Migrate WordPress via the Duplicator Plugin (Beginner)

Many excellent WordPress migration plugins will take care of all the necessary steps of moving your website. In this guide, we will use the Duplicator plug-in. A duplicator is added and activated on the WordPress website that needs to be moved.

Navigate to Add New from your WordPress Dashboard.

Duplicator, one of the most popular plugins to move a WordPress website, is also available for free. The plugin can be used to carry your WordPress site to another domain. This post will show you how to migrate your WordPress website from one web host to another without downtime.

1. Setup Duplicator to Make Easy Migration

After you have installed and activated this plugin:

• Click on Packages under your WordPress dashboard.
• Click on the New button in the upper right corner.
• Click Next to continue creating the package.
• Click on Build after you have confirmed that the scans are showing ” good” and that all results are positive.
• Keep the browser open for several minutes while the plugin works.
• After the installation process has been completed, you will see both the Archive and Installer packages.
• Click on the link to Download files with one click. The archive contains a complete copy of your WordPress site while the installer automates your installation.

1. Install WordPress on your new hosting server.

The next step is to upload the files onto your new web host. Connect to your new web host using an FTP program like FileZilla or the File Manager.

When using an FTP program, you would typically enter your website’s domain as the host.

This is because your domain name has not yet been pointed to your new host. You will need to enter the IP address of your new host to connect. You can find this information in the cPanel of your new host.

Upload the archive.zip file and installer.php into the root directory of your website using the FTP client.

Typically, the directory that you are looking for should be the /username/public_html/ folder. The public_html folder contains all HTML files as well as other web content.

If the site that you’re moving is the primary domain site, then this is what you do. You will need to create an addon and upload your files in the addon domain directory if you don’t.

Some web hosts include WordPress in their service. Check to see if you have an active WordPress installation. If you discover that it is not happening, you can remove it before continuing.

Upload both the archive files and the installers to your root directory.

1. Change the host file to prevent downtime.

You can now access the Installer.php in any browser.

You can normally access the installer using a URL such as:

http://www.example.com/installer.php

If you use this URL, it will redirect you to your previous host and result in a 404 Error. This is because your domain name still refers to your old host.

Your visitors will see a broken website during the migration if you point your domain nameservers to the new host. We will demonstrate how to temporarily access your website on your computer since we have promised that there will be no downtime.

This is done by using a host on your computer. This host is used to map IP addresses to domain names. The file is a way to trick your computer into thinking that WordPress has been moved even though it hasn’t.

Use the Hosts file to avoid downtime.

We will now show you how to use the host file to add an entry to your domain name that points to your new host.

This will allow you to access the files from your new host by using your domain, but all other users can still access your website through your old host. This ensures 0% downtime.

The first step is to find the IP address for your new server. Log into your cPanel Dashboard and click the link that reads ‘Expand Stats ‘ on your left-hand menu. If you are using shared hosting, your server’s address will appear as Shared IP.

Windows users will then need to navigate to Programmes– All programs– Accessory and right-click Notepad, selecting the option run as administrator.

Notepad will launch with administrator rights after clicking Yes on the Windows UAC prompt.

On the Notepad screen, go to File – Open and then navigate to C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc. Select the hosts and open it in Notepad.

You need to launch the Terminal application on Mac. Enter the following command to edit the host files there:

Sudo nano /private/etc/hosts

You must enter your IP address (the copy you copied from cPanel) and then your domain name for both Windows and Mac.

192.168.1.22 www.example.com

Replace example.com (your domain name) with your IP address that you copied from cPanel.

Save all changes once you’re done:

• Notepad is the only way to save Windows code.
• You can save the file (write it out) with (CTRL +O) for Mac (NANO). You will then be asked to confirm the action. To do so, you must hit Y (for Yes) and press enter.

You can now access your files using your domain name.

Note:

After you complete the migration, it is important to undo the changes that you made.

1. Create a MySQL Database in Your New Host

It would help if you created a MySQL Database before running the installer. You can skip the step if you already have a MySQL database.

Create a database in cPanel.

• Scroll down until you find the databases section. Click on MySQL database.
• You will see a field for creating a database. Enter the database name in the area and click on “Create Database.”
• You will need to scroll down and select Users after creating your MySQL database.
• Then, enter the username and password of your new User. Click Create a user.
• You can add the User to the database so that it will have all the permissions needed to work with the database. Scroll down to the section Add User to a Database to complete this addition.
• Click on Add and then select the database user that you created.

Now, your database is ready for use with WordPress. You will need to make a note of your database name, user name, and password. This information will be required for the next step.