Just because you have invested in establishing a website, using Wordpress or any other platform, does not mean that your work is over - far from it! You may look to move the website for a number of reasons, including moving the hosting to a different provider or for testing the site for usability and experimenting with different add-ons and layouts. Once you have a "finished" site you will then be looking to move it to the permanent hosting location - you are never go to test a website while it is "live" unless you are looking for trouble.

This article focuses on the issues when moving a Wordpress site only.

1: Handle Content and Data Export First

Moving the site content is fairly straight forward when you are moving from one remote location to another - simply download the XML file of the content by going to Tools > Export. In the site location where you are going to move the site to, simply go Tools > Import. Just make sure you check the Wordpress dialog box which will handle the download and import from the old location.

By doing this you will be able to import the text and image content from the old site to the new very simply and quickly.

After you have handled the transfer, you need to check that you have caught everything from the old site onto the new location - use a plug-in called Search and Replace - this will systematically check through the entire content including images, posts and comments.

2: Transport the Plug ins

Moving the site to a new url will usually end up with a couple of issues, typically centering on the plug-ins not working correctly. Navigate over to your site's wp-content/plug-inss - select only thoseplug-insns you are actually using with your site - manweb mastersrs upload a stack oplug-insins but only use a few, the rest are redundant and not needed, so take the opportunity to pare down the dead weight.

3: Establishing Settings

Now you need to establish the settings in the new location will match those from the old site. Run the two sites next to each other in separately opened web browser tabs - go to the dashboards in each and select Settings - scroll down and check what you have in the new is the same as the old.

Watch out for two things in particular - firstly, check the homepage and blog page are set correctly - Settings > Reading page of the dashboard. Secondly, move over to Settings > Permalink to ensure the settings are exactly the same (do this manually and don't rely on Search and Replace).

Summary

Congratulations! By now you've accomplished a pain-free transport of the old WP site to a new location.

Actually, not likely in practice!

There will be different issues which arise and which seem to change with each move whether of a site you are familiar with or an old one. By following the pre-set path we've outlined above, you are less likely to encounter hair-tearing issues and frustrations which come with performing this task.. Nevertheless, despite the challenges in moving a site, the ability to test and experiment are just too valuable to pass up on and in the competitive world of e-commerce, you are going to be doing a lot of this.