Move Wordpress Website

Created by DiziSavvy Support, Modified on Sun, 15 Aug, 2021 at 2:51 AM by DiziSavvy Support

Step 1 - Backup your website

To restore your WordPress website on the hosting account, you need to make a backup of the website's filesand the database. Use this guide to generate the backup files and download them to your computer.


Step 2 - Upload the backup to your Shared hosting account

1. Log into your cPanel account using domain.com/cpanel or https://servername:2083 URL.
The cPanel login details differ from the Namecheap ones, and were sent in your Hosting Welcome Guide. If you don't have those details or don't remember your cPanel password, a 
 
2. Next, go to the File Manager menu in the Files section.
 
3. Move to your domain's root folder. Files for the main hosting domain are located in the public_html folder. In case you wish to transfer the website of an addon domain, you can check the root folder in the Addon Domainsmenu.
 
4. Click Upload in the File Manager toolbar:


Use the Select File button to upload the backup of the files from your computer (e.g., wp-name-of-website-number-date.tar.gz):


PLEASE NOTE: If your backup file is large, it will be faster to transfer it using FTP.

5. When the upload is complete, click Go Back to the root folder of the domain.
Right-click the uploaded file and select Extract to extract files into the working directory:



Step 3 - Create a new database

Use this guide to create a new database, database user, and to assign the user to the database. Take a note of the database name, the database user, and database user password. You will need those details later.

Step 4 - Edit the configuration details

1. Go back to File Manager. Find the extracted files, right-click the wp-config.php file, and select Edit.

2. Find the MySQL settings line and replace the database name, database username, and password with your actual values. Also, change the MySQL hostname to localhost:


Save the changes and close the file.

Step 5 - Import the database

1. Go back to the cPanel >> PHPMyAdmin menu and import the database backup as described in this guide.
 

2. Wait for the database to be imported. A list of the WordPress tables should appear on the left:


The transfer is completed. We recommend checking how the website resolves from the Shared server before changing DNS. You can find the instructions here.

If everything works correctly, change DNS to point the domain to your new hosting account.
 
 

Transfer with the help of plugins

All-in-one WP migration plugin

 
Step 1 - Export WordPress website

1. Log into your WordPress dashboard. By default, the link is yourdomain.tld/wp-admin
If you have an EasyWP installation and don't remember your password, use this guide to reset it.

2. Go to Plugins >> Add new >> search for All-in-one WP migration:



Click the Install Now button to install the plugin. Then, click Activate.

PLEASE NOTE: The free version of this plugin allows importing websites up to 512MB.

3. Go to Export in the new All-in-one WP Migration menu that appeared in the left sidebar:


4. Click the Export To button. There you have several export options (like Dropbox, GoogleDrive, FTP, etc.). Select the File option:


5. Wait for the files to be prepared, and click the link to download the backup to your computer:


Step 2 - Install WordPress on a Shared server

Log into your cPanel account using domain.com/cpanel or https://servername:2083 URL.
The cPanel login details differ from the Namecheap ones and were sent in your Hosting Welcome Guide. If you don't have those details or don't remember your cPanel password, a member of our Support Team would be happy to resend the email or help you reset your password.

Use this guide to install WordPress on your domain.

Step 3 - Install the All-in-one WP migration plugin on the Shared server side

At this point, your domain is still pointed to the previous hosting provider or EasyWP server. If you are not worried about the downtime, you can go on and change DNS to point your domain to the Shared account.
If you want to avoid downtime, you can access your new website on your computer by temporarily modifying the hosts file.

When you are ready, access the WordPress dashboard at yourdomain.tld/wp-admin. Make sure you are in the new dashboard. It should be a default one, with no posts, pages.

Install the All-in-one WP Migration plugin the same way you installed it on the WordPress side.

