Step by Step Guide about Migrate WordPress Site to a New One
Want to know how to migrate a WordPress site? In this blog, you get 3 most effective processes of WordPress Migration from one to another site. Click here to learn more.
Do you want to migrate to a WordPress site?
You might not have complete information about the hosting provider when you purchase hosting, and now you want to change your server.
But wait, do you have proper knowledge about migrating from WordPress? If not, then read this article before WordPress migration.
How to Migrate a WordPress Site?
Because of technology evolution, moving your site is not complicated anymore. You can do it in just a few hours.
This article will discuss the best way to migrate WordPress sites. We will also introduce some WordPress site transport tools to make the process easier. Let's move on!
What is a WordPress Site Migration?
In simple terms, migration means converting a WordPress site from one hosting server to another. At this time, we transferred all website contents to another server. Once the transfer process is complete, you can delete your content from the old server. Alternatively, the host can delete data himself if the subscription expires.
Main reasons why people migrate WordPress website
There can be many reasons a person may need to move his website to a new web admin. The following are a few popular reasons:
Performance
Many types of hosting servers are available in the market. Shared hosting adversely affects website performance. So, to get the best performance, one might want to migrate WordPress site to a private and better-hosting service provider.
Reducing costs
Interestingly, if the owner of a WordPress site needs to cut additional costs, he can choose to migrate WordPress site from a more expensive hosting server to an affordable one.
Domain Name Changes
People often need to change a domain name, especially when their business grows and they want more people to direct. Companies seem to be trying a different hosting service with another domain name. Therefore, they need to migrate to the WordPress site.
Customer Support
A significant factor in WordPress site migration is poor client support by the current Host. People need an online web hosting company to help and support their customers.
Introducing New Websites
Sometimes businesses develop a fully customized WordPress site in place and later move it to a different server instead of launching an area with a basic design and minimal text.
So, if you are facing any of these problems, you should take the WordPress migration service or do it yourself. While migrating your site, use the Coming soon plugin WordPress. This will serve as a placeholder for your website, and you can have it up and running in a matter of minutes. This plugin is perfect for when you're in the process of moving your site to a new host or domain. It's also great if you're just updating your theme, adding new plugins, or fixing bugs. Here is the best WordPress migration process.
How to Move a WordPress Website?
There are three main ways to handle WordPress site traffic, each of which requires different amounts of time, cost, and expertise.
● Go to the old school and use SFTP / FTP.
● Use the WordPress migration plugin.
● Take WordPress migration services from your Host.
The best option for you will depend on your current hosting provider, the new hosting provider, and the size of your WordPress site you want to migrate to another. This-by-guide to quickly move your WordPress website will make the process hassle-free.
Migration WordPress Site via SFTP / FTP
You can Migrate from WordPress site using File Manager in the cPanel of your hosting provider or through an FTP or SFTP connection.
You should contact your hosting providers to configure this connection to use an SFTP / FTP. For this process, you need your username and password for your hosting account, FTP or SFTP address, and the correct port number.
Here are the steps of website migration via SFTP/FTP
1: To use File Manager in cPanel or SFTP / FTP connect, navigate to the migrating site's root folder (public_html common area). If you are unsure where the root folder is, you may want to contact your hosting provider, as it may be in a folder with a different name for security reasons.
2: If you use the File Manager available in cPanel, select public_html and download it to your computer.
If you are using an SFTP / FTP client, select the public_html folder and download it to your computer. To make it easier to move, you can create a zip file of the downloaded folder.
3: Now, you need to download your WordPress details. Sign in to the phpMyAdmin account of the old hosting.
4: Extract the database. (Note: if you see more than one database in the list of PhpMyAdmin, then contact your service provider to know about the actual database your site is using).
5: Select the website to export. Click Submit and quickly find the export type and SQL as the file type. Click Go.
6: Once your website's data has been downloaded, create the ZIP file of PhpMyAdmin import files. Alternatively, you can select the compressed PHPMyAdmin to compress the site before downloading.
7: Make sure nothing is posted on your new website; you are moving the file.
8: Go to a new hosting provider and create a new blank website. In cPanel, navigate to MySQL Databases and click on it, name the new database correctly and click Create Website.
9: In the MySQL Users section, create a new user. Create a username and password and select Create User. Note every detail, like all usernames and passwords you use to create the user and database. Next, you will need to update that data in the wp-config.php file.
10: Add a user to the site by going to Add User to the site, selecting a new user and the site, and then clicking Add.
11: You need to edit the wp-config.php file from the downloaded WordPress files. Be sure, if you have created a new website name "DB_NAME," the username "DB_USER, and password "DB_PASSWORD," you will want to update them here and save the file.
