How to Move a WordPress Site to a New Host Smoothly

Move a WordPress site with confidence – even if it seems overwhelming at first. By following the right steps, the process becomes smooth and manageable. Whether you’re aiming for improved performance, better customer support, or more affordable hosting, relocating your WordPress site is doable regardless of your experience level.

We will guide you through each step in this guide to ensure a seamless and successful relocation.

Why Should You Move a WordPress Site to New Hosting?

Let’s first consider why you want to move a WordPress site. Here are some common reasons:

• Better Performance: The new host might be faster and have more uptime.
• More Features: You need more storage or better scalability options.
• Cheaper: Switching to a cheaper host will save you money in the long run.
• Better Support: Your current host may not have the best customer or technical support.

Whatever your reason, moving your WordPress site isn’t as hard as it sounds.

How to do it step by step

Step 1: Choose a New Host and Set Up Your Hosting Account

First, you need to choose a new host. Look for a provider that has good uptime, fast server speeds, good customer support, and features for WordPress hosting. Some popular WordPress hosting providers are

• Bluehost
• SiteGround
• WP Engine
• Kinsta
• bodHOST
• HostOnce

Once you’ve chosen your host, sign up for a hosting plan that suits you. Once your new hosting account is set up, please ensure you have access to the cPanel, FTP, and database management tools (such as phpMyAdmin).

Step 2: Back Your WordPress Site

Prior to making any changes, please ensure you back up your WordPress site. You can do this manually or by using a plugin. Some popular backup plugins are

• UpdraftPlus
• All-in-One WP Migration
• Duplicator

If you prefer to back up manually, follow these steps:

• Backup Files: Access your current host’s File Manager (or use FTP) and download all the WordPress files from your site’s root directory (usually public_html).
• Backup Database: Use phpMyAdmin to export your WordPress database. This is where all your posts, pages, comments, and settings are stored.

Now that you have both your site files and database, you can move on.

Step 3: Create a New Database on Your New Hosting

Now that your backup is safe, log into the cPanel of your new host and create a new database for your WordPress site. Here’s how:

• In cPanel, go to MySQL Databases.
• Create a new database and user and assign a password.
• Assign the user to the database with all privileges.

Please make a note of the database name, username, and password, as you will require these when configuring your WordPress files later.

Step 4: Upload Your WordPress Files to the New Host

Now that you have your new database set up, upload your site files to the new host. You can do this via FTP (using a client like FileZilla) or through your host’s File Manager. Upload all the files from your backup to the root directory of your new host.

Step 5: Import the Database

• Log into phpMyAdmin on your new host’s cPanel.
• Please select the database you created earlier.
• Click the Import tab and select the database file (SQL file) from your backup.
• Click Go to import.

This will restore your site’s content and settings to your new host’s database.

Step 6: Update the wp-config.php File

Your WordPress files are now on the new host, but they still need to connect to the new database. To achieve this, you need to update the wp-config.php file:

• Locate the wp-config.php file in your WordPress directory (you can find it via FTP or File Manager).
• Open the file in a text editor.
• Find the following lines and update them with the new database details: 

define( 'DB_NAME', 'your_database_name' );

define( 'DB_USER', 'your_database_user' );

define( 'DB_PASSWORD', 'your_database_password' );

define( 'DB_HOST', 'localhost' ); // Leave as localhost unless specified otherwise

• Save the file and upload it back to your new host.

Step 7: Update DNS Records

Now that everything is set up on your new host, it’s time to point your domain to the new server. To do this, you need to update the DNS records:

• Log into your domain registrar (e.g., GoDaddy, Namecheap).
• Go to the DNS settings for your domain.
• Change the nameservers to those provided by your new hosting provider.
• Allow up to 24 hours for the DNS changes to propagate across the internet.

During this time visitors may still see your old site, so make sure to leave it up for the transition. To monitor this process more effectively, using tools to Look up DNS records can help you verify that updates have propagated correctly, reducing downtime and ensuring your website points to the new server as expected.

Step 8: Test Your Site on the New Host

Once the DNS changes have propagated, test your site on the new host to make sure everything is working fine. Check:

• Website Load Time: Check that the site loads fast.
• Links and Images: Check all links and images are working.
• Plugins and Themes: Test all plugins and themes to see if they are working fine.

If everything is well, you have successfully migrated your WordPress site to the new host!

Step 9: Remove the Old Site

Now that you’re sure everything is working fine on the new host, it’s time to remove the old site from your previous host. You can either delete the site’s files and database or cancel your hosting plan if you don’t need it anymore.

FAQs – Move a WordPress Site

Conclusion

Moving a WordPress site to a new host may seem intimidating at first, but it becomes much easier once you break the process into manageable steps. By creating a full backup of your files and database, preparing your new hosting environment, and carefully updating your DNS records, you can Move a WordPress Site with minimal downtime and stress. If challenges arise during the migration, don’t hesitate to contact your hosting provider’s support team, as they often assist customers who need to Move a WordPress Site smoothly.

If you have any problems during the migration, let your hosting provider’s support team know!