How to Backup & Restore WordPress Website Data to A2 Hosting for Migration

WordPress is a flexible, open source content management system (CMS) developed to make setting up and running a website easy for anyone. WordPress is free to use, and because it’s open source it is highly customizable, meaning you can fit it to almost any business need or requirement. That being said, there are times when you need to be able to restore a previous version of your site to make changes or add new content.

Many web hosts, such as A2 Hosting, provide you with the ability to migrate (or move) a WordPress site to their servers, for free. This can be a simple process with some prerequisites that must be followed in order to ensure a flawless transition.

Find The Right Tool

In order to be able to successfully restore a WordPress website, you need to plan ahead and make sure you have the right tools. To help with this, A2 Hosting provides you with the WordPress Migrate Tool, which is a cross-platform module that allows you to move your WordPress site to their servers with just a few clicks of a mouse.

While it would be great to have this tool do the heavy lifting for you, it requires a bit of technical knowledge to be able to use it effectively. For instance, you need to know which folders to include in the upload process, and you need to have a clear picture of what to expect once the migration is complete. These are all things you should know before you start using the tool.

Create A Restore Point

Even though A2 Hosting provides you with the migrate tool, it does not mean that you just import everything from your old host and run off on a cloud of excitement. The truth is, every site has settings, content, and other details that you need to take care of before you can move forward with the process.

In order to make sure everything goes smoothly, you need to create or find a way to get a copy of your old WordPress site before you start the import process. This is where the Google Chrome extension Copy Tabs comes in handy. Simply install the extension, and when you browse the web content of your old site, the extension will copy the URL of every page as you navigate through it. This way, you know exactly what you’re importing and can verify it against what you’ve already created.

Make Sure Your Files Are In Place

Once you have a backup of your old site, you can start the import process by heading to the dashboard of your A2 Hosting account and clicking on the “Import WordPress Site” button.

From there, you’ll need to enter the URL of your old site (you can find this in the address bar of any existing browser window on your computer or device). After you type in the URL, a window will open displaying all the folders and files of your old site. From there, you can click on the “Choose Files” button.

The next step is to choose the folders you want to include in the import process – make sure you include the /wp-content/ folder as this is where all your site’s data is stored. Once you’ve chosen the folders, click on the “Continue” button.

Start The Import Process

Now that you have your files in place, it’s time to start the import process by clicking on the “Start Importation” button located at the top of the page. This will download and run a small script that prepares your site for migration. Once the script is finished, you’ll be directed to a page displaying a success message.

If everything goes well, you will see a confirmation message at the top of the screen, indicating your new site has been successfully imported and you can now start using it. If there were any errors during the process, you’ll see these mentioned on the same page as well.

Verify Your Site’s Settings

Even though the setup process for your new site is complete, you should still go through a quick verification step to make sure everything is set up correctly. From the dashboard, click on the Settings menu and then select the “Reading” option from the menu that appears.

This will open up a page where you can confirm the details of your new site, including its name, description, and other general settings. Make sure you input the correct URL for your site and then click on the “Save Changes” button at the bottom of the page.

Check Out Your Site In All Its Glory

After you’ve followed the guidelines above and verified your site’s settings, it’s time to take a quick look at it in all its glory. To do this, head back to the dashboard and click on the “Site” menu icon, located at the top of the screen. From here, you can access all the site’s settings and features – everything you need to know about your site, in one convenient place.

If everything went well, you should now be able to access your site just as you left it, with all the settings and content intact. At this point, you can visit any page on your site, and if everything is set up correctly, you will see no errors or warnings. This means your site is ready to be used and any content you create or import will be displayed as expected.

So, in summary, above we went over some of the basics of how to backup and restore a WordPress website. We started by finding the right tool (the WordPress Migrate Tool) and then created a restore point (a copy of your old website) before starting the import process. After that, we made sure that all our files were in place and then started the process itself by clicking on the “Start Importation” button. Finally, we verified our site’s settings against what was originally set up and then took a look at it in all its glory, to make sure everything was set up correctly.