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At first glance, a WordPress migration may seem more complicated than it actually is. These instructions will guide you through the process step by step.
This is how you prepare for the WordPress migration
There are many reasons why you might need to move a WordPress website. Often, this is due to a change of hosting provider or a domain change of your own website. Proper preparation is important for a successful migration.
- Before you start the migration, it is essential to create a complete backup of your website. To do this, you can either use a plugin such as UpdraftPlus, All-In-One WP Migration or Duplicator, or you can back up the files and the database manually.
- If you decide to do a manual backup, you can use an FTP program like FileZilla to download all the files from the /wp-content/ directory. You can also export your MySQL database via phpMyAdmin or a corresponding plugin.
- If you are switching to a new web host, make sure that WordPress is already installed there. In this case, you will also need an empty MySQL database to import your old database.
Step by step to a successful migration
After the preparations, the actual move can take place. Plan enough time for this to avoid simple mistakes.
- The first step is to migrate the files and the database. Transfer your backed-up WordPress files via FTP to the new hosting directory.
- To import the database, open phpMyAdmin on your new server, create a new database and import the previously exported SQL file.
- Now, go to wp-config.php and adjust the database access data (database name, username, password and host).
- If the domain of your website changes, you will need to adjust old URLs. The best way to do this is to use a plugin like Better Search Replace to replace old URLs with a new URL.
- After the migration, it is important that you check your WordPress website for errors. First, check that all links and images are displayed correctly.
- Other important tests include the updates to the permalink structure. To do this, go to Settings ☻ Permalinks in the WordPress settings and save them again to update the URL structure.
- If you are using HTTPS, make sure that an SSL certificate is active.
