How to change the homepage URL in WordPress?

Here are the steps to successfully change the Homepage URL in Wordpress. Go to the function.php file in your WP theme and use this code:

function redirect_homepage() {
   if( ! is_home() && ! is_front_page() )
   return;
   wp_redirect( 'http://siteurl.com/news', 301 );
   exit;
}
add_action( 'template_redirect', 'redirect_homepage' );