How to migrate WordPress the right way? A complete guide

Migrating a website to a new hosting provider or web server can be daunting for many WordPress users. This is understandable as a poorly executed WordPress migration can trigger adverse effects like downtime and data loss.

Fortunately, migrating a WordPress site to another web host the right way is not as complicated as you might think. In addition to the manual method, there are many tools available that can help automate most of the process, ensuring a safe and easy migration.

In this article we will explain five ways to migrate a WordPress site to a new server. We will also list five of the best migration plugins to make the process easier.

1. Migrate your WordPress site manually

Manual migration requires you to transfer files and databases, and then edit the file wp-config.php. You can do it all through the file manager in your control panel or use an FTP client like .

Step 1. Backup your WordPress files and MySQL database

First things first, you need to download all the WordPress files to your computer. These files will be uploaded to your new hosting account later.

1. to your old server.
2. open the folder public_html and select all the files it contains.
3. Right click and select Discharge.

To download the files from the file manager of your control panel, follow these steps:

1. Access the file manager from the Files section of your hosting service’s control panel.
2. In the next area, go to public_html and find your site folder. If you only have one site, the WordPress installation will be in this folder.
3. Select all the files and then press compress. In the next window, you need to give your WordPress file a name and choose the file extension. Press the confirmation button.
4. The file will remain in your folder, select it and download it by pressing Download.

Once the download is complete, it’s time to create a backup of your MySQL database:

1. Go to the Databases area of ​​your control panel and select phpMyAdmin.
2. Then, in the database you want to export, click Enter phpMyAdmin. In this example, there is only one, but you must know exactly which database it is to avoid errors.
3. Select the database where you store your WordPress files and press the button Export.
4. Choose the method Fast to export your entire database and then choose SQL as format.
5. click on Continue. Your database file will automatically be saved to your desktop directory.

Step 2. Upload the WordPress files and MySQL database to your new host

The next step in migrating your WordPress website is that you have downloaded it to your new host.

1. Unzip your WordPress backup file.
2. Connect FileZilla to your new hosting account and navigate to the folder public_html in the column remote site.
3. Locate the files you want to upload from the column local siteright-click the files and select upload.

You can also perform this step from your control panel:

1. In the file manager of your hosting service, go to public_html and press Upload files. Then select the file and click the confirmation button.
2. Go to where the file is located, select it, press Extract and choose the place where you want to extract. Confirm and the file will start unzipping. In a few minutes, you will have the files inside your folder.

Once that step is done, we need to load the MySQL database:

1. Open the control panel of your new hosting account and go to MySQL databases.
2. Create a new database and take note of the database name, Username Y password.
3. Go back to Databases -> phpMyAdmin and select your new database.
4. Click on the tab to import at the top of the page.
5. Select the button choose file and upload the MySQL backup file you downloaded.
6. Leave all settings as they are and press Continue.

Step 3. Update wp-config.php with your new database details

Next, specify the credentials of your new MySQL database by editing the file wp-config.php in your new hosting account.

1. Re-access the folder public_html from FileZilla or from the file manager and locate the file wp-config.php.
2. Right click and select View/Edit.
3. Change these values ​​with the details of your new database:

• DB_NAME: database name.
• DB_USER: Database username.
• DB_PASSWORD: user password.
• DB_HOST: database hostname (this value is usually localhostbut may vary depending on the hosting platform).

4. Choose Save, then a pop-up window will appear. click on Yes.
5. Next, you need to change the DNS servers for your domain. For that, we already have a detailed tutorial that you can refer to.

Step 4. Update WordPress URLs (Optional)

You should follow this step only if you plan to migrate domain WordPress. Before proceeding, make sure the new domain is functional and correctly points to your new hosting platform.

1. go to the page phpMyAdmin and select the table wp_options.
2. Locate the site url and the home in the column option_name.
3. Double-click the field below option_value and replace the old domain with the new one.
4. access your Panel of WordPress, then install and activate the plugin.
5. go to Tools -> Update URLs. Fill in the fields with your old and new domain, and check all the boxes.
6. press Update URLs NOW.

