Should I change my website domain from KIEV.UA to KYIV.UA?
Domain creation.KYIV.UA— is, first and foremost, concern for the city and its significance, paying due attention to the correct spelling of its name in Ukrainian.
However, .KIEV.UA in Russian continues to operate, and new registrations are also taking place.
Changing the website address to reflect the correct spelling of the city is consistent with the nationwide policy of supporting the use of the Ukrainian language and culture. Government agencies and institutions are actively promoting the Ukrainian language and emphasizing the correct spelling of geographical names. Switching to .KYIV.UA allows websites to support this policy and thus express solidarity with government initiatives.
NIC.UA has reduced the price of .KYIV.UA domain registration in order to promote and support the Ukrainian language.
Today, we'd like to answer some questions for those who already have websites on the .KIEV.UA domain. Let's say you have nic.kiev.ua and realize you need to migrate to nic.kyiv.ua. Let's figure out whether this is worth it.
Namely: is it expensive, how to do it correctly and what to do with the old domain.
Should you change your website name from .KIEV.UA to .KYIV.UA?
You must decide for yourself whether this is something you want. There are examples of companies deliberately migrating their websites to a new domain, and everything went smoothly.
Technically these are two different domains, but the registry has a rule that the two domains must be owned by the same person and registered with the same registrar.
You need to plan your name change carefully to take into account all the nuances.
How much does it cost to change a website's domain to a new one?
Regional Ukrainian domains are inexpensive, averaging around $10 per year. If you decide to change your domain, consider renewing both domains immediately, as your users knew the old site name but don't yet know the new one. This answers the question of what to do with the old domain.
Consider changing your website's domain in advertising, brochures, business cards, etc.
Keep in mind that the number of visits to your site may change, and we'll talk about that later.
How to change the main domain of a website?
Let's be clear: there are many ways to change a domain, but we recommend using a 301 redirect. This blog has already described how and why this is done. Let's recap the main points:
- The redirect must have the code 301 - this is what they call a 301 redirect or “permanent redirect”.
- Redirection can be done in different ways, but the simplest and easiest is to edit the .htaccess file.
The redirect code should be located at the beginning of the file and looks like this:
These rules describe the redirection of an old domain with and without www to one new domain (in this example, a new domain without www).
It is very important to remember the rules:
- The redirect must be at the beginning of the file, otherwise it may not work or work incorrectly.
- Remember about the www version and subdomains, if any.
- Remember about https and check the presence of an SSL certificate on both the old and new domains.
- Every page on the old site must link to the same page on the new domain, otherwise, all users visiting the product page will end up on the home page or a 404 error page. This is directly related to point one.
- If possible, check all pages for loops and fix them.
- Be sure to renew both your old and new domains. If your old domain stops working, your search engine rankings are very likely to drop.
Redirects should always be tested and any errors corrected before implementation.
We'd like to take all the details into account and provide ready-made redirect rules, and we already know that they depend on many factors—server software, your site's content management system, etc.
A good solution would be to consult with website promotion specialists. They know the specific situations and strategies for relocating a website, and they can provide precise technical specifications for redirects to the programmers for implementation.
We asked SEO specialists whether it's worth moving a website from .KIEV.UA to .KYIV.UA and what their opinions were on the matter:
Alexander Pavlutsky,Repalm
"We must completely get rid of the Russian legacy, and moving away from the old writing format is the right decision.
The safest and most environmentally friendly way to do this without losing traffic is a direct redirect from the old domain to the new one.
The move may cause some complications and temporary traffic drops, but in my opinion, they're worth leaving this Soviet archaism in history. Because if we shout to the world and call for an end to the use of Russian-language versions of Ukrainian cities, but don't adhere to this in our own domains, it looks strange.
Therefore, this is the right initiative."
Nikolai Kodiy,PBN.LINK
"1. What about SEO?
Any website move is always a risk. No matter what Google or Müller promises, no one knows how it will play out in reality. While most website redirects work as intended, there are cases where traffic and rankings drop for a long time after the move.
2. What about beauty?
Of course, the owners of websites in this domain zone want their website to be "read" as correctly as possible, so the new domain zone looks more attractive.
But see point 1.
3. What would I do?
In a similar situation, I would register a domain in the KYIV.UA zone and set a redirect to the main domain KIEV.UA.
In summary:
- my site opens at both addresses,
- I minimize any risks since I don’t do website migrations.
If they suddenly decide to remove the KIEV.UA domain zone in the future (I think it's unlikely, but still possible), then you'll have a domain ready to move, plus it's already been attached to your site for a long time, so perhaps the forced move will go more smoothly.
Sergey Koksharov, SEO analyst, bloggerhttps://t.me/devakatalk
"I would immediately do a page-by-page redirect to the new domain. And you need to be careful with the old domain, because sometimes it's not renewed the following year, which negatively impacts rankings. After a redirect, rankings may drop slightly, but they always return within a month."
