixing URLs

Self-Check Checklist

​What You’ll Learn

​Prerequisites

​What Carries Over

​Understanding the Risk

​Before Changing Your Dashboard Domain

​Move the Dashboard Installation

​Preventing URL Corruption

​Method 1: Exclude Tables with WP-CLI

​Method 2: Request Table Exclusion from Host

​Method 3: Manual Domain Change

​After Moving Your Dashboard

​If Sites Still Fail to Connect

​Fixing Corrupted Child Site URLs

​Find Affected Sites

​Fix URLs Manually (Few Sites)

​Fix URLs with SQL (Many Sites)

​After Fixing URLs

​Self-Check Checklist

​Related Resources

What You’ll Learn

Prerequisites

What Carries Over

Understanding the Risk

Before Changing Your Dashboard Domain

Move the Dashboard Installation

Preventing URL Corruption

Method 1: Exclude Tables with WP-CLI

Method 2: Request Table Exclusion from Host

Method 3: Manual Domain Change

After Moving Your Dashboard

If Sites Still Fail to Connect

Fixing Corrupted Child Site URLs

Find Affected Sites

Fix URLs Manually (Few Sites)

Fix URLs with SQL (Many Sites)

After Fixing URLs

Self-Check Checklist

Related Resources