Alternatively, you can also update all WordPress URLs by running a query through phpMyadmin.

2. Migrate your WordPress site with a plugin

The first method of migrating a WordPress site is to use a clone plugin. There are hundreds of PHP clone scripts in the WordPress plugin directory to choose from.

We recommend using the plugin as it is easy to use and provides all the necessary migration tools.

Before you start the WordPress migration process, make sure you are on your old and new hosting account. Once done, follow these steps:

1. Open the WordPress dashboard of the WordPress site you want to transfer and navigate to All-in-One WP Migration -> Export.
2. click on export to and choose the option File, Archive from the dropdown menu.

3. Wait for the plugin to finish retrieving your WordPress files. Once the process is finished, download the backup file in format .wpress from the popup window.
4. Open the WordPress admin panel of your new hosting account and go to All-in-One WP Migration -> to import.
5. click on import from and choose File, Archive. Next, locate the WordPress files that you have exported. Please note that the default maximum upload file size is 128MB. If your backup file is larger than 128 MBincrease the maximum WordPress upload file size before continuing.

6. Once the process is complete, click To finalize.

If the import method does not work, you can upload the backup data manually via FTP or File Manager and use the restore function. To unlock the backup restore feature, you will need to purchase the .

1. go to All-in-One WP Migration -> Export on your old server.
2. Generate and download the file .wpress on your local computer.
3. Access your FTP client or open the File Manager on your new WordPress hosting.
4. Upload the file .wpress to the folder wp-content/ai1wm-backups.

5. In the WordPress admin panel of your new server, go to All-in-One WP Migration -> Backups. The file .wpress it should appear there.
6. Select the icon Restoration next to the file .wpress.

7. click on Continue to start the migration process.

The last step in using the plugin is to re-save the . You have to change the structure twice to rebuild the file .htaccess.

1. From the WordPress sidebar menu, select Settings -> permalinks.
2. Choose a new structure and press Save Changes. If you are using a custom structure, make sure to copy it first.
3. Reload the settings page Permalinks and select your original structure.
4. Press Save Changes once you’re done.

3. Migrate your WordPress site with hPanel

is the fastest and easiest way to transfer WordPress websites to . Easily accessible through , this feature handles the entire migration process for you.

The tool requires your WordPress username, password, and the link used when logging into the WordPress admin panel (yourwebsite.com/wp-admin).

The migration tool will also need the link to the old hosting provider’s login page along with the username and password of the old hosting account.

Here’s how to use ‘s migration tool:

1. Login to your hPanel and navigate to Website -> Migrate a website.

2. click on add request and choose the tab wordpress.
3. Fill in the required fields with the details of your WordPress site and your hosting plan:

• website to migrate: Enter the domain name of your new WordPress website.
• http://yourdomain.com/wp-admin: the site URL to your WordPress admin panel. For example, yourwebsite.com/wp-admin.
• WordPress username: The admin username used to log in to your WordPress admin panel.
• WordPress Password: The admin password used to log in to your WordPress admin panel.
• Select the previous hosting provider– Choose GoDaddy, SiteGround, HostGator, or Bluehost. If your hosting company is not listed, choose Other.

4. click on add request.

4. Migrate your WordPress site with a hosting backup service

The last migration method uses the web host’s backup service to move the WordPress files to the new web host.

Some hosting providers, such as , generate backups on a regular basis. You can use these backups to migrate your WordPress site to the new server.

If the WordPress website you’re migrating from uses , here’s how you can download your backup using hPanel:

1. Log in to hPanel and navigate to Records -> Backups.
2. generates backups on a regular basis, so you have the option to select an existing backup or generate a new one for download.

• If you want to save an existing backup, select File backupschoose the time of the backup and download it.
• If you want to save a new backup, select Trigger…