{"id":323,"date":"2025-12-06T19:12:11","date_gmt":"2025-12-07T03:12:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.choosewebsitebuilder.com\/guides\/?p=323"},"modified":"2025-12-06T19:12:12","modified_gmt":"2025-12-07T03:12:12","slug":"switching-from-a-free-domain-to-a-custom-domain-do-you-keep-the-free-one","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.choosewebsitebuilder.com\/guides\/323\/switching-from-a-free-domain-to-a-custom-domain-do-you-keep-the-free-one\/","title":{"rendered":"Switching From a Free Domain to a Custom Domain: Do You Keep the Free One?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.choosewebsitebuilder.com\/guides\/wp-content\/uploads\/domain-name-on-wix-vs-custom-domain.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"597\" height=\"391\" src=\"https:\/\/www.choosewebsitebuilder.com\/guides\/wp-content\/uploads\/domain-name-on-wix-vs-custom-domain.png\" alt=\"domain name on Wix vs custom domain\" class=\"wp-image-324\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.choosewebsitebuilder.com\/guides\/wp-content\/uploads\/domain-name-on-wix-vs-custom-domain.png 597w, https:\/\/www.choosewebsitebuilder.com\/guides\/wp-content\/uploads\/domain-name-on-wix-vs-custom-domain-300x196.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 597px) 100vw, 597px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>If you\u2019ve ever started a website on a free plan &#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.choosewebsitebuilder.com\/website-builder\/22\/wix\">Wix<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.choosewebsitebuilder.com\/website-builder\/25\/google-sites\">Google Sites<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.choosewebsitebuilder.com\/website-builder\/21\/wordpress\">WordPress.com<\/a>, or any other hosted builder &#8211; you\u2019ve probably used one of those long, platform-branded URLs like:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>account.wixsite.com\/your-site-name<\/strong><br><strong>sites.google.com\/view\/yourproject<\/strong><br><strong>yourname.wordpress.com<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>They\u2019re great for getting started. But at some point, upgrading to a <strong>custom domain<\/strong> becomes the next logical step for branding, professionalism, and SEO.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One question comes up a <em>lot<\/em>, especially from Wix users:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>\u201cIf I switch to a custom domain, do I still get to keep the free domain &#8211; and will it redirect?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Let\u2019s break down how this works across the major free website builders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Does Wix Let You Keep the Free Domain After Switching?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Short answer: <strong>Yes, it still exists &#8211; but no, it doesn\u2019t redirect automatically.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On Wix:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Your free URL (the wixsite.com address) continues to exist in the background.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>You <strong>cannot<\/strong> set that free Wix URL to <em>automatically<\/em> redirect to your new custom domain.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Wix uses the free domain only as a fallback if your premium plan lapses.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>In other words:<br>Your old free site won\u2019t disappear, but it won\u2019t act like a redirect either.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If someone visits the old free URL after you\u2019ve connected a custom domain, Wix will often show a generic version of your site, but without the custom-domain benefits. It\u2019s not an SEO-friendly redirect, and you can\u2019t turn it into one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What About Google Sites?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Google Sites is completely free, so:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The <strong>sites.google.com<\/strong> link always continues to exist.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>You can map a custom domain if you want.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>But again &#8211; Google Sites <strong>does not turn the free URL into a redirect<\/strong>. Both URLs are simply active.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Visitors can reach your site using either link, but Google will treat them as two versions of the same site unless you set up canonical tags (Google Sites doesn\u2019t allow custom SEO settings for this).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What About WordPress.com?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>On WordPress.com free plans:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Your <strong>wordpress.com<\/strong> address continues to exist.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>When you add a custom domain, the free WordPress.com URL <strong>automatically redirects<\/strong> &#8211; but only as long as you keep your paid plan active.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>If you cancel the paid plan, the redirect stops.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>So WordPress.com is one of the few builders that actually gives you a real redirect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Should You Worry About the Free Domain Staying Active?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Here\u2019s the truth: once you switch to a custom domain, you should <strong>not<\/strong> rely on the free one for anything important &#8211; SEO, branding, traffic, etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If the old free URL remains accessible, it can cause:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Duplicate content issues<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Brand confusion<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Unprofessional URLs showing up in search results<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Ideally, you want everything funneling into your custom domain, with proper redirects and full control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Builder platforms like Wix often don\u2019t give that control because the free URL is tied to their own hosting system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>If You Want Full Control Over Redirects<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>If you ever want true control &#8211; real 301 redirects, canonical URLs, and the ability to decide what stays live or goes offline &#8211; you need a platform that gives you server-level access.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For example, on <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ultimatewb.com\">UltimateWB<\/a><\/strong>, you choose your own custom domain from the beginning, and you can redirect your old page URLs to new URLs if you decide to change them, by editing the .htaccess file. You get to work with full hosting access. No platform-imposed hits to your SEO.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Not every project needs that kind of control, but it\u2019s good to know your options.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Final Answer (Simplified)<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>If you\u2019re switching from a free domain to a custom domain:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Wix:<\/strong> You keep the free site link, but it <strong>does not redirect<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Google Sites:<\/strong> Free link stays live, <strong>no redirect<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>WordPress.com:<\/strong> Free link <strong>does redirect<\/strong>, but only while you maintain your paid plan.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>If you want predictable redirects and full control, choose a platform where you &#8211; not the website builder &#8211; control the hosting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If you\u2019ve ever started a website on a free plan &#8211; Wix, Google Sites, WordPress.com, or any other hosted builder &#8211; you\u2019ve probably used one of those long, platform-branded URLs like: account.wixsite.com\/your-site-namesites.google.com\/view\/yourprojectyourname.wordpress.com They\u2019re great for getting started. But at some &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.choosewebsitebuilder.com\/guides\/323\/switching-from-a-free-domain-to-a-custom-domain-do-you-keep-the-free-one\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1987,1896,1897,1683],"tags":[2248,2281,1894,1893,1930,2282,1649,2283,1719,1762],"class_list":["post-323","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-domains-hosting","category-google-sites","category-wix","category-wordpress","tag-custom-domain","tag-domain-redirect","tag-free-domain","tag-google-sites","tag-site-migration","tag-upgrading-website","tag-website-builder-comparison","tag-website-tips","tag-wix","tag-wordpress-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.choosewebsitebuilder.com\/guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/323","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.choosewebsitebuilder.com\/guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.choosewebsitebuilder.com\/guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.choosewebsitebuilder.com\/guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.choosewebsitebuilder.com\/guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=323"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.choosewebsitebuilder.com\/guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/323\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":325,"href":"https:\/\/www.choosewebsitebuilder.com\/guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/323\/revisions\/325"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.choosewebsitebuilder.com\/guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=323"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.choosewebsitebuilder.com\/guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=323"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.choosewebsitebuilder.com\/guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=323"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}