Backing up and migrating your website is essential for ensuring its safety and stability. While plugins can make the process easier, WordPress manual backup and migration is necessary for complete control and reliability. In this article, we will provide a comprehensive guide on how to manually backup and migrate your WordPress website.
Manual WordPress Backup
Backing up your WordPress website manually involves three main steps: backing up the WordPress database, backing up the WordPress files, and verifying the backup. Follow the steps below for a hassle-free experience.
- Backup WordPress database: Log in to your web hosting control panel and access phpMyAdmin. Select your WordPress database and click on “Export.” Choose the “Quick” export method and click “Go.” Save the file to a secure location.
- Backup WordPress files: Connect to your website via FTP and download all files and folders to a secure location on your computer.
- Verify backup: Open the backed up files and verify that all files and folders have been backed up.
Manual WordPress Migration
Migrating your WordPress website manually involves four main steps: exporting the WordPress database, moving the WordPress files to the new location, importing the WordPress database, and updating the wp-config.php file. Follow the steps below for a seamless transition.
- Export WordPress database: Log in to your web hosting control panel and access phpMyAdmin. Select your WordPress database and click on “Export.” Choose the “Quick” export method and click “Go.” Save the file toa secure location on your computer.
- 2. Move WordPress files to new location: Connect to your website via FTP and download all files and folders to a secure location on your computer. Then, upload the files and folders to the new location using FTP.
- Import WordPress database: Log in to your web hosting control panel and access phpMyAdmin. Select the database for the new location and click on “Import.” Choose the file that you exported in step 1 and click “Go.”
- Update wp-config.php file: Open the wp-config.php file on your computer and update the database name, username, and password with the new location’s details. Then, upload the updated file to the new location using FTP.
Moving WordPress to a New Domain Manually
Moving your WordPress website to a new domain manually involves six main steps: backing up WordPress, exporting the WordPress database, moving the WordPress files to the new domain, importing the WordPress database, updating the wp-config.php file, and searching and replacing the old domain with the new domain in the database. Follow the steps below for a successful move.
- Backup WordPress: Follow the steps outlined in section II to manually backup your WordPress website.
- Export WordPress database: Follow the steps outlined in section III to export the WordPress database to a secure location on your computer.
- Move WordPress files to new domain: Connect to your website via FTP and download all files and folders to a secure location on your computer. Then, upload the files and folders to the new domain using FTP.
- Import WordPress database: Follow the steps outlined in section III to import the WordPress database to the new domain.
- Update wp-config.php file: Follow the steps outlined in section III to update the wp-config.php file with the new domain’s details.
- Search and replace old domain with new domain in the database: Open the exported database file in a text editor and search for the old domain. Replace it with the new domain and save the file. Then, import the updated database to the new domain using phpMyAdmin.
Conclusion
Manual backup and migration may seem daunting at first, but it provides complete control and reliability for your WordPress website. By following our comprehensive guide, you can ensure the safety and stability of your website without relying on plugins alone.
