I have simple 4.2 WP site with theme Twenty Twelve and Polylang plugin ver. 1.7.6. in domain mysite.co.nf. Now I deciced to move it to another domain mysite.newdmn.eu. I have copyed all files from old domain to new one using FTP. Then have exported DB to SQL script. Have edited SQL script by replacing strings mysite.co.nf with mysite.newdmn.eu using Notepad++. Then I have imported this SQL to my new site DB, edited wp-config to connect to new DB and from first point of view site is running except several things:
No header picture. (Actually this is not problem, but strange..)
No multi language icons and it is not possible to switch between languages.
Can't open one page - new server shows that it not exists. This is simple text page that looks the same like other ones. Link of this page looks the same structure like other pages.
How to solve these problems?
And what is best practices while moving WP sites?
Edit SQL by using editor is always a bad way to update the domain url. Because themes and plugins may serialize php objects into string format and store it in DB. If you replace domain url by using editor, it may break your site.
WordPress codex mentioned : https://codex.wordpress.org/Moving_WordPress#Changing_Your_Domain_Name_and_URLs
If you do a search and replace on your entire database to change the
URLs, you can cause issues with data serialization, due to the fact
that some themes and widgets store values with the length of your URL
marked. When this changes, things break.
The suggested way is to use search and replace tool like https://interconnectit.com/products/search-and-replace-for-wordpress-databases/, or some backup plugin like Duplicator or Backup Buddy.
Also suggested this well written article about WordPress migration.
http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2013/04/moving-wordpress-website/
For me, I always do it by myself without using any plugins. My steps is as follows:
1.move all files under wp-content
2.import db
3.do search and replace by using https://interconnectit.com/products/search-and-replace-for-wordpress-databases/
Few times I had to update not only domain but also file path on server.
But the best you can do is using Backup Buddy (paid) or Duplicator (free) plugin (or any other that fits you, but those two are the best imo, and I do at least few migrations a month).
Related
I have a woocommerce website installed and work normally , I want to change the theme without make changes on the website so all still ( products , pages, ...etc) .
I want to copy the same website into another domain to do changes without stop my first website .
this what i have do :
1- copy all files from the old to new website.
2- import database frm the old .
3- past into the new domain all files
4- import the tables of the old database to the new database
5- change the wp-config to work with the new database
6- change the domain into table : wp_options
and i launch the new domain : the first page is ok without errors
but when i enter to preview product i have error that page dosen't exist , and all other pages the same error . can any one help me ??? any ideas ?
When moving a WordPress site a few things to make it easier.
Manually, zip up uploads/plugins/theme or if you have some crazy thing going on wp-content. Generally, nothing else needs to be moved. (this excludes things like robots.txt etc you may have to move)
After importing the DB you need to run a search and replace to swap out the domain. It is used in more places than you think.
Go to settings and re-save permalinks twice. - This fixes most issues with pages not loading/404.
There are plugins out there that make this easier.
Updraft - Don't need the paid version. Can setup new site then add files and import them.
All in One WP Migration - Haven't seen anything this doesn't move but can be slow and harder with large sites.
Plugins like All in One WP Migration or Duplicator can be helpful, but from time to time they may fail.
With AIOWM you must create a backup and a blank WP installation, install the plugin in this blank installation and import the backup. Beware that many features are paid.
With Duplicator you create a backup and an installer that you've to upload (via FTP) to the new host and there execute the installer.php script to recover the backup.
Both of them take care of the search&replace needs.
If you want to go manual, you have to copy all files via ftp, or if you've a Cpanel or similar you can upload a Zip file and then extract it via the panel (I guess you don't have the ssh access to the server).
Than you've to create a database dump via PhpMyAdmin and restore it in the new server, thank you've to change two option in the database: the site url, and the wordpress address url.
That should let you login to the website backend, but BEWARE you've to do the search and replace on your database.
To do so, easyly, you can use Better Search & Replace plugin (https://it.wordpress.org/plugins/better-search-replace/).
Guessing that http://old_domain.com is your old domain and https://new_domain.com is the new one, usually I go this way on S&R:
- Search for "old_domain.com" and replace with "new_domain.com"
- Search for "http://new_domain.com" and replace with "https://new_domain.com" if you have an active SSL certificate
Than go to Settings -> Permalink and save twice.
Everything should be fine now :)
Remember to clean every cache if you've one active.
We have created a duplicate of our website on a new server as part of a migration. We have a wordpress blog that is part of our website.
The docroot of the wordpress site is set as an alias in our main site. The result is that to access the site home page, the following url is used: https://www.rephunter.net/blog/.
The new environment is not available to the public at this time, and is only accessible within our VPN. When the above link to the blog is followed, instead of the expected home page of our blog, we get the page at https://www.rephunter.net/blog/wp-admin/install.php, which wants to install a new site.
The configuration in the new environment is supposedly an exact copy of our production site from some time back. The permissions on the main files is the same.
What is it that is causing the attempted blog access to be redirected to the installation script?
