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Update Old URLs in Elementor: A Guide After Domain Change

Fix Broken URLs After a Domain Change in Elementor – Step-by-Step

You’ve successfully migrated your website to a new domain. You’ve changed your WordPress address, updated your site URL, and everything seems to be working… until you start clicking around. Internal links are broken, images are missing, and your beautifully designed Elementor pages are a mess. This is a common problem after a site migration, and it’s why you need to update old URLs in Elementor to fix your site. Manually editing every single page, widget, and link is a monumental task—especially for a large website.

A screenshot of a WordPress plugin’s interface for updating old URLs in Elementor.

Manually editing every single page, widget, and link is a monumental task—especially for a large website. It’s not just inefficient; it’s also highly susceptible to human error. A single missed link could lead to a dead end for a user or a crawling issue for search engines.

Fortunately, there’s a much more efficient and reliable solution. This guide will walk you through the process of how to update old URLs in Elementor safely and effectively, ensuring your website functions perfectly on its new domain.

Understanding the Problem: Why Elementor URLs Break

Unlike a standard WordPress post that stores links as plain text, Elementor uses a serialized data format to save its page content. This format includes the domain URL as part of the data string. When you migrate your site and change the domain, this serialized string becomes invalid. The data expects to find the old domain, and when it can’t, the link or image breaks.

For example, a button’s URL might be stored as a:1:{s:3:"url";s:29:"https://old-domain.com/contact";...}. A simple find-and-replace won’t work because it would corrupt the serialized string. You need a tool that understands and can correctly parse this data structure without breaking it.

The most reliable way to address this is by using a specialized plugin designed to handle Elementor’s serialized data. The official Elementor plugin has a built-in tool for this, and there are other third-party options as well. We will focus on the most recommended and safest methods.

Update Old URLs in Elementor with the Native Tool

Elementor has a built-in feature called “Replace URL” that is specifically designed for this purpose. It’s the safest and most recommended method because it’s developed by the same team that built the page builder.

Step 1: Back Up Your Website

Before you make any changes to your database, it is critical that you create a full backup of your website. This includes both your WordPress files and your database. If something goes wrong, a backup is your only safety net. You can use a reliable backup plugin like UpdraftPlus or Duplicator, or perform a manual backup through your hosting provider.

Step 2: Access the Elementor Tools

From your WordPress dashboard, navigate to Elementor > Tools. This page contains a suite of maintenance and utility features for Elementor.

Step 3: Use the Replace URL Tool

On the Tools page, click the Replace URL tab. You will see two fields:

  • Old URL: Enter your website’s old domain URL (e.g., https://old-domain.com).
  • New URL: Enter your website’s new domain URL (e.g., https://new-domain.com).

Make sure you include the full URL, including https://. Do not add a trailing slash at the end of the URLs.

Step 4: Run the Replacement

Once you’ve entered both URLs, click the Replace URL button. Elementor will then perform a safe find-and-replace operation across its serialized data in your database. It will process all pages, templates, and global widgets. This process is generally very fast, even on large sites. You will see a success message once it’s complete.

Step 5: Clear Cache and Test Your Site

After the replacement is finished, you must clear your website’s cache. This includes:

  • Your WordPress caching plugin (e.g., WP Rocket, LiteSpeed Cache).
  • Any server-side caching from your hosting provider.
  • Your browser cache.
  • Your CDN cache (e.g., Cloudflare).

Clearing the cache ensures you are viewing the most up-to-date version of your site. Now, navigate to your website and test some of the internal links and images to ensure they are working correctly.

A Second Option

If for some reason the native Elementor tool doesn’t work or you prefer a third-party solution, a dedicated migration plugin can also handle this. Plugins like Better Search Replace are excellent for this purpose, but require a bit more care since they can change any text in the database, not just Elementor’s.

  1. Install the Plugin: Go to Plugins > Add New and search for “Better Search Replace.” Install and activate it.
  2. Access the Tool: Navigate to Tools > Better Search Replace.
  3. Run the Replacement:
    • In the “Search for” field, enter your old domain (e.g., https://old-domain.com).
    • In the “Replace with” field, enter your new domain (e.g., https://new-domain.com).
    • Select the database tables you want to search. For Elementor, the most important tables are wp_posts, wp_postmeta, and wp_options. For a full-site search, you can select all tables.
    • Crucially, make sure you check the “Run as dry run?” box first to see what changes will be made before you commit to them.
    • After reviewing the dry run results, uncheck the box and run the live replacement.

This method is highly effective but requires a careful approach to ensure you don’t accidentally replace the wrong data.

Conclusion

Broken links and missing images after a domain change are frustrating, but they are a very fixable problem with the right tools. By using Elementor’s built-in “Replace URL” tool or a trusted third-party plugin, you can efficiently update old URLs in Elementor and ensure your site is running smoothly on its new domain. This proactive approach saves you from the tedious and error-prone task of manual editing and helps maintain your site’s integrity and SEO.

With a powerful tool, a complex issue becomes a simple fix.