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What happens if I change the domain name, the folder name, or domain mapping?

A change to the domain name (e.g. example.typepad.com) for your Typepad account, a change to the blog's folder name, or a change of mapped domain settings will negatively impact your site in a majority of cases. Making changes to your blog or account which will change the links to your blog's content is not recommended after you have set up and established your blog.

Even though we do not recommend you make these changes to your blog, you do have the option to change the account domain name, the blog folder name, and the mapped domain settings. If you do decide to make any changes, please keep in mind a lot of work will be required on your part to restore your blog. Please review the information below before making any changes.

Definitions
Account Domain Name - the typepad.com subdomain set during account registration. e.g. example.typepad.com
Blog Folder Name - each individual blog has a different folder where the blog content is stored. e.g. http://example.typepad.com/folder-name/
Mapped Domain - a custom domain or subdomain used for the blog or entire site address instead of the account domain name. e.g. www.mydomain.com & blog.mydomain.com

Change Domain Name

The Domain Name for your account is used for all the content created within your Typepad account. A change to the domain name will impact all Blogs, Photo Albums, the About Me Page, and any files uploaded to the File Manager in your account.

When you change the Domain Name...

At Account > Summary, you can change the Domain Name for your account. When you change the Domain Name, the links for all the content within your Typepad account will change, including links to images. All of the content will still be available within your account, but the links to the content will be broken.

  • Images will not display on your blog until the URLs for the images are updated to use the new domain name. The images are still saved to your account, but the path to the images is broken. If you use a lot of images within your posts, you may need to edit each post individually to update the image URLs. This can be very time-consuming if you have a lot of posts and images.
  • Links to your blog's content in custom modules will need to be updated with the new domain name. The Navigation Bar, Blog Footer, and TypeLists are all custom modules which need to be edited to correct the broken links.
  • Any outside links to your blog will be broken. Visitors to your site will need to update their browser bookmarks with the new domain name.
  • For public blogs and albums, the listings in search engines will be broken. It can take some time for search engines to reindex your site and update their listings. Until the search indexes are updated, links to your site in search results will go to a broken link, and you will likely see a decrease in visits to your site.
  • The feed URL for all your blogs will change and subscribers will need to subscribe again using the new feed URL. Exception: If you are using a third-party service, like FeedBlitz, to enhance the feed, you can change the original feed URL at the feed service you are using.
  • The Facebook Like count will reset to zero.

Alternative Option

Instead of changing the domain name, you can set up Domain Mapping for your entire site. Adding a mapped domain to your account will not break any existing links to your content. The mapped domain will display instead of the typepad.com domain name (e.g. example.typepad.com) for all your links, and search engines will index your blog using the mapped domain too.

Change Folder Name

A change to the Folder Name at Settings > Basics will only impact the blog where it is changed. Unlike a change to the domain name or Domain Mapping, a change to the Folder Name may not have a major impact on your blog.

Images and other files inserted into posts using the Insert Image, Insert File, and Insert Audio buttons are hosted in the home folder for your Typepad account, and the links to this content will not be broken with a change to the folder name.

When a domain is mapped to an individual blog - not the entire site - the folder name is not included in the URL for your blog's content. A change to the folder name will not impact a blog with a domain mapped to it. If the domain is mapped to your entire site, however, a change to the folder name will impact your blog.

A change to the folder name of the default blog will not change the short URL used to visit the home page of the blog. This is only true of the default blog in your account.

When you change a blog's Folder Name...

In the Blog Settings, a new Folder Name can be set for the blog.

  • Links to all posts and pages on your blog will change with any change to the folder name. The links to your blog's content in the Navigation Bar, Blog Footer, and TypeLists will need to be edited to correct the broken links.
  • Any outside links to individual posts and pages will be broken. Visitors to your site will need to update their bookmarks with the new URL for your blog.
  • For public blogs and albums, the listings for individual posts and pages in search indexes will be broken. It can take some time for search engines to reindex your site and update their listings. Until the search indexes are updated, links to your site in search results will go to a broken link. You will likely see a decrease in page views until the search indexes are updated with the new domain name.
  • The feed URL for all your blogs will change and subscribers will need to subscribe again using the new feed URL. Exception: If you are using a third-party service, like FeedBlitz, to enhance the feed, you can change the original feed URL at the feed service you are using.
  • The Facebook Like count will reset to zero.

Change Domain Mapping

The Domain Mapping feature allows you to map a unique domain to your blog. Mapping a new domain to your blog or entire site will not break any links to your content, but you may want to update the custom modules Navigation Bar and Blog Footer to use the mapped domain after Domain Mapping is complete. Removing a mapped domain, however, will have a similar impact as changing the domain name and folder name.

You have the option to map a domain to an individual blog or the entire site.

If you remove a domain mapped to the entire site, the impact on your blog will be the same as changing the domain name for your account.

If you remove a domain mapped to an individual blog, the impact on your blog will be the same as changing the folder name for your blog.

If you must make any changes...

Before making any changes that will impact how people access your content, let your readers know. Publish a post to your blog which explains the changes which are going to be made and when. Make sure to give readers a week or more notice. You may want to feature the post explaining the changes to keep it front and center at the top of the main content column.

What you can do to restore your blog after changing the domain name, folder name, or domain mapping:

  • The Navigation Bar and Blog Footer modules contain links to your blog's content by default. At Design > Content, click the pencil icon next to the module to edit it. Update the URLs and click OK. Repeat for each module and click Save Changes to update your blog.
  • The default modules on your blog - Archives, Recent Comments, Recent Posts, etc. - will automatically update with any changes to the blog address. However, a custom module created using a TypeList or the Embed Your Own HTML module which includes links to your blog's content will need to be updated too. At Library > TypeLists, you can edit the links in a TypeList. At Design > Content, click the pencil icon next to the custom module to edit it.
  • To restore the display of images, each post and page containing images will need to be edited. Go to the Compose page and click on the HTML tab to view the code for the post. Replace all instances of the old domain - olddomain.typepad.com - with the new domain - newdomain.typepad.com - in the post and click Publish to update your blog. Repeat for each post and page containing images.

Updated 19 May 2021

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