How to Move a WordPress Site from One Hosting Service to Another
If you have a WordPress site and are looking for a new web host to move to, perhaps the most important thing to consider is transferring your content. You will want to consider the following steps in order to achieve a smooth transition…
Step One: Back Up Your Content
It is never a good idea to start a new website without first making a careful backup of your existing site. The last thing you want to do is lose all of your existing content because of a server error or malfunction. To ensure the safety of your content, you should always try to take regular backups of your site. Some hosts will offer you this service for free; others may charge you for this convenience. If you go this route, be sure to review the terms of service so you don’t get charged for something you weren’t expecting. Typically, these types of backups will be made daily or weekly, depending on the size of your site and the frequency with which you update it. If you have a large site with frequent updates, you may want to consider backing up your content more frequently.
Step Two: Migrate The Data
The next step in the process will be to migrate the data from your old host to the new one. This can be a time-consuming process, so be sure to plan for it. During this process, you will want to take your time and make sure everything is transferred successfully. If you are using a shared hosting plan with your previous host, this process will be made much easier for you because all of the files will already be on the new server when you begin the process. In this case, you will simply need to follow the directions that your new host provides you with to move the data from the old server to the new one (usually just click a few buttons and everything is done for you).
Step Three: Restore The Databases
Once you have all of the content transferred successfully from your old host to the new one, you can begin the final step of the process which is to restore the databases on the new server. This process can take some time, especially if you are dealing with a large number of databases, so be sure to plan for it. When all of the databases have been successfully restored, you can then test your site to see if everything functions as it should. If you discover that there are any issues during this phase, you will have to go back and address them before you can really test the site to see if it functions correctly or not. Once you are satisfied that the site is working properly, you can make it live. If you are following the recommended steps, this should only take you a couple of hours to a couple of days, depending on how busy the servers are and how much traffic your site receives. And that is all there is to it! You now have a brand new WordPress site and all of the content from your old site is intact and ready to be used.
Of course, this is not a step-by-step tutorial that will take you from beginning to end. Instead, it is a general overview of the process which you should follow in order to successfully move a WordPress site from one host to another.