How To Move WordPress Site To A New Host

A fast-loading website is the key to success.

Google recommends keeping your page load time under a half or two seconds.

Your website’s performance depends upon your hosting.

Your hosting plans determine how fast and flexible your website can run.

The plugins and features you add to your WordPress site also impact speed.

Also, the custom codes, content, and media-rich features take up larger hosting space.

And if your host can’t support all that, you must move to a faster web hosting for better performance.

You can upgrade your hosting plan with your existing provider or switch to another host.

If later is your choice, follow this tutorial to learn how to move WordPress to a new host.

What is Website Migration?

Website migration means moving your site to another hosting service.

It takes transferring all your website files and database to a new server.

Moving your website is essential for your business growth.

But, initially, users pick limited hosting plans as they don’t get much traffic.

But, when website traffic and data increase with time, it is smart to switch to a larger hosting space to avoid downtime.

The website migration process can vary from your selected content management platform to your hosting service provider.

Things To Do Before Moving Your WordPress Site to a New Host

Here are a few things to do for an easy WordPress site migration:

• Plan migration during less busy hours. Your website’s performance will suffer during the migration process, no matter how careful you are. Thus, move your site to a new host during a quiet hour, like late night or early morning.
• Clear your content calendar. Hold new content uploads when you plan to move your WP site. Inform all your authors to avoid logging into their accounts during the migration.
• Inform your customers. Send prior notifications to your customers before migration so they can visit your website later.
• Set up a new host account. Setting up your new host accounts a few weeks earlier when the migration is scheduled is good. It can give you some time to test your new host account features.  
• Backup your site files. Anything can go wrong during the hosting switch. So, make your website files and database backup locally to avoid losing your data.

How to Move a WordPress Site to a New Host? (Manually and Automatically)

WordPress users can move their website to a new host — manual and automatic.

As you might have guessed, the manual method is long and technical.

But, it is achievable once you’ve learned WordPress properly.

However, WordPress has pretty cool migration plugins for seamless hosting service switches.

For your ease, I’ll share both methods to move a WordPress site to a new host so you can decide which is the better.

Method 1. Manually Move a WordPress Site to a New Host

Foremost, find a new hosting provider and create your new host account.

After that, follow these steps:

Step 1. Backup Your Site Databases

Backing up your site files is a smart move before hosting changes.

You can use the File Transfer Protocol (FTP) or WordPress plugins to back up your site content on your computer.

An FTP is a file transfer tool.

It can move files between your computer and old hosting accounts, building a connection between both.

There are several FTP programs available.

But, most PC users go for FileZilla and Mac users for Transmit.

This approach is useful when you cannot access the WordPress admin panel.

When you can log into your WordPress account, install a backup plugin to create a backup easier.

Go to Plugins > Add New to install popular WordPress plugins, like:

• BackWPup
• UpdraftPlus
• Jetpack

Step 2. Export Your Old Hosting Account Database

Using phpMyAdmin on your old host account, you can export your database.

Login to your old host account and look for cPanel.

On the cPanel window, go to the phpMyAdmin tool.

From there, select the database you wish to export.

Then, you might see an option to export your database.

The steps to export data can vary from the host server to server.

Step 3. Build a MySQL Database on Your New Host

Now you have to create a room for exported files from the old host account to the new one.

Login to your new host account > cPanel > MySQL Databases.

Next, name your new database that will appear under the Current Databases.

Afterward, select a new user from the User list box under the Add User to Database.

From the Database list box, select the new database.

You can now grant the privilege to specific users or select the “All Privileges” box.

After that, click “Make Changes,” and cPanel will add a user to your new database.

Step 4. Edit the wp-config.php File

Before importing old database files to new ones, edit the wp-config.php file on your computer.

This file builds connections between a WordPress website and its database.

Since the wp-config.php file is set according to your old host, you must update the following details:

• Database name
• Database Username
• Database password
• Database host

You can access the wp-config.php file from the old host backup files you created in the first step.

