Move WordPress Site to New Host (Step by Step Guide)

Q: Steps To Do Before Moving WordPress Site to New Host

1. Back Up Your Website Files 2. Export the Database 3. Creating MySQL Database on New Host and Import Your WordPress Database 4. Import Your WordPress Site to the New Host 5. Update DNS 6. Check This List After Transferring the WordPress Site to New Host

Do you have a website based on WordPress that you need to move to a new hosting provider? This may sound like a complicated thing to do. However, our guide on moving the WordPress site to a new host will share the steps you should follow to get the job done.

Steps To Do Before Moving WordPress Site to New Host

There are some preparation steps that you should go through before you move your WordPress website to the new host. The size of your database will determine the time taken for migration. You will also be able to clear cache directories, remove backups, and remove unused videos, themes, and plugins to reduce space. By doing this, you can speed up the migration process.
You will need to take inventory of all content that you have. It would help make sure that all files are transferred to the new host accordingly. It would help if you also took notes of the current themes. This is where you should go through the theme files and all other specific additions to the code.

Another important thing you should do is take inventory of all network resources. It would help focus on the configurations, including domain names, IP information, external and internal DNS entries, and firewall access control lists. Likewise, you should review the JavaScript versions and frameworks, which will enable a smooth transition. You should get in touch with your SSL certificate provider and learn more about the terms and conditions related to migrating the website. Last but not least, you should be aware of the size of your website. If the size exceeds 1GB, you might need to migrate manually. That’s because your website will be too large to proceed with automatic migration.

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How to Migrate WordPress Site to New Host

1. Back Up Your Website Files

Now you know how to prepare before you migrate WordPress site to new host. Then you should proceed with backing up the critical files on your website. Unexpected things can happen as you migrate files. If you don’t want to encounter any problems with missing or corrupted files, you should take backups. You don’t have to worry about losing your data in such situations, as you can quickly restore them from the backups. You will be able to take the backups using an FTP tool to your local location on the computer.

Related: WordPress Host Definition

2. Export the Database

The next step you should follow to move WordPress site to new host is to export the database. The database is one of the most critical aspects of the WordPress website. That’s because it contains the data of all your posts and pages. You will access your database via phpMyAdmin, available through the hosting control panel.

You will need to select the same database of your WordPress website from the left-hand panel and then click on the Export button that you can see on the menu bar. Ensure that the export format is in SQL before proceeding with the export. Once you click on the “Go” button, you can get the database export downloaded in the form of a .sql file. You will need to keep it in the same website folder to proceed with the migration.

3. Creating MySQL Database on New Host and Import Your WordPress Database

You should log into the new host and use cPanel to access “MySQL Databases.” This is where you will create a new database while using the same name as the old database. Depending on the host you select, you will come across the need to add a mandatory prefix to the database. Make sure that you carefully change the name of the database under such a situation.

Next, you can get to phpMyAdmin. Then you can click on import and proceed with importing the SQL file. You should then open up the wp-config.php file, which you downloaded. You can search for the name of the database again and change the value of the database name with a new one.

As the next step, you should create a new database user. You may click on “Add New User” and do it. You can open up the wp-config.php file and change the user and password as preferred. Finally, you will need to add the user to the created database.

4. Import Your WordPress Site to the New Host

Now you are done with the database configuration, you may proceed to migrate the WordPress site to a new host. This is where you can start uploading the files to the website. It would help if you connected to the new web host via an FTP tool and then located the folder where you will upload the WordPress file. You will usually need to upload files into the “public_html” folder. Make sure that you are also uploading the updated wp-config.php file.

This file upload process might take some time, and it varies based on the total amount of files you have. Ensure that you don’t delete the files from the local computer until you finish the file upload process.

5. Update DNS

As you transfer WordPress site to new host, you should also update DNS. This is where you need to get to the DNS nameservers. However, it would help if you also ensured that the website users are taken to the new location as they enter the website URL on the browser. You can transfer the domain to the new host with the help of the domain registrar you selected. All you have to do is to update the nameservers. The nameservers would usually look similar to ns1.hostname.com and ns2.hostname.com. You can find comprehensive guides on the internet on how to do this. You may follow such a guide and get the job done. You may call it your domain registration company if you need any support.

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6. Check This List After Transferring the WordPress Site to New Host

There are a few essential things you should check upon completing the migration. For example, you should ensure that all the Permalinks of pages and posts are correctly updated. You may verify this by going to the Settings of your WordPress website and clicking on Permalinks. The posts, pages, and links of the WordPress website should show correctly. You should look for broken links and spend time fixing them.
You can now delete the archive files and the installer that you used. We don’t encourage you to keep them as they can lead you to security issues. You will also need to keep a local backup of the file, which you can use if there is a need to reverse the migration. You also cancel the old hosting account to avoid getting charged.

Conclusion

You may follow this as a comprehensive guide to transferring your website to a new host. Since you can follow all the steps on your own, there is no need to seek the assistance of an expert to get the job done.

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