You can move a chatbot to a new domain without starting again. In SpideyChat, the chatbot, its snippet, its knowledge, its conversations and its leads all belong to the chatbot, not to the website, so the move comes down to three jobs: put the new domain on the chatbot's license, refresh its knowledge from the new site, and replace anything that still names the old brand. Plan them in that order and the chat keeps working on launch day.
If the chat has already stopped loading after a move, you need the quick fix in chatbot not loading on a new domain or staging site. This guide is for a planned migration or rebrand, done in advance.
What carries over, and what doesn't
Nothing about the chatbot is tied to your old domain name except two lists: the websites on its license, and the content it learned from the old site.
| Carries over unchanged | Needs attention |
|---|---|
| Bot ID and the snippet on your pages | Websites on the license |
| Conversations, leads and tickets | Knowledge learned from old page paths |
| Q&A pairs, FAQ entries and uploaded files | Name, system prompt and welcome message, if the brand changed |
| Colour, icon and widget settings | Lead email, if it used the old domain |
| Test suite questions | WordPress plugin activation |
Because the snippet doesn't change, you don't need to re-copy anything into the new site's templates. If you're rebuilding the site on a new platform, paste the same snippet in the same place: just before the closing body tag, on a template every page uses.
Step 1: plan the license swap
Every chatbot has a license listing the websites it may run on. Free allows 1 website per chatbot, Starter 3, Pro 10 and Enterprise unlimited. Subdomains of a listed website are included, and localhost never counts. Open your chatbot's page and go to License & websites to see how many slots you're using.
If you have a free slot: add the new domain under "Websites on this license" before launch. Both domains now work, so there's no gap. Remove the old domain once it redirects to the new one.
If you're at your limit (always the case on Free): a new website can't be added until one is removed. Removing a website stops the chat there immediately, so do the swap at the moment you switch: remove the old domain, then add the new one straight away.
Two details save confusion. A www. prefix is ignored, so www.newbrand.com and newbrand.com are the same website. And if the new domain loads the chat before you've added it, it's turned away and listed under "Turned away" on the same panel, with an Allow button that adds it if your plan has room. Our explainer on what counts as one site covers the counting rules in full.
Step 2: handle the WordPress plugin
On WordPress, the plugin activates the license for the site address it's running on. There are two ways a migration goes.
The site moves with its database (a migration plugin or host-to-host copy). The plugin's settings, including the saved license key, come with it. After the new address is live, open Settings > SpideyChat and click Save Changes, leaving the key box empty. An empty box keeps the saved key and activates it again for the site's current address. If the license is full, remove the old domain in the dashboard first.
You build a fresh site. Before switching off the old one, open Settings > SpideyChat there and click "Deactivate license on this site". That removes the old address and frees its slot. Then install the plugin on the new site and paste your license key.
Note that deactivating the plugin from the WordPress Plugins screen doesn't free the slot. The "Deactivate license on this site" button does, and deleting the plugin tries to as well. Either way, check the License & websites panel afterwards. The WordPress integration page covers the plugin setup.
Step 3: refresh the chatbot's knowledge
Crawled pages are stored by their path, such as /services or /delivery, not by domain. That has a useful consequence when you re-crawl the new site:
- Pages with the same path have their old entries replaced by the new text.
- Pages with a new path (say
/servicesbecame/what-we-do) are learned as new sources, and the old path's entries stay. - Pages you dropped keep their old entries, because nothing replaces them.
So after the move, run the crawler on the new domain, then open Manage knowledge, click "Show sources" and delete any path that no longer exists. On the Free plan the crawler runs once, as a setup for your first chatbot, so update entries in Manage knowledge by hand instead.
Uploaded files and Q&A pairs aren't touched by a crawl. Open any brochure, price list or Q&A pair that mentions the old domain, old email addresses or the old brand name, and replace them.
Step 4: replace the old brand everywhere
The chatbot introduces itself using its name when a visitor asks who they're talking to, so a rebrand needs these updates under Settings on the chatbot's page:
- Name: the brand visitors should see.
- System prompt (persona & instructions): chatbots created through quick setup have the company name and website address written into this text. Rewrite it for the new brand and domain.
- Welcome message and Suggested prompts: remove old names and product names.
- Email new leads to: if it was sales@oldbrand.com and that mailbox is closing, change it before launch.
- Proactive greeting, "Only on these pages": if your URL structure changed, update the paths.
On WordPress, check the plugin's Hide on paths and Launcher label too.
Step 5: launch-day check
- Load the new domain in a private window and confirm the chat button appears.
- Open the browser console and filter for
[SpideyChat]. No warning means the license accepted the site. - Ask the chatbot who it is, and ask three questions answered by renamed pages.
- Leave a test email and confirm the lead alert arrives at the right address.
- Run your Test suite.
- Once the old domain redirects everywhere, remove it from the license so the slot is free.
If you're adding a second site rather than replacing one, for example keeping the old brand live during a transition, compare website limits on the pricing page. Starter covers 3 websites per chatbot and Pro covers 10, so a transition period with both domains live doesn't mean a gap in the chat.