How to transfer WordPress from one host to another?

People who deal with  site design  have come across WordPress to date and are aware of the countless benefits of using it. In this article, we will discuss WordPress and the way of moving it to a new host or server. In various articles on the  DotNek site, you can find out the reasons for the popularity of this system, among which we can mention the possibility of working with this system easily, high security, providing quick updates, and so on, which can be considered as the reasons why the fans of this system are increasing day by day.

Now, let's move on to the main point. You may need to move your WordPress from one host to a new host or server, in which case you will need to take the steps which are going to be mentioned below.

Furthermore, you may be wondering how stressful it can be to move to a new host or server, but after reading this article, you can easily do it, but before that, we need to give a brief overview of WordPress.

What is WordPress?

In general, it is an open-source content system that is available for free to various users, and they can use it to launch a personal and even  commercial website. As we have mentioned, this system is an open-source system which means that site owners can access its source code which can help them view and modify it easier.

How to transfer it from one host to another?

As you know, sometimes it is necessary to change the host of your site for various reasons, you can get help from experts in this field that you will eventually have to pay a lot of money, another solution which doesn't need lots of money is to try to do it by yourself, so if you want to do the immigration work by yourself, you need to take some steps, which we are going to mention in the following section.

- Backup your website files:

The first step in migrating is to back up your entire site with the help of various plugins available so that you can easily use the information you have backed up in the event of any problems during immigration.

As we have mentioned earlier, there are several plugins that you can use in order to back up, in which you usually use the internal settings in order to manage the backup of files, the number of times, and the location of the backup.

Among the plugins available for this purpose, we can mention WPvivid, which has many capabilities to do this process in the best possible way. Among all the features that this plugin has, it is possible to filter large files, split backup, remote storage compatibility, multi-site support, etc.

- Export the WordPress Database:

The next step is to export the database, which requires you to first log in to your web server cPanel account and open the  phpMyAdmin program. Then, you have to select the database that includes your WordPress installation from the list in the left sidebar, and after selecting it, you have to click on the Export tab in the navigation menu.

To start exporting, you should pay attention to the default export settings then you will realize that the default quick export settings and SQL format are enough for exporting what we need.

Finally, you have to click on the "Go" button, and the export will start. After the export process is completed, you can move on to the next step.

- Create its Database on your new host server:

At this point, you need to create a new database and then start moving to the new host. You can get help from the existing support team, which help you do this part in the best possible way, so that, to be able to do this in the simplest possible way, pay attention to the following steps.

• Open the  MySQL database  and create a new database with the appropriate name for your website.

• Create a new MySQL user account with a new and powerful password.

• Add this account to the new database and grant it all privileges.

• Remember all the information which you entered, such as the new MySQL username and password, and write them down in a safe place to make sure that you don't forget them.

- Edit the wp-config.php file:

So far, we have reviewed all the steps you need to take in the simplest possible way. Now, we will mention another step that is as important as the previous ones. In this step, you need to go to the folder on your local computer and download your website files.

A file called wp-config.php in that folder controls access between your WordPress and your database. In this section, you need to make a copy of this file and save it on your local computer to use it if needed.

Then you need to go to the original version of the file and open it with a text editor, which you can work with more easily and implement the following changes.

• Change the Database Name:

Depending on the new database which you have created, you may need to change this name.

• Change the Database Username:

You must change the username from your old hostname and select a new one that matches the new database which you have created.

• Change the Database User Password:

You will also need to change the existing password to a new, secure, and powerful one for your MySQL user.

- Import your WordPress Database:

Once you have created the new database, you are able to start importing, Launch phpMyAdmin from the  cPanel software  on your new server and select your new database from the left sidebar list. Once opened, select the "Import" tab from the navigation menu.

In the "File to Import" section, click the "Choose File" button and select the SQL file that you previously exported.

Uncheck Import Partial, and make sure that the template is set to SQL, then you have to click on the "Go" button, now the Database entry begins.

The time of this import depends on the size of your database, and according to this size, the import time changes. Finally, after the import is completed, you will receive a message which indicates that the import was successful.

- Upload these Files to your new host:

At this point, you need to start uploading your website files, in which you can get help from the FTP program in order to log in to your new web host.

- Final touches:

In the final steps of migrating, you need to reconfigure your domain DNS settings, and you must show the correct records to the new IP address of the server.

Complete DNS changes are a bit time-consuming, which may slow down the site, but the important point that should be mentioned is that during this change, you should avoid  making any changes to your website  due to the fact that it may also cause changes to the old version of the site.

The other point to note is that after you have done all the migration steps completely, you need to log in to your old host and delete all the information in it in order to increase security as much as possible.

Last word:

In general,  WordPress has a lot of fans  because of its lots of capabilities, and many people are dealing with it. Sometimes you may need to transfer from one host to another for various reasons, for which some steps must be taken, which have been mentioned in this article in detail, so that, if you pay attention to the points and steps that have been examined here, you can do this process easily and with more awareness. As a result, you won't probably make mistakes during this process as you know all the important points that are needed, we hope this article can be useful enough for you.