EDIT:
The responses so far have not really absorbed the intent of the previous information. We are not migrating in the normal sense. Rather we are testing in a new virtual environment that will eventually lead to a more normal migration.
We have an exact duplicate of our original wordpress and database environment that is running in a virtual environment with an updated protocol stack that is only accessible if you are on the VPN for that environment. As far as we can tell, there is no difference in the configuration.
For example, the parameters in wp-config.php are exactly the same as in the original installation. When php runs, it sees the same environment, with host names and everything identical. It would not work otherwise.
Yet if there really were no difference, it would just run. But since WP is trying to install a new database, there is something different that we are missing.
To further illustrate this: supposed you took an image backup of the wordpress installation and the database, and put it in a different VM, and set up the DNS and everything as it needs to be--the new environment looks no different than the old one. All databases, wp-config settings, etc, are the same. So our main website and database functions very similarly.
As I mentioned above, the difference in the protocol stack should be considered. The old system is on PHP 5.6.27--the new one is on 7.3.4. So that could be causing some difference, which maybe somebody might recognize. Wordpress is 5.2.2 and should be compatible with both PHP levels.
We believe there is some relatively simple parameter setting that we are missing. For example, as in the first answer that $table_prefix is set wrongly. But that is not it in this case.
WordPress redirects you to that installation screen because the database it's connecting to is working (meaning, the username and password are correct), but the data it's expecting to be there isn't. Therefore, it assumes it's a new / empty database and prompts you to install WordPress.
I've seen this happen in two scenarios:
The database really is empty, and thus WP needs to install the standard tables and info
The table prefix in your wp-config.php file is incorrect for an existing database
Look at your wp-config.php file in the root directory of WordPress, and look for a line similar to this:
$table_prefix = 'wp_';
Then, open up the database (phpMyAdmin or some other interface to browse what the database structure actually is) and confirm that the table prefixes (the first few characters of the table names) actually match what's set above.
Hopefully this gives you something to go on! Let us know what you find
Migrating Wordpress websites can be quite tricky. I've worked as a WP developer for a number of years and always struggled with manually migrating websites.
There are a number of factors to consider:
WP stores a lot of installation specific information within the database. So you can't do a database dump and upload the export into a new database.
Changing the website url within the wp_options table in the databased there are still other references to the original url scattered throughout the db.
You could try a find and replace all using an editor that supports this sort of functionality (vscode, sublime, atom) but things always end up breaking and your doing tons of "find & replace" actions.
I have always relied on a 3rd party tool Backup Buddy as it simplifies the entire backup and migration process and offers the peace of mind of having easily deployable backups for your website.
Backup Buddy allows you to export your website as a zip and then you can move the zip to any server you want and the plugin provides an installer script (php) to guide you through the migration of your wp site to any host and database of your choosing.
Note: I am not in any way affiliated with iThemes or Backup buddy, and I do not stand to benefit in anyway if you decide to use the plugin. This is only advice on a tool that I have found helpful, reliable, have had success with, and currently actively use on a number of websites that I maintain.
WordPress display installation page because you have not update your wp-config.php file after migrating server so please follow below steps in future when you migrate your website.
Please follow this steps when you migrate your WordPress website from one server to another server.
Back up your website files/database
Export wordpress database.
Create database on your new host server.
Edit the wp-config.php File and edit this details.
Add new database name
Add new database username
Add new database user Password
Add new host as per your hosting provider or (localhost is default)
Import your database to new server.
upload the WordPress files to your new host
defining new domain URL & Search/Replace old domain URL
I've been asked to help out with a former colleague of mine's Wordpress Site. Nothing crazy, just change the format of a page, and add some kind of form on another page. I'm not so concerned with these changes I need to make, but am more concerned with setting up an identical site locally so that I can exercise these changes, do whatever I need to do, then simply upload my changes.
Quick background of myself; web developer of about 5 years with strengths in the Javascript frameworks and Node sphere. I know what Wordpress is and can navigate through the project with relative ease. Where I fall short is uncertainty in the project set up side of things.
So I have both the project itself and an export of my clients database, and configuration is updated accordingly. When I attempt to run the site I'm constantly prompted with errors, most of which have me take a look at the code and see what exactly the problem is. At this point I've made quite a few adjustments to the site to try and make it work that I feel continuing development won't get me anywhere.
Is duplicating an existing site to a local env usually this difficult? Could bad implementation of the initial site by the previous developer be a reason why I'm now struggling? Am I missing a step?
Duplicating a WordPress website is not that difficult. If you have the wp admin login of your website then you can simply use duplicator or akeeba backup plugin, but no worries, if you do not have the wp login access and just have the wp files & db then try this: create a new db from phpmyadmin, place your files in wp theme directory, install your new wp by using your new db file created, after that import your db file and do the following changes in your wp config file found in your root directory.
You will need to type in the new database information: database name, database user, and the password.
Once you have updated those, click Save Changes
Fixing your Permalinks
Log into your WordPress Dashboard, using the username and password from the copy of WordPress you brought over
Under Settings, click Permalinks
You don't have to make any actual changes, just click the Save Changes button.
