Migrate WordPress to another hosting

We teach you how to migrate or clone your WordPress without the need to download it locally and then upload it.

Moving your WordPress site should not be a titanic feat, even if you have a large site full of content. It happens that many times the methods that are usually used are not the best, and to prevent trial and error In this guide we are going to explain how to move your WordPress installation (no matter how big it is) efficiently and without headaches..

Plugins to change WordPress: which one to choose?

It is true that, at this point in the game, the WordPress community makes available to you a considerable (and valuable) amount of downloadable components (read plugin) to perform moves between servers. In fact, most offers are free. But it happens that In general, part of the process involves downloading files to your computer for subsequent upload to the new server.. It is precisely this part that generates problems: files that are downloaded broken (appearing on your computer but weighing zero KBytes), infinite download times, and even longer upload times (with probable new errors or disconnections).

To avoid this step, we recommend two really powerful, easy and interesting options: Migrate Guru, Y WPvivid.

Advantages of MigrateGuru / WPvivid

Actually, there are two plugins that share their strongest features:

• You will not need to download or upload manually.
• Are free.
• They can process huge sites as if they were a small cookie with jam.
• No connection to a separate cloud space is required.
• They work in the background, allowing you to continue performing any of the tasks that normally occupy your time.
• They are fast plugins because they work by migrating from one server to another directly.
• They work perfectly regardless of the hosting provider you have hired.
• They review transfers to verify that no file errors have occurred.

Differences between MigrateGuru Y WPvivid

There is a: MigrateGuru needs to operate with FTP credentials. If you don't know what FTP is, I'll explain it to you right away: FTP, for File Transfer Protocol, is the system or means that allows you to enter your server and see the files of your site. A very common program (or "client") to do this is FileZilla. When we mention that in general part of moving a site involves manually downloading/uploading files, we are indirectly referring to the use of FileZilla or some other similar client, that is, a program that, similar to a file explorer, allows you to view, copy, delete and rename everything inside the server.

Going back to MigrateGuru, this plugin needs FTP access credentials (something that, if you do not have it, will be provided by your Hosting company). Also, you need to know the path of your WordPress installation (by default, it will be at the root of your URL, but if this is not the case you can also check with your hosting provider to be sure).

In contrast, WPvivid does not need FTP credentials.

In this case, it is enough that you know the obvious: the access credentials to your WordPress Dashboard for both servers, that is, the username and password of your current site, and the same for the WP installation destination of the migration. Beware: you must already have a “clean” WordPress installation (except for the WPvivid plugin) on the server where you will move your site.

Migrating with Migrate Guru

To install it, we will do what we always do: go to the Plugins option in the left menu of our WordPress tools, and there we will select “add new”.

In the Plugins window we will use the plugin browser to find and install Migrate Guru.

It is good to clarify at this time that for now there is no translation of the interface of this plugin into Spanish. Hopefully this is not too annoying an inconvenience for you. The plugin is so good that it is worth making a little effort if you do not know much about the English language.

The welcome screen after installing the plugin is this:

The plugin is free but, as is often the case with everything that is free, at least one little thing is asked of us in return; in this case, an email from us. Once this is done, we will select “I agree to Blogvault“, that is to say that we will accept the Terms and Conditions of the plugin to be able to use it (almost otherwise, we will not be able to use it) and we will click on the button “migrate site“, ie Migrate Site.

We will find the following screen:

As we mentioned before, if you do not know the information of the fields to fill (referring to the destination server), you can ask your hosting provider to inform you of the credentials. In our case, send us an email to [email protected] if you are hiring the new server with us.

On the other hand, if you have installed FileZilla (which is also a free program), you can find the path to your new site here:

Note: in this case, the site's public path is /public_html but on other servers it may be different (for example, contain numbers before /public_html).

Completed the necessary data, let's let the program run while we continue with our lives.

Note: you can close the tab as the plugin will continue working in the background, but if you prefer from time to time to control the process and see what is happening, you can continue browsing the Internet in other windows or tabs without problems.

Once the process is finished, you will receive an email to the box you entered at the beginning of the operation. On the other hand, in the process tab you will see the following:

And now let's see how to migrate with WPvivid

As we anticipated at the beginning of the note, in this case you will not need the FTP credentials, but you will have the WPvivid plugin installed on both servers.

We already went over how to install a WordPress plugin when reviewing MigrateGuru, so we'll skip that step in this guide.

Now we need to log in to the Dashboard of our destination WordPress, because it is there where we must perform a simple step: generate a wrench which will validate our new server so that it receives the content of the site to be changed.

Is wrench is nothing more than a paragraph of alphanumeric text, and is generated as follows:

Once you have entered the panel of your new plugin and clicked on the “Key” tab, you will access the following window:

As you can see, the “generate” button will create a special key for your site. The key can be "copied and pasted" in the manner of Windows in order to inform the WPvivid plugin on the site to be moved that this is the validated destination.

Note: the legend "The key will expire in…” added to the dropdown allows you to configure the useful life of the key. In this case, 8 hours, that is, eight hours. After that time, the key will stop working. This option fulfills only one security measures, a control that can be useful or give you peace of mind.

On the original site, the one you intend to move, click on the next tab “automigration” and follow the screenshot instructions. Too easy.

After pasting your password, save (save) and click the orange button at the end, “Clone then transfer“, the process will start.

Note: at this time, a backup of your site is being created on the new server. It must be activated from the new site once the process is finished, and now we are going to explain how.

The process will end with a message letting you know that the task has finished. So, go back to the Dashboard of your new site and this time go to the “Backup & Restore” tab.

Scroll a little if necessary until you find the "Backups" tab. In that region of the panel you should see at least one line with the backup that the same plugin, from the "old" site, sent here (if you don't see it, please press the ctrl+f5 keys and reload the page).

Once you view the created backup file, press the “Restore” option (ie recover). The process that follows shouldn't take more than a few seconds (don't close the flap, just in case).

And ready! Your site will have been activated on the new server.

As always, we recommend you not to stay with any doubts; write your questions or uncertainties in the comments, or send us an email to [email protected] so that we can advise you better.

We are here to help you.

success in migration, and thanks for reading.