Change Primary Domain

This page explains the Change Primary Domain screen in the GoAdmio Admin Panel. It lets you change the main domain associated with an existing hosting account.

Location: Admin Panel → Accounts & Plans → Change Primary Domain

Overview

Every hosting account in GoAdmio has one primary domain — the main domain that identifies the account. The primary domain:

• Determines the account's home directory name (usually /home/<username>)
• Is the default domain for the account's website, email, and SSL
• Appears as the account's identity in List Accounts
• Is the domain the customer uses to log in to the User Panel

> Note: Changing the primary domain does not rename the account's system username or home directory. To rename the username, see Username Modification.

When to Change the Primary Domain

| Scenario | Change primary domain? |
|---|---|
| Customer rebranded from old.com to new.com | ✅ Yes |
| Customer wants an addon domain to become the main domain | ✅ Yes — first remove it as an addon, then change |
| Customer added a new domain and wants both to serve the same site | ❌ No — use Domain Aliases or Addon Domains |
| Customer wants to rename the account username | ❌ No — use Username Modification |
| The old domain is expiring and the new domain will replace it | ✅ Yes |

Prerequisites

Before changing the primary domain:

1. The new domain is not already assigned to another account on the server. Check List Accounts.
2. DNS for the new domain points to the server — an A record for the domain and www. See DNS Manager.
3. You have a current backup of the account. See Backup Wizard.
4. The account is not suspended — unsuspend first if needed. See Suspend Account.
5. The customer has been notified — changing the primary domain changes the account's identity and may affect email addresses.

How to Change the Primary Domain

1. Log in to the GoAdmio Admin Panel.
2. Navigate to Accounts & Plans → Change Primary Domain.
3. Select the account whose primary domain you want to change.
4. Enter the new primary domain (e.g., newdomain.com).
5. Review the summary of what will change.
6. Confirm.

What Changes

| Item | Changes? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Primary domain | ✅ Yes | Replaced with the new domain |
| Website document root | ✅ Yes | Typically re-pointed to the new domain's directory |
| DNS zone | ⚠️ Depends | A new zone may be created for the new domain; the old zone may be kept or removed |
| SSL certificate | ⚠️ Depends | Re-issue SSL for the new domain via Install Free SSL Certificate |
| Email accounts | ❌ No | Existing email accounts remain under the old domain |
| System username | ❌ No | Unchanged — see Username Modification |
| Home directory path | ❌ No | Path remains /home/<username> |

> Warning: If the new primary domain previously existed as an addon domain, you must first remove it as an addon (see Addon Domains). Otherwise the change will fail with "domain already exists."

After Changing the Primary Domain

| Task | Why |
|---|---|
| Verify DNS for the new domain | Ensure A/AAAA records point to the server; see DNS Manager |
| Re-issue SSL certificate | The old certificate is for the old domain; see Install Free SSL Certificate |
| Update email addresses if needed | Email accounts are not moved automatically; use Email Accounts |
| Update document root if needed | See Change Document Root |
| Update the customer's login URL | The User Panel may be reachable via the new domain |
| Update contact information | See Modify Account |
| Test website and email | Confirm both work end-to-end |
| Update monitoring and alerts | Any external monitoring pointed at the old domain should be updated |

Via the Command Line

GoAdmio does not currently provide a single /go/changedomain command for this operation. Use the Admin Panel for the full workflow, or the GoAdmio API for scripted changes. For related operations from the CLI:

```bash

Manage subdomains and addon domains