Step 5. Import Database into the New Host

You can use phpMyAdmin or MySQL to import your saved database into your new host.

I’ll suggest the phpMyAdmin option as it is simpler to use.

Just go to the phpMyAdmin option from your cPanel dashboard.

From the left pane, select the database you want to import.

Then, navigate to Import > Browse > select the exported database file from your system.

Step 6. Upload Website Files

After importing your new database, use your FTP client to upload your old website files to a new host.

This step can also upload your updated wp-config.php file.

The backup files work is done here.

But don’t delete these files from your system—just in case something goes wrong.

Step 7. Update Your DNS Settings

Now, that’s the final step! You must update your domain’s DNS (Domain Name System) settings to the new server’s IP address.

The DNS is a naming system that identifies computers through Internet Protocol networks.

Thus, it will pinpoint your old server if you don’t change your DNS settings.

You can find all the necessary information to change DNS settings from your domain registrar.

However, it can take up to 48 hours or more to update your DNS settings.

Method 2. Automatically Move a WordPress Site to a New Host

Manual website migration isn’t for everyone.

It is complex and confusing.

But fortunately, WordPress has amazing website migration plugins.

You can install a plugin from Plugins > Add New and easily move your WordPress site to a new host.

Here are some popular WordPress migration plugins:

• WP Engine Automated Migration can move all your website files and database to a new server with a click.
• The Duplicator WP plugin can copy your old host files and database.
• WP Migrate DB can remove the need to manually export your database, but you must import .sql files on your own.
• All-in-One WP Migration is a perfect tool for small WordPress websites with limited databases.

What Are Different Web Hosting Types?

Four main hosting types are available to select from, such as:

• Shared Hosting: It is a cost-effective hosting for entry-level websites. Under this hosting plan, your site shares resources with other websites on a server.
• VPS Hosting: Virtual Private Server hosting is a shared hosting but shares a server with fewer websites. As a result, it is faster and more private than shared hosting.
• Dedicated Hosting: As the name suggests, dedicated hosting runs a dedicated server belonging to you. Since you aren’t sharing space with other websites, you can enjoy faster speed and higher uptime.
• Managed Hosting: It is a hosting where a provider dedicates a server and essential hardware to a client. We recommend managed WordPress hosting for large websites with confidential data because managed servers offer full support and privacy.

How to Find the Best WordPress Hosting?

There is no hard set rule to find the best WordPress hosting.

The definition of the best hosting for everyone differs based on their needs.

However, the essential things that you must look for in your web hosting are:

• Pricing: The cost of WordPress hosting is vital to consider before site migration. You must compare various hosting plans before selecting the one closest to your budget.
• Speed: You must choose the hosting speed limit depending on your website size. An ideal server speed is under 300 ms.
• Uptime: Always get a hosting service from a provider that at least offers 99% availability.
• Customer Support: Ensure your hosting provider is accessible via email, phone, or live chat. The service provider must have an instant support team to address all your queries.

You can also use our Host Finder to find your WordPress site’s best web hosting server.

Other Helpful Tutorials

Here are other important Bloggingtips tutorials that you must refer to before migrating your website to a new host:

• How to Change the URL of a WordPress Site: Use this guide to change your WordPress site’s URL after migration.
• How to Redirect a Page in WordPress: This tutorial can help redirect your users to your new hosting server or domain name.
• How to Migrate a WordPress Site: Learn all ins and outs of transferring your WordPress site without losing your data.

Let’s Move to a Faster Hosting Now!

When your web traffic spikes, quickly move your site to a managed hosting plan to get large bandwidth.

In the beginning, it is alright to start with cheaper shared hosting because your traffic is limited.

But, with your website’s popularity rising, it is essential to scale up your hosting.

As you have seen, moving a WordPress site to a new host is easy.

You can use a manual or automatic approach per your convenience to switch your host anytime.

So, follow this tutorial and move your site to a faster host now.