The Complete Guide to Migrating WordPress to a New Host or Server with No Downtime

As a webmaster with over 15 years of experience managing WordPress sites, I‘ve helped hundreds of clients transition their WordPress installations between hosts and servers.

It‘s a process that can seem intimidating, but doesn‘t have to be with the right preparation and tools. Follow this comprehensive guide, and you‘ll be able to migrate your WordPress site seamlessly without any downtime or disruptions to your visitors.

Why Migrate WordPress in the First Place?

With WordPress now powering over 40% of all websites, it‘s grown into an online behemoth. But with such popularity comes common growing pains as sites outgrow their initial hosting environments.

Some signs it‘s time for a new WordPress host include:

• Site downtime and slow performance: As traffic grows, inadequate hosting resources lead to sluggish load times and unexpected crashes.
• Needing new features or technology: Many legacy hosts lack newer infrastructure like HHVM/PHP 7 support or HTTP/2 delivery.
• Poor customer support: Frustrating experiences trying to get help from your current provider.
• Changing business needs: A desire for managed hosting, dedicated resources, or managed support.

Switching hosts lets you find an environment optimized for your site‘s current needs. But poor planning often leaves websites down for hours or days during the transition.

This guide will teach you how to seamlessly migrate WordPress to a new host or server with zero downtime utilizing a few key tools.

Choosing Your New Hosting Provider

The first step is selecting a new web host for your WordPress installation. Here are some key criteria to evaluate potential WordPress hosts on:

Reliability and Uptime

Downtime is exactly what we‘re trying to avoid! Look for hosts with proven uptime track records of 99.9% or higher. Managed WordPress hosts generally offer higher reliability than shared hosts.

Page Load Speed

Fast site performance becomes critical as your traffic grows. Look for hosts with modern infrastructure (HHVM, PHP 7, HTTP/2, SSD storage, CDN integration) to accelerate WordPress.

Ease of Use

Migrating should be as simple as possible. Look for automatic migration assistance, 1-click installs, intuitive controls, and clear documentation from potential hosts.

Customer Support

When issues arise, you need help ASAP. Evaluate responses to support tickets, live chat, forums, and knowledge bases from each provider.

Managed WordPress Hosting

For larger and business critical sites, managed WordPress hosts like WP Engine provide dedicated infrastructure, automatic scaling, marketing tools, and enhanced support.

Here are some recommended hosts to evaluate based on your needs and budget:

Budget Shared Hosting: Bluehost, HostGator
Faster Shared Hosting: SiteGround, Hostinger
Managed WordPress Hosting: WP Engine, Kinsta

Once you‘ve purchased new hosting, do not install WordPress yet! We‘ll migrate your existing site over in the steps below.

Using Duplicator for Easy WordPress Migration

To actually transfer your WordPress site between hosts, a dedicated migration plugin is invaluable. My plugin of choice is Duplicator – a premium tool available for around $50.

Why Use Duplicator?

Here are some key benefits that make Duplicator the best WordPress migration plugin:

• Easy Site Transfers: Duplicator bundles all files and the database into a simple package for migration.
• Zero Downtime: Duplicator enables migrating sites without disruptions to your visitors.
• Scheduling: Packages can be built automatically on a schedule for regular backups.
• Failsafe Archive: Self-healing archives maintain integrity even if files are corrupted during transfer.
• Testing: Built-in testing confirms all files and database connections before going live.
• Restores: One click restores allow reversing to previous versions if issues arise.

Duplicator is relied upon by over 1 million WordPress sites for seamless site migrations and backups.

Generating Migration Package

Once installed on your current WordPress site, navigate to Tools > Duplicator and create a new package.

Let the plugin analyze your site and build an archive containing all WordPress files and database data. This process can take several minutes for larger sites.

Once built, download the installer script and archive.zip files for migration:

With this package in hand, we‘re ready to migrate to the new host!

Uploading Migration Package to New Host

Your new hosting account likely has empty directories waiting to be populated. This is perfect for a clean WordPress install.

Using an FTP client like FileZilla, connect to your new host using the IP address or hostname and upload the installer.php and archive.zip files to the root folder:

Once migrated, run the installer script to transfer your WordPress core, plugins, themes, uploads, and database seamlessly to the new server.

Previewing New Server Locally

Normally the installer would be accessed via your original domain – but that still points to the old host for visitors! Instead, we need to temporarily map the domain to your new host IP only on your local machine.

This is done by editing your local hosts file. Think of this as a phone book between domain names and IPs. Your computer checks hosts first to determine what server to load for a domain.

For Windows, edit C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts with administrator privileges.

For Mac, edit /private/etc/hosts using sudo or as root user.

Add a line mapping your domain to the new host IP address like:

192.168.x.x example.com

Save changes and you can now access your new WordPress files through the domain locally!

Creating a New Database

With files in place, a new empty database needs to be ready on the new host. Log into cPanel and create a new MySQL database and user:

Take note of the database name, hostname, username, and password. We‘re ready to connect!

Running the Migration Plugin

Browse to your locally mapped domain and installer.php. Step through these screens:

1. Validate Package: Confirm checksums match to ensure intact transfer.
2. Database: Enter database details screened earlier to connect.
3. Options: Update any site URLs or paths needed.
4. Install: Run migration to new database and files!

Once complete, the installer will display a welcome screen for your migrated WordPress site. Log in and poke around to make sure everything looks as expected.

Updating Domain Nameservers

The final piece is pointing your domain to the new host‘s servers. Your registrar provides nameserver records that translate domains to hosting servers.

Log into your registrar account and change the nameservers to your new host:

Propagation can take up to 48 hours, so no immediate action needed by visitors. But the switch is complete on your end – congrats on the successful migration!

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Do I need a new domain for the new host?

A: No, you can migrate to the new host without changing domains. Just update nameservers after.

Q: Can I test the new site without disrupting visitors?

A: Yes, editing your local hosts file allows previewing before the world sees it.

Q: How soon can I cancel old hosting after migrating?

A: Wait at least 1 week after changing nameservers to ensure a smooth transition.

Q: What if the new server lacks certain plugins/functionality?

A: Some migration preparation may be required. Contact the new host for assistance.

Q: Is data removed from old host after migrating away?

A: Once cancelled, hosts remove data after a period per their policies. Don‘t forget to backup!

Migrating WordPress to a New Home

With some planning and the right tools, moving WordPress between hosts doesn‘t have to be scary or disruptive. Just follow the process above for a smooth transition.

Need help managing or want to hand off these details to a WordPress pro? Our expert migration team is ready to help! Contact us today to migrate your site seamlessly and without hassle.