How to Transfer Your WordPress Site to a New Hosting Provider
This is something you’ve been dreaming about ever since you first got your hands on a laptop: creating a blog and sharing your thoughts with the world. But then one day you wake up and find yourself confronted by a blinking cursor in a white screen of nothingness. ‘Not again’, you think, throwing down your laptop in despair. But no, not this time. Because recently you’ve started getting emails from web hosting providers offering to take your blog away for free if you meet a few requirements. And one of those requirements is that you must have a wordpress site. No more, no less. And if you’re thinking that this isn’t exactly what you want to hear, then I have some bad news for you. The fact you have a wordpress site means that you’re already partly through with WordPress. Already you’re going to need to move all your content over to the new hosting provider, or else all that work will be for nothing. So let’s get to it.
The First Step: Switching to the New Hosting Provider
Like any good thing, going through with a wordpress site change is not as easy as it sounds. Especially since you’re starting from scratch with a blank screen and a blinking cursor. That’s a huge amount of work. To make matters worse, you’ll also have to switch your email provider as well. So if you want to continue receiving emails from your customers, bloggers, and fellow webmasters, then you’re going to have to get on the phone and make some calls. Luckily, there are specialists who make switching to a new hosting provider as easy as possible. One of the best companies in this regard is called ‘OneHost’ and they have an entire team of experts standing by to assist you with your WordPress site migration.
The Second Step: Take Your Time
Now that you’ve gotten over the initial shock of realizing that this is actually happening, you have to take a step back and breathe. Because the first thing you need to do is take your sweet time. Don’t rush into anything just because a host offers to take your blog away for free. Why? Well, the worst thing you can do is rush through the process only to find out that some essential part of it isn’t even done right. So if you want to ensure that your blog gets migrated successfully, then you will have to take the time to properly do it. Even after you’ve switched servers and finished the ‘Import’ process in WordPress, you will have to go back and forth fixing any errors that were uncovered during the transition. This is especially important if you were using a free tool like Google Analytics to track traffic data before the switchover. Because while having a wordpress site is great, having no data whatsoever is even better. So take your time with this. Don’t worry, you’re not going to hurt yourself or your blog in the process. You’re just moving it to a new host for a new lease until you decide what to do with it later on. And to make matters worse, the more you wait, the more difficult it becomes to find a suitable host for your blog. The competition is getting tougher every day, especially since more and more people are realizing the power of social media and the importance of having a website. So you’ll need to work hard to stand out among the crowd and make sure your blog gets noticed. Which brings us to our next point.
The Third Step: Content Is Key
As I mentioned before, while having a wordpress site is great, having no content at all is even better. Especially since you want to have a popular blog in the future. To ensure your blog gets noticed, you will first need to populate it with content. And the only way to do that is by creating and publishing posts on a regular basis. Regular content is what will make up the bulk of your blog’s traffic. So make sure you have a steady stream of content published on your blog before taking the final step. This is going to be the key to your blog’s success, and it’s something you have to continually work at. Because while you want to focus on content creation for the sake of your blog’s popularity, you also have to remember that attracting and engaging with an audience is just as important. Especially if you’re looking to grow your blog into a brand. Having a brandable blog is a great way to attract potential sponsors, customers, and collaborators. All of whom could become valuable resources for your blog in the future. So make sure you develop your blog into a brand by consistently publishing interesting, engaging content on a regular basis. It can never be said too often: content is king.
The Final Step: Monitoring And Reviewing
Once you’ve taken your sweet time and gotten everything done successfully, it’s finally time to reap the rewards of your hard work. Review each step you took and make sure you didn’t miss anything. Go through the motions again and fix any errors that were uncovered during the process. And finally, sit back and enjoy your new wordpress site. Because ultimately you did all this for the sake of your blog and the content you put out there. So make sure you appreciate what you’ve accomplished. Because once these last few steps are done, you can finally breathe easy and put this ordeal behind you. And I bet you’re going to be extremely happy with the results. Now if you want to learn more, then it’s time to dive into the blogosphere and start discovering all there is to know about blogging. And who knows? Maybe one day, you’ll even write a guidebook on how to switch your wordpress site to a new hosting provider. Because let’s face it: as much as we want to help others, it’s always nice when a guide can help us out. Right?