Svetlana Velichko,Links-Stream
"I believe that the transition to the Ukrainian-language spelling of the domain is correct and appropriate.
Since the start of the full-scale invasion, many Ukrainian services (including ours) have migrated to a new domain from .ru and have lost a ton of rankings and traffic. These are additional losses during the war, but not as painful as losing a limb on the front lines.
Therefore, it's worth making the switch, while taking into account the risks of losing ground for your business (I've seen very few high-quality redirects) and trying to implement a soft Ukrainianization so that it doesn't affect the business's profitability, and therefore, its economic "front."
Dmitry Sokhach, CEO at an SEO agencyAdmix Global.
"I support the transition from KIEV.UA to KYIV.UA, provided it doesn't harm the sites or cause them to lose traffic. Because during the war, many businesses are already struggling. Therefore, it's crucial not just to change the zone but also to immediately redirect from KIEV.UA to KYIV.UA."
Gushcha Taras,SEO.UA
"I believe that switching to .dp.ua, .kyiv.ua, and other domain zones can be easily accomplished with 301 redirects from an SEO perspective. Both domains should be retained to preserve the existing links. New links should be built to the new domain. The Google Indexing API and GSC will help with re-sticking. I recommend consulting SEO specialists on this matter."
Georgy Rysak,georgerysak.com
"Regarding the de-Russification of domains, my opinion is that it is absolutely necessary and important, because we need to get rid of this shameful post-colonial mistake at all levels and in all spheres.
But you need to approach everything with a cool head. Technically, it is possible to switch to the kyiv.ua domain without changing the domain, thanks to a 301 redirect.
However, even in this case, there is a high risk of losing positions and traffic.
Here are some tips from me:
1. To make this as painless as possible, I recommend launching a website on a similarly named domain, but in the kyiv.ua domain zone. That is, a copy, but with unique content, at least on a few pages, or at least the main one. Add it to the console, add a few good links, and add links from the first site on kiev.ua. I call this "warming up."
2. In parallel, it is necessary to prepare a 301 redirect map; it should contain all old URL addresses that will need to be saved and redirected to the new address.
For example, if you have legacy redirects of the format
site.kiev.ua/example/old-url
301 to
site.kiev.ua/example/new-url
I would advise you to redirect that first URL
site.kiev.ua/example/old-url
directly to kyiv.ua
That is, "throw out" the second option from this bundle, but also redirect the second option to the new kyiv.ua version
that is, from 1 redirect, you need to make 2
And site.kiev.ua/example/old-url to the new site.kyiv.ua URL
And of course site.kiev.ua/example/new-url also to the new site.kyiv.ua URL
Because with 2-level redirects, a little weight is lost along the way.
All current valid URLs should automatically be redirected to the new address.
3. Set up the move to the new domain in Google Search Console. There are many guides for this online.
4. The next piece of advice is to not change anything else except the domain and 301 redirects, keep everything else as it was and make sure that no one else has changed anything.
Because when such a move occurs, it's better to keep everything as is, and after the move, when it's clear that it's "over," make any edits or fixes that concern something else.
This is due to the fact that during such dramatic changes, a lot can be influenced, and so that later you don’t have to guess what happened.
That is, not in the middle of the site, not the server, not changes in the registrar, nothing, leave everything as is.
5. Practice on cats. Before making such a transition to another domain, try everything on a test one. It will be useful for the team and you will save a lot of nerves.
6. Notify your users about domain changes. Be sure to inform users about possible errors and maintenance work on the site.
7. Don't make the transition on Thursday or Friday. Do everything at the beginning of the week, because something can always go wrong, and it's better to have the whole team ready to work.
8. Test everything after the transition with the help of auditors: Netpeak, Screaming Frog."
Igor Shulezhko,Candy Content
"1. To cross or not to cross?
I believe it is imperative to switch to the new KYIV.UA domain format.
This is one small step for a man, but a giant leap for the entire Ukrainian people.
We need to get rid of the legacy.
2. How to switch?
It's important not to rush, as failing to follow the checklist can lead to lost traffic. This is already a challenging time for businesses, so it's crucial to do everything methodically and in a controlled manner.
Every migration case is unique. Some have contextual advertising, others have different analytics settings.
Therefore, it is important to develop your own migration checklist.
Of all the things you can find online, I recommend studying these four checklists. And then creating your own.
https://searchengineland.com/site-migration-seo-checklist-dont-lose-traffic-286880
https://searchengineland.com/website-migration-checklist-383201
https://www.marceldigital.com/blog/the-ultimate-seo-website-migration-checklist
https://www.botify.com/blog/website-migration-checklist-seo"
