How to move a self-hosted WordPress website

to another server

If you are looking to move a self-hosted WordPress website to different hosting, this guide is for you.

It is chock-a-block full of useful tips and takes you through a step by step process, that will be fine for most instances.

You should try and plan your migration for when your traffic is at the lowest, and expect dns propagation to take up to a couple of days.

If you need WordPress support, please get in touch.

Note: This guide does not refer to related topics such as migrating email accounts, which often should be dealt with at the same time as moving a website to new hosting.

Step 1 – Backup your files

Using a ftp client backup all the files of your existing WordPress website. This will be hundreds of files and depending on your server speed, it can take up to thirty minutes even for a small website.

There are alternative methods which are quicker, helped by using plugins or a control panel, but this guide is covering the most basic backup method, to cater for as many self-hosted WordPress website installations as possible.

Step 2 – Backup the MySQL database

Again you can opt to use a control panel backup feature if available, though many control panels will use phpMyAdmin, which is a fantastic MySQL database management package.

If you have no means to create a backup you can use a plugin or quite easily install your own instance of phpMyAdmin on your host server.

Step 3 – Configure your new hosting

To help pave the way for your website migration you need to setup your new web host account. This is because it could take a short while for access such as ftp to be enabled.

If you are moving the website between servers with the same host company, often you will need to de-associate a domain with one server, then re-associate with another.

Step 4 – Update your domain records

If your domain is managed in a different location to your new web hosting you will need to update the domain name servers with the new web host’s name server details.

Also if you are not moving the domain, but purely the website hosting, you will need to find out the name server addresses for your new web hosting. Often they are supplied at the time of setting up an account, else available in a support support or you can always contact support at your new host.

Step 5 – Setup a new MySQL database

At your new web host you need to setup a new MySQL database, which should be the same MySQL version as the database you are moving.

Step 6 – Import your old MySQL database into your new MySQL database

Now you should import your old MySQL into the new database. The process for a small database shouldn’t take a minute or under.

Step 7 – Modify your .htaccess and wp-config.php files

You might have custom coding that might require modifying in your .htacess file in the root of your website.

New or basic self-hosted WordPress don’t know, so if in doubt and you have a new or basic self-hosted WordPress website, you probably won’t have to touch your .htaccess file.

However the wp-config.php will need updating with your new database log details and server address.

Step 8 – Upload your files

Now you can upload your WordPress files to your new web host via FTP.

The process will take a while.

It is worth making sure you have already performed the database work as mentioned in steps 5 and 6, else WordPress will make itself available to do a new installation, which presents a security risk.

Do you need help?

If you need help with moving a WordPress website or WordPress development, please do not hesitate to contact Neogain.

If you require WordPress migration support, please get in touch.