Transferring a wordpress website to an existing server or a new thirdparty server has always been considered a task. Although there are many plugins available but without any prior experience one cannot execute this work successfully due to reasons listed below:
- Formatting and layouts been affeted during migration
- Difficulties uploading large database to new server
- Migration of larger files takes time
- You may loose the CSS and import settings
So let’s know more about wordpress migration and transfer of a simple to complex / advanced level wordpress website from the begininng.
What is a WordPress Website?
In simple words, WordPress is used to build a website using different themes. One of the most popular and simple ways to have your own website is by creating it with WordPress.
More than one in four websites is created by WordPress. 2021 data shows that over 455 million sites use WordPress. This number is pretty big. It is growing fast and has become a legend for blogging as well.
| 1. | Over 62% of top companies in the US use WordPress |
| 2. | Over 500 new websites are being created with the free version of WordPress.org |
| 3. | There are around 455 million sites that use WordPress |
WordPress is simple and cost-effective. Transferring the WordPress site is a task for a lot of people. There are a few things you need to keep in mind while moving your WordPress site. I personally have spent hours searching for information on how the process will work and what are things to do while transferring to the WordPress site.
Here I have listed step by step guide to transferring WordPress site:
A) BACKUP
When moving a WordPress site from one domain to a new domain, you need to have a backup of your website.
Why do you need to backup a website?
Backup is very important while you are planning to transfer your WordPress Site. Having a backup will save you from difficult situations in the future. In case of any error occurs, it is always too good to have an original version saved. Add this task to your to-do list to avoid hours of troubleshooting.
Basically, you can get a backup through two different ways:
- Backup with plugin 2) Manual backup
BACKUP USING PLUGIN
Steps to take backup of any WordPress site with the plugin.
- Go to your dashboard
- Simply go to the plugins
- Add new plugin
- Go to the search bar and type Duplicator PRO plugin
- Click install and activate the plugin
- Click the Duplicator link in the navigation bar
- From the package page, click on Create New
- Enter a name for WordPress backup and click the Next button
- Your files will be scanned for backup and once the scan is done click the Build button
- Now you can download the installer files and Archive
- You can also choose the One-Click Download button to download both files (.php and .zip)
- Download the compressed file And it’s done.
MANUAL BACKUP
How to take Backup of WordPress site without a plugin?
You can access your WordPress sites’ files in two different ways: Via cPanel and Via FTP. For cPanel you need to have your Username and password.
Steps to take backup of any WordPress site with the cPanel.
- Login to your account using your Username and password.
- Now you will see the file manager option.
- Now from the list of folders in the left panel, select “public_html”.
- Expand the folder by clicking on the + symbol.
- Select all from the right panel and right-click to download the files. OR you can use another method to download files. Select the public_html folder and right-click and click compress. This will not overload your server.
Once you are done with this, you need to create a backup for your Database as well.
B) CREATE BACKUP OF WORDPRESS DATABASE
To upload a database to your new domain, you need to create one. Follow these steps to create a database
- go to your phpMyAdmin in your control panel.
- Select the database and select export.
- Select quick method and choose SQL as the format
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- Click on Go to save your database automatically to your desktop directory.
Once you’re done with the backup of your database, now you need to create a new SQL database.
What is SQL Database?
SQL is a Structured Query Language. In simple words, SQL Database is used to store a large amount of data. SQL is used to communicate with Databases.
C) CREATE A NEW SQL DATABASE FOR THE NEW DOMAIN
- Go to Database in Cpanel
- Select MySQL Database option
- Create a new Database and add users to it
- Access the new database using phpMyAdmin
- Upload the .sql file in the import tab within the new database.
Finally, it’s all done. Now your old database is located on your new web host. However, you still need to re-upload the rest of your site’s files.
CONCLUSION:
Having a website is not enough. You need to work on it regularly to have good website health. Keep in mind to take regular backups to avoid any other problems in the future. Manual backup is the process that takes your valuable time. It is recommended to use WordPress backup plugins.