Doing this will update all the page and post URLs. If you have custom themes or plugins/widgets with old URLs, you will have to update those manually since there are not any plugins that are able to modify those as well.
For ref:
https://my.bluehost.com/cgi/help/2361
https://www.tipsandtricks-hq.com/how-to-easily-import-or-export-any-of-your-wordpress-database-content-using-phpmyadmin-3415
I have a live site built in Wordpress at www.site.com/name1.
The client wants a new theme. I've heavily modified the current theme with custom code and will need to do so with the new theme, all without interrupting the live site, so this wont be as simple as moving the site from one theme to another. Therefore I think I need to create a duplicate of the site at www.site.com/name2 because the content will all be the same. Doing this will give me a place to work on the redesign.
What is the best way to go about doing this? Should I have both use the same DB or not? When I get ready to go live should i simple redirect the domain to /name2 or move everything at /name2 to /name1?
Any help is appreciated.
Thanks,
Chris
If you want the same Data you can use the same DB but there is somes Options Tables dans Meta tables in the Wordpress DB, then if you change parameters on one site it will affect the other.
If you just recode the Theme without touching anything in the configuration you can use the same DB to test your theme with valid datas, but if you think you'll have to change paramaters i would prefer duplicate the Production DB to a Test DB to secure the production Website.
When you go live you'll just have to move your theme to the production website and copy your Option and Meta Tables.
If you're at a point where you're having clients, you should definitely develop locally. This will free you from the trouble of mistakingly messing up the production site.
Install Apache, MySQL and PHP on your own machine.
Copy database and files from production.
Change anything you'd like without exposing it to the Internet.
Upload your new, tailor-suited theme to production when it's ready to go live.
I have a client's wordpress site that is built using Wordpress and Headway. I need to move it to a new domain on a new shared server ( same host provider with the same hardware configuration ).
I've moved many wordpress setups like this before, including Wordpress / Headway combos. I've also, during debug, used Headway's documentation and videos to double check that I'm doing everything correctly.
I moved the database over and replaced all occurrences of the old domain with the new domain, and updated all filepaths. Then I copied the public_html folder to the new server. The site should be working at this point.
Instead I get the Headway error message No Content to Display on an otherwise empty html page. I've traced the problem to the wp-config table where Headway stores serialized data for it's blocks. I can update data throughout the database to the new domain everywhere except in these Headway entries in the wp-config table. As soon as I update those, the site starts to fall apart all over the place, and if I update them all, the site loads the Headway error message No Content to Display. The underlying Wordpress system seems to still be working as I can load the /wp-admin console and all my content exists and looks correct.
If I trace the problem deeper, it appears that the Wordpress function get_options() is failing in the Headway file data-layout-options.php. I have been unable to debug any further.
The site works perfectly on the original domain, and, in theory, I'm doing a direct copy of all data and then simply replacing the old domain with the new domain.
Can anyone help with a similar problem? It feels like I'm chasing a bug in the code when really it's some sort of simple oversight or config setting that has been munged. Please help!!!
I was indeed close to the problem.
The serialized Headway data in the Wordpress wp-config table contains string lengths. Migrating the database oneself, and then grepping and replacing the old domain with the new domain and old web folder file path with the new web folder file path causes unserialization to fail in the Wordpress system ( eg. the get_options() Wordpress function ).
Instead of writing a custom script to deal with the string lengths, I tested a few database migration plugins. WP Migrate DB was the winner and solved the problem.
Migrating the Database
Install the plugin on the original domain ( original Wordpress install ). It will ask you to input the new domain and the new file path of your web directory ( the web directory file path is very important as well ). In my case, for example, the file path of the web directory had changed from /home2/old_username to /home6/new_username.
The plugin will then dump the entire Wordpress Database and replace all occurances of the old domain and old file path with the new domain and file path of the web directory. The .sql dump will then save locally on your computer.
This was not perfect however, and I still needed to do a few of my own grep and replaces. Additionally, I had to be careful about this because a few of the ones that were missed were in the Headway serialized data and I had to do MySQL queries to make sure I updated the string length properly.
These few updates were missed because some of the database entries had http://www.olddomain.com and some had http://olddomain.com. The plugin did not catch it all, but made it manageable to replace by hand.
Finally, I had to import this updated .sql dump into an empty Wordpress database on the new domain.
Moral of the story is that Headway V3 is not simple to migrate to a new domain. You must be very meticulous.
Another option, that I did not try because it costs >$75 was BackupBuddy. It's likely that BackupBuddy will still miss some domain and file path updates, so be careful.
I have found the solution of T. Brian Jones and have just applied it for WordPress 3.8.1 with HEADWAY 3.6.2.
All works fine.
One trick for newbes like me: if you don't know the file path on the server where you are moving your database, before you do database dump install WP Migrate DB on this server, run the plugin (Tools) and get the path from there...
Thank's TBJ
Maciej