Changing domain of my WordPress blog.

Hello fellow WordPress users,

I want to change the domain name of WordPress blog. It is doing well and I want to expand the range of topics the site covers. But the present domain has a specific name. To reflect the change, I want to use a new domain. So it would be like changing from “purple-widgets.com” to “colorful-widgets.com.”

I know I could start a brand new site with the new domain. But I already own several websites. It’d be easier for me to manage, secure and update just one site. I would also prefer to keep the contents of the together in one blog. They are closely related and the new stuff will build up slowly. In other words, I don’t think covering more topics merits a separate site.

I’ve researched this. It seems the best way to do this is keep the old domain and use 301 redirect to permanently redirect traffic to the new address. If I do it this way, I won’t lose any traffic or link “juice”? I have a plugin that can help me update links.

Do I also need to move my WordPress files to the new domain folder from the old one? Or can I keep the files where they are now?

Do you think I am making the right move? Am I overlooking something I need to know about?

If you could advise me, I would be thankful.