Hassle-Free Steps to Moving A WordPress Website

transfer wordpress site

The thought of moving a WordPress website often strikes terror in the minds of people. However, it does not have to be this way. There are some simplified ways of doing this. When you find out just how easy moving your WordPress site can be, you will want to kick yourself for not moving it sooner. Relax, take a deep breath, and read this article. We will explain how to transfer a WordPress site without hassles. For all intents and  purposes you should have a backup of your site prior to moving it. Remember – expect the unexpected!

Moving It from a Subdirectory to a Root Directory

When you are moving your standard single-site WordPress website from a subdirectory to a root directory it should not take you more than ten minutes to accomplish. The exact amount of time depends upon your particular set-up.

Root Directory – Step 1

The first thing you want to do is check your root directory for any existing websites. If there are any of them present, remove them before continuing. Make sure you have a backup copy of whatever you are deleting someplace where you can easily find it. Do not just assume you will never need these websites again. Afterwards proceed to remove the unwanted websites from your root directory.

Root Directory – Step 2

Your next step will be to delete all WordPress files, which will be denoted on your computer with “wp” at the beginning of the file name.

Root Directory – Step 3

A very important next step is to turn off any permalinks. You do that in the screen labeled “Permalinks” under the settings menu. Click on your “default” button and then on “save changes.”

Root Directory – Step 4

Now it is time to change the address of the website you are moving. Keep in mind you need to only change the site address, NOT the WordPress address. Your WordPress address must remain the same. Remember to save your changes following this step.

Root Directory – Step 5

What you will want to do after that is to copy and edit two files. Make certain you copy them and not move them, that is a critical distinction. You want to copy your “index.php” file and your “.htaccess” file. If you do not have an “.htaccess” file do not bother to create one. In that case just continue with your “index.php” file. Then edit these files.

Root Directory – Step 6

When you have finished all of the above-mentioned steps, turn your “Permalinks” back on and test your website. That is all there is to it. If you find yourself completely lost it is possible to find examples of these steps on the Internet.

Transferring Your Site to a New Host

This section is all about how to transfer a WordPress site to a new host. Once again we must stress how important it is to backup your website before beginning just incase disaster strikes.

Making a full transfer of a WordPress website is very simple if you follow the correct procedures. These procedures are divided into three separate parts. You must move the files, then move the database, and lastly reconfigure the site (this last step is not always necessary.)

New Host – Step 1

When you move your files you may opt to utilize your favorite FTP host. If you are clueless about how to do it, there are tutorials on the Internet. Basically all you are doing is moving the files first to your local computer, then you need to upload them to your new account. It is possible to put all of these files into one .ZIP file archive prior to moving them. Once everything is on the new host you can extract the files from your .ZIP archives. If you use this method you will save yourself a lot of time and effort.

New Host – Step 2

The next thing you will be doing is moving your database. You will want to export that from your old host to your new one. Exactly how you need to do this depends upon whether your database uses cPanel or not. If it does not then you must call the tech support staff of your old hosting company to find out how to do this properly. Keep in mind the word “properly” is the key.

New Host – Step 3

Once you have all of your data exported it is time to create a new database. This will be accomplished on your new hosting account. Then you need to import all of your content into your new account.

New Host – Step 4

Last but certainly not least you have to reconfigure WordPress in order to make it work from your new server. There should be a “wp-config.php” file in the root folder on your WordPress account. It should also provide an example of what you need to do. It ought to be duly noted that if you have changed your domain name at all there will be additional reconfiguration steps that are required.

Summary

These are merely two examples of how simple it is to move your WordPress website. The main purpose behind this article is to illustrate just how easy this can be. You will not be thrown to the wolves, so to speak. There are oodles of tutorials online to help you out. All you need to do is look it up on your favorite search engine. We hope that this article has served as a glimmer of hope for you. Yes, you can transfer you WordPress site if you want to. The tools are right there at your fingertips if you wish to use them.