12: Log in to phpMyAdmin for the new site. Choose a new blank site you just created. Import the extracted SQL database to the current location by selecting a new website in the left Window, hitting the Import tab, selecting the file to import, and then clicking Go.
Select the zip file of the website you sent, make sure it is ready to import as a SQL file and hit Start Import.
13: You will want to upload WordPress files to the new installation. Log in to cPanel File Manager to install a new site or connect to SFTP / FTP to get a new site location. Upload a public_html folder to a new location.
14: If you are moving from a site, subdomain, or a different domain name, install a plugin like Best Search Replace on a relocated site to change all the old site URLs into new domain name URLs.
Connect Your Domain Name with New Website
When you migrate from WordPress site to a new host, you will need to connect the site to your domain name.
Update the new IP address to DNS records, or if you choose to keep DNS records in your web hosting, you can update the nameserver in your domain hosting account.
1: Sign in to your domain hosting account.
2: Select a domain to use for the new site.
3: Click Manage Domain and Advanced DNS.
4: On the record, use @ for Host and add the new IP address assigned to the new host provider under Value. TTL should be automatic.
5: Use www for Host in the CNAME record, and enter your new domain name under Value and Automatic TTL. After this, save all the changes.
Follow the instructions from your domain hosting provider to make sure all DNS records are available and updated to identify your new website location.
Using the WordPress Migration Plugin
You will usually take help from a plugin that you can install on your site to make the migration.
These plugins typically serve as a seamless installation wizard to guide you through moving WordPress files and websites from one place to another.
They also automatically install WordPress on the new site to customize the files and websites to be uploaded.
Process of migrate WordPress site using All-In-One Migration WP Plugin:
1: Log in to the backend of the WordPress site you want to migrate.
2: From the WordPress dashboard, navigate to the plugins and click Apply New.
3: Search for All-In-One WP Migration and install the All-In-One WP Migration plugin provided by ServMask.
4: Activate the plugin.
5: You must also repeat the fourth point for the new WordPress site to have a plugin installed on both new and old websites.
6: Install the Reinstall Plugin by Alex Mills (Viper007Bond) on the site you want to migrate to another.
7: Update ALL WordPress plugins, themes, and critical files on Both sites (Note: the WordPress version must be the same for both sites).
8: Create an export file using the "All-in-One WP Migration" plugin.
9: Optional: Add a rule to "Get" your site startup site and "Remove" your old site startup (only if required)
10: Extract the file and download the file to your computer.
11: Open the "All-in-One Migration" plugin on the new site and import the file from the previous.
12: Once the file is uploaded, use the export file uploaded to the new site when prompted.
13: Go to Setup> Permalinks and save several times.
14: Check all your plugins and make sure they are working.
15: Check out the media library. If images are unavailable, use the Thumbnails Replacement plugin to refresh them if necessary.
16: Check all pages, posts, etc., to ensure everything looks right. After that, you can update your recently moved WordPress site to check the site's look.
17: Install the Better Search Replace plugin provided by Delicious Brains on the new WordPress website.
18: Go to Tools> Best Search Location in the WordPress Dashboard.
19: Add the URL of your old site (i.e., oldwebsite.com) to the "Search" field.
20: Add the URL of your new site (i.e., newwebsite.com) to the "Replace" field.
21: Launch the dry run. If you are happy with a dry run, use the actual plugin.
22: Navigate to theme files (especially style.css, but maybe PHP files) to make sure all "oldwebsite.com" features are replaced by "newwebsite.com."
23: Check out your new site. If the changes did not work, clear your browser cache. If the changes are not yet enabled, clear your server's cache.
Take WordPress Migration service from your host.
The first option to move a website is very simple (and a little stressful!) But whether this option depends on which hosting provider you will migrate to the WordPress site.
Most managed WordPress hosting providers, such as Flywheel or SiteGround, will make a free migration or will provide a plugin you can install on your site to make the migration.
All you have to do is fill out a short form on their website with the current catch details and ask them to continue the move.
This process can take one to three days but will give you the best WordPress Migration service without any stress of data loss.
3 Reasons for Website Migration failure
When you are leading your website migration process, these are the main reasons that your all effort in the WordPress migration may fail, and you lose so much essential data.
- When you pre-plan the whole migration process like the scope of migration, migration checklists preparation, redirect plans, and so on. Then you may get successful website migrations.
- Lack of information about risk factors involved in the website migrations process.
- You don’t know how to prepare a migration checklist for a successful result.
So, if you want to save your data and effort, I will advise you to hire a WordPress developer. You can contact a WordPress development company with the best expert team to successfully migrate a WordPress site.