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How to change a SharePoint site URL safely

Open Active sites in the SharePoint admin center, select the site, and edit the Site address on the General tab. Microsoft says a SharePoint Administrator makes this change, and the site is read-only while it runs.

Can you change a SharePoint site URL?

Yes, for most site types. Microsoft lists Microsoft 365 group-connected team sites, modern team sites without a group, communication sites, and classic team sites.

You change only the last part of the address. Microsoft's example is /sites/project-x to /sites/project-y. You cannot move a site from /sites to /teams. The domain part, such as contoso.sharepoint.com, is a separate task.

When can you not change the URL?

  1. The Publishing feature is on now, or was on before.
  2. The site holds more than 15 million documents.
  3. The site is a hub site.
  4. The site is locked or on hold.
  5. The site is a Project Web App site.
  6. The site has BCS connections.
  7. Your tenant is a Microsoft 365 Sovereign Cloud, other than GCC Low.

What should you do before the change?

Tell the people who use the site. Microsoft lists what to say: the date, the new URL, that people should close files and not edit during the change, that they should check the site recycle bin for files to keep, and that permissions and sharing stay the same.

Pick a quiet time. The change can take about 10 minutes, depending on site size, and the site is read-only while it runs.

How do you change the address in the admin center?

  1. Go to Active sites in the SharePoint admin center and sign in with an account that has admin permissions.
  2. Select the site name to open the details panel.
  3. On the General tab, under Site address, select Edit.
  4. Type the new site address.
  5. Select Save.

Can you do it with PowerShell?

Yes. Connect to SharePoint as at least a SharePoint Administrator. Run Start-SPOSiteRename with the old address, the new address, and the ValidationOnly switch to check that the change can go ahead. Then run the same command without ValidationOnly to make the change.

Microsoft lists a known issue tied to the retirement of BCS. If the change fails, it suggests PowerShell with the SuppressBcsCheck parameter.

What breaks after the change?

Microsoft says the old address gets a redirect, so saved favorites and links still land on the site. Sharing links redirect too. These items need your attention:

  1. Custom forms made in Power Apps must be recreated.
  2. Apps that use the site's URL may need to be republished.
  3. If the site is on a hub, you must link it to the hub again.
  4. Web parts with fixed URLs, such as News and List, are not updated and may break.
  5. SharePoint 2013 workflows must be republished.
  6. Microsoft Forms File Upload questions on group-connected sites break and must be recreated.

How do you undo a URL change?

Microsoft advises against renaming a second time. Instead, delete the redirect from the old address and rename the site back, then delete the new redirect. For the full steps, see the Microsoft page in the sources.

This next point is advice, not a Microsoft rule. After a rename, open each flow that calls the site, such as one that uses a SharePoint HTTP request, and check the address it uses. Also check any list added as a Teams tab and any alerts.

Need help with a move?

I am Al Davies at 250 High Street LLC. I build SharePoint and Power Automate trackers for small teams, working remotely. The first call is free. See past work for examples.

FAQ

How long does a site rename take?

Microsoft says about 10 minutes, depending on site size. The site is read-only meanwhile.

Will old links still work?

Yes. Microsoft says a redirect is created at the old address, and sharing links redirect to the new URL.

How many sites can I rename at once?

Up to 100. Wait for ongoing changes to finish before starting more.

Sources