How to MANUALLY Transfer a WordPress Web Site to a New Server

Transferring a WordPress website to a new server, by hand, or manually can be a fairly difficult process. Fortunately, there are several very good WordPress addons that automate this process and do a fantastic job. We talked about those here. And if you have a WordPress website that you’d like to transfer to LazyLizard, we would be happy to do it for you.

But, if for some reason you need to do it manually, here are the steps you would take:

Migrating a WordPress site to a new server involves several steps, including exporting the database, transferring the files, and updating the domain name system (DNS) records. Here is a general outline of the process:

1. 1. Export the database:

    

• Log in to the WordPress dashboard of the site you want to migrate.
• Go to Tools > Export.
• Select All content and click Export.
• Save the exported file to your computer.

1. 2. Transfer the files:

    

• Connect to the old server using a file transfer protocol (FTP) client or by logging in through the command line.
• Navigate to the root directory of the WordPress installation (e.g. /var/www/html).
• Download all of the files in the root directory to your local computer.
• Connect to the new server using an FTP client or the command line.
• Upload the files from your local computer to the root directory of the new server.

1. 3. Import the database:

    

• Create a new database on the new server.
• Import the exported database file into the new database using a tool such as PHPMyAdmin.
• Edit the wp-config.php file in the root directory of the WordPress installation on the new server to reflect the new database name, username, and password.

1. 4. Update the DNS records:

    

• Log in to the domain name registrar where you registered the domain name.
• Find the DNS settings for the domain name.
• Update the nameservers to point to the new server.

1. 5. Test the site:

    

• Wait for the DNS changes to propagate (this can take up to 48 hours).
• Visit the site using the domain name to make sure it is working correctly on the new server.

In summary, migrating a WordPress site to a new server involves exporting the database, transferring the files, importing the database, updating the DNS records, and testing the site. It is a good idea to create a backup of the site before starting the migration process, in case any issues arise.