“How to transfer my Wordpress blog to a new host” is one of the most common questions I get asked. The task might seem daunting, but, in reality, it’s not difficult at all. All it really entails is the transfer of your Wordpress files and your sql database. Here I will give you my step by step guide on how to transfer.
1. The very first thing you will need to do is change the nameservers on your domain name so that they point to your new hosting. If you have no idea how to change the nameservers on your domain then take a look at this earlier post about changing nameservers.
2. Once your nameservers have changed you need to login to your hosting cpanel and click on “phpmyadmin”. You should see a screen that looks like this:
Choose the database that belongs to your Wordpress blog on the left and click on it. Once you have chosen your database click on export at the top of your screen.
Then make sure “Add DROP TABLE/VIEW/PROCEDURE/FUNCTION” has a tick next to it like this:
Then scroll down to the bottom click on “Save as file”, choose “zipped” and click on “GO”. You could make a new file on your desktop and name it “blog transfer” and store this sql file inside for safe keeping.
3. Next step is to download all your Wordpress files from your server. I use my favorite ftp to do this. It is a free download from Coreftp.com. Once you have your ftp software connected to your server, locate all your Wordpress files and download them into the folder you created earlier titled “blog transfer”.
So what we have now is two sets of files, one set is your actual Wordpress files and the other is you sql database file.
4. Our next step is to upload all these files to your new web host. The first thing we need to do is make a new database. Write down your database name, database username, and password as you will need these in a moment. Once your database is created, go to “phpmyadmin” and select your newly created database from the left hand side. Next, click on “import” up at the top of your page.
Then click on browse and find your sql file you downloaded earlier. Next, click on “GO”. It may take a few moments for your sql file to upload so be patient at this point.
5. The next thing you must do is change the details in your “wp-config.php” file. This is to ensure that your Wordpress files connect with your new database. Look inside the folder you made on your desktop to store your files that you downloaded earlier and open up “wp-config.php”. Remember you wrote down your database name, username and password earlier? Well this is what you need to change in this file.
6. Once you have edited those details, your very last step is to upload those Wordpress files to your new hosting account using your ftp. You have now successfully transferred your Wordpress blog.
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