Step 4 - Import the backup

1. Go to All-in-one WP Migration >> Import and click the Import to button. Select File from the drop-down list:


2. Select the .wpress backup file saved on your computer. A pop-up window with the warning will appear. Click Proceed:

 
3. Wait for the import to complete. When a confirmation message appears, click Permalinks Settings:



PLEASE NOTE: You may need to re-log in to your WordPress dashboard. As the backup has already been restored, use the login details that were set for the WordPress dashboard previously.

4. In the Permalinks menu, select the permalink structure you prefer and click Save Changes.
If you are using the Custom Structure, copy it first. Select a different setting and click Save Changes. Then, paste the Custom structure and save it again:


The transfer is completed. You should test your WordPress site to make sure that everything is working as expected.

In case you haven't pointed your domain to the Shared account in the previous step, update the DNS records as described in this guide.

 
 

Duplicator plugin


Step 1 - Backup WordPress website using Duplicator

1. Log into your WordPress dashboard. By default, the link is yourdomain.tld/wp-admin. If you don't remember your password, use this guide to reset it.

2. Go to Plugins >> Add new >> and search for Duplicator:


Click the Install Now button to install the plugin, then click Activate.

3. A new menu Duplicator will appear in the left sidebar. Go to Duplicator >> Packages. Click the Create Newbutton at the top right corner:

4. Click Next and check the scan results. If everything says Good, click Build and wait for the process to complete:


5. Once the package is ready, you will see download options. Use One Click-Download to save both the Installer file and the Archive to your computer (make sure both files were downloaded. You may also download them separately):


Step 2 - Upload the backup to your hosting account

1. Log into your cPanel account using domain.com/cpanel or https://servername:2083 URL.
The cPanel login details differ from the Namecheap ones, and were sent in your Hosting Welcome Guide. If you don't have those details or don't remember your cPanel password, a member of our Support Team would be happy to resend the email or help you reset your password.
 
2. Next, go to the File Manager menu in the Files section.
 
3. Move to your domain's root folder. Files for the main hosting domain are located in the public_html folder. In case you wish to transfer the website of an addon domain, you can check the root folder in the Addon Domainsmenu.
 

Click Upload in the File Manager toolbar:

 

 
4. Use the Select File button to upload the installer.php and the file archive from your computer:
 

Click Go Back when the uploads are complete.

Step 3 - Create a new database

Use this guide to create a new database, database user, and to assign the user to the database. Take a note of the database name, the database user, and database user password. You will need those details later.

Step 4 - Run the installer

Next step is to access installer.php on the new server. However, the domain is still pointed to the previous hosting provider or EasyWP server at this point.  If you are not worried about the downtime, you can go on and change DNS to point your domain to the Shared account.
If you want to avoid downtime, you can access your new website on your computer by temporarily modifying the hosts file.

1. When you are ready, access the installer using the yourdomain.tld/installer.php link, replacing yourdomain.tldwith your actual domain name.

2. The installer will run some checks and show you Pass next to Archive and Validation.
If you see any error, fix it and access the link again.

Check the I have read and accept all terms & notices box and click Next:

3. On the next step, enter localhost as the host, the database name, database username, and database user password you created earlier. Click Next:


4. A pop-up window will appear. Confirm the database settings by clicking Yes:


5. On the third step, you can change the domain for the installation, the path through which the files will be extracted, and the title for the website. If you are not planning to change the domain, leave the defaults and click Next:


6. The installation process will take several minutes to complete. Once finished, you will be taken to the fourth step. Open your website in a browser and log in to the WordPress dashboard to check if everything works as expected:


7. Finally, go back to cPanel >> File Manager >> root folder of the domain and delete the installation files:
  • installer.php
  • installer-backup.php
  • dup-installer-data_[HASH].sql
  • dup-database_[HASH].sql
  • dup-installer-log_[HASH].txt
  • [HASH]_archive.zip


To delete a file, right-click it and select Delete from the drop-down menu
Leaving these files in your account can impose a security risk.


The transfer is completed. You may visit your WordPress site to make sure that everything is working as expected. 

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