Moving your Wordpress website to a new hosting server may be necessary for various reasons, whether you're looking for better performance, lower costs, or better customer support. The migration process might seem complicated, but if you follow the correct steps, you can move your site without major issues. In this article, we'll show you how to migrate your WordPress website to another hosting step by step.
Step 1: Backing Up Your WordPress Website
The first and most important step is to create a complete backup of your website. This includes backing up all files and the database. You can use a backup plugin like UpdraftPlus, or do it manually via cPanel or FTP for files and phpMyAdmin for the database.
Step 2: Preparing the New Hosting Environment
Before migrating, ensure your new hosting account is fully set up and ready. This includes installing WordPress if your hosting doesn't do it automatically for you. Also, check if the PHP and MySQL versions are compatible with your current WordPress installation.
Step 3: Importing the Database to the New Hosting
Log into phpMyAdmin on your new hosting and import the database backup you created in step 1. Before importing, you may need to create a new database and database user in cPanel or your hosting's equivalent tool.
Step 4: Uploading WordPress Files
Use an FTP client to upload all the backed-up WordPress files to the root directory of your new hosting. Make sure you upload hidden files like .htaccess as well.
Step 5: Modifying the wp-config.php File
After uploading the files, you need to modify the wp-config.php file to reflect the new database access details (database name, username, and password). You obtained these details when creating the database in step 3.
Step 6: Changing DNS Records
The final step is to change the DNS records of your domain to point to the new hosting. This change is made with your domain registrar. It can take several hours to days for the DNS records to fully propagate.
Step 7: Testing the Website
After completing the migration and DNS propagation, thoroughly test your website to ensure everything works as expected. Check links, form functionality, image loading, and other key features.
Migrating a WordPress website to another hosting requires careful planning and execution, but with this guide, you should be able to handle the process smoothly. It's important not to forget to back up your site before starting the migration and to thoroughly test after completion to avoid any issues
