If you are wondering how to migrate a WordPress site without breaking anything, the good news is that it is a well worn process. The bad news is that most migration horror stories come from skipping one boring step, usually DNS timing, email records or redirects, and finding out on a Monday morning when clients cannot reach you.
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We move WordPress sites for clients regularly at Design Fly 24. Sometimes it is a consultant leaving a slow host. Sometimes it is a firm that rebranded and needs everything on a new domain. Sometimes it is both at once. The steps are mostly the same, and the order matters more than the tools.
This guide walks through how to migrate a WordPress site in twelve steps, from the first backup to the checks you run a week after launch. It is written for consultants and small firms, but it is detailed enough to hand to whoever is doing the work.
- Decide first what is changing: the host, the domain or both. The steps differ in a few important places.
- Take a full backup, store it off site, and freeze content edits during the move.
- Lower your DNS TTL a few days before the switch so the change spreads quickly.
- Do not forget email. Changing nameservers can quietly break your inbox.
- Redirects and a round of checks after launch protect your search rankings and your leads.
Before you start: how to migrate a WordPress site the calm way
The biggest mistake people make when figuring out how to migrate a WordPress site is treating it like a single event. It is really a small project with three phases: prepare, move, check. Most of the risk sits in preparation, and most of the damage shows up in the checks you skipped.
Part of how to migrate a WordPress site calmly is timing. Pick a quiet window. For most consultants that means a weekend or an evening when inquiries are slow, and never the week before a conference or a big proposal deadline. Tell anyone who edits the site that content is frozen until you say otherwise, so nothing gets lost between the old server and the new one.
Gather your logins before you touch anything, because nobody can work out how to migrate a WordPress site without them: the old host, the new host, your domain registrar, your DNS provider (often the registrar, sometimes Cloudflare), your email provider and the WordPress admin. Half the delays we see come from someone hunting for a password for a domain registered eight years ago.
1. Decide what kind of move this is
Knowing how to migrate a WordPress site starts with naming the move. There are three common types, and each one changes the plan slightly.
- New host, same domain. The most common case. Visitors should not notice anything except a faster site.
- Same host, new domain. Usually after a rebrand. URLs change, so redirects become the most important step.
- New host and new domain. The most work. Treat it as two moves done carefully at once.
If a domain change is involved, read our guide on how to choose a domain name before you commit. Changing domains twice is much worse than changing once.
2. Take a full backup and keep it off site
Every guide on how to migrate a WordPress site starts here for a reason. Before anything else, back up the whole site: every file and the full database. Download a copy to your computer or to cloud storage that is not tied to either host. If the move goes badly, this backup is your way back.
Check the backup is complete. Open the archive and make sure the uploads folder is there with your images and PDFs, and that the database file is not suspiciously small. Our post on WordPress backup best practices explains what a good backup includes.
3. Lower your DNS TTL a few days ahead
This is the step that separates a smooth move from a messy one, and it is the one most guides on how to migrate a WordPress site skip. TTL (time to live) tells the internet how long to remember where your domain points. If it is set to a day, some visitors may keep seeing the old server for a day after you switch.
Two or three days before the move, log in to your DNS provider and lower the TTL on your main records to around five minutes (300 seconds). When you make the switch, it spreads quickly. After the move settles, you can raise it again. If you want a refresher on how DNS works, Cloudflare has a clear explanation of what DNS is.
4. Set up the new host and a staging copy
The next part of how to migrate a WordPress site is the destination. Buy the new hosting, create the account and add your domain to it without changing DNS yet. Set the PHP version to match or slightly exceed what the old server used, so nothing breaks on arrival.
If you are still choosing a host, we use Hostinger for many client sites. It runs on LiteSpeed servers, includes free SSL and a web application firewall, and Business plans and up include daily backups, which is exactly what you want behind a freshly moved site. Our best WordPress hosting guide covers other good options.
Most good hosts also give you a staging area or a temporary URL. That is where the site will live while you test, before the real domain points at it.
5. Move the files
There are two ways to handle this part of how to migrate a WordPress site, and both work.
With a migration plugin
Plugins such as Duplicator, All in One WP Migration, UpdraftPlus and Migrate Guru package the site into one file or transfer it directly between servers. For most consultant sites under a few gigabytes, this is the fastest route. Some hosts also offer their own migration tool or a migration service, which is worth checking first.
By hand
For large sites or ones where plugins time out, download the files from the old server over SFTP (or the host’s file manager), then upload them to the new one. It is slower, but you see exactly what moves. Pay attention to hidden files like .htaccess, which often holds redirects and caching rules.
When people ask us how to migrate a WordPress site with the least fuss, we usually say: try a reputable plugin first, and fall back to the manual route if it struggles.
6. Move the database
The database is the heart of how to migrate a WordPress site. If you used a migration plugin, it usually travels with the files. If you are doing it by hand, export the database from the old host (phpMyAdmin is the usual tool) and import it into a new, empty database on the new host.
Then point WordPress at that database. Open the wp-config.php file on the new server and update the database name, user, password and host to match what you just created. If these do not match, you will see the famous “Error establishing a database connection” message, which looks scary but is almost always a typo.
If the domain is changing
A domain change is where how to migrate a WordPress site gets technical. WordPress stores your full domain all over the database: in links, image paths and settings. A plain find and replace can break settings that are stored in a special format. Use a tool built for it, such as the Better Search Replace plugin, which handles that format safely. Run it on a backup first if you are nervous.
7. How to migrate a WordPress site safely: test before you switch DNS
This is the step that makes the difference between knowing how to migrate a WordPress site and hoping it works. Before any visitor reaches the new server, look at it yourself.
Use the host’s temporary URL or preview link, or edit your computer’s hosts file so your domain points at the new server just for you. Then click through everything that matters:
- The homepage, main service pages and about page
- Images, PDFs and downloadable files
- Contact forms, booking widgