A Simple Move... Or Is It

CMS & WordPress
1

Hi, i am in the middle of coding a wordpress site for my client. The client already has a site and wants to keep the old site running until the new site is ready to go live.

I am currently setting up the new site on www.theoldsite.com/d3mo/ and then i plan to move it to the live home directory when the content has been added.

MY QUESTION

  • what additional steps do i need to do other than just copying all of the files in the /d3m0/ to the www.theoldsite.com/ directory… do i need to set up wordpress in any special way or change permalinks or any other links… will stuff stop working when i move it to the live directory, thanks in advance
2

You copy the all the wordpress files.

You copy the database data.

Just make sure you update the database information.

You don’t need to worry about permalinks etc. It will be just like it was before if you do the copy right.

3

Ok, thanks… do i need to install wordpress again under live directory or will copying the files and database be enough

4

Are you transferring the whole site as is? Same URL structures, info architecture, and content? Because if not, you might want to add 301 redirects from old URLs to new URLs before you migrate. It would preserve your SEO.

5

Hi, i have it setup on a demo server and just want to move it live

6

On the same server? Simple.

Backup the current (live) Wordpress website, place in “old” directory or whatever you want to call it.

  • Assuming his current site is also a Wordpress installation, otherwise just backup whatever files needed and place in a backup directory, or simply compress them into a .zip, etc…
    Download a full backup of the (new) Wordpress directory.
    Upload (new) Wordpress files to the root directory.
    Edit wp-config if needed
    Search/Replace SQL backup and replace demo site url with actual site url.
7

Hi, sorry no it is on a different server…

8

Alright, not as simple then but here is my suggestion.

  • Via cPanel, Plesk or preferably phpMyAdmin export the current database (full)
  • I’d recommend doing a search & replace. Replacing olddomain.com with newdomain.com through the entire sql file.
  • Create database, database user/password on the new server.
  • Import the sql file you edited.
  • Download a full backup of the Wordpress directory (the one you wish to place on the new server)
  • Edit the wp-config file, replacing database connection information with the database information of the new server. Also edit the Wordpress Site URL which is in the wp-config file
  • Upload to new server

This is my process, also chmod the directories needed also. If you are stuck, please let me know and I’d be glad to assist.

9

Ok cool, thanks… instead of using phpMyAdmin, would you not just use the Wordpress Export under the Tools menu

10

I believe that exports an XML file, but if it will export the database then sure. Otherwise, via phpMyAdmin is your best bet.

11

Ok cool, thanks for your help… just for clarity…

Why doesn’t wordpress just use relative paths instead of the full paths

full path = www.mydomain.com/this-is-a-wordpress-page/

relative path = /this-is-a-wordpress-page/

This would then eliminate any problems when moving a wordpress site from one domain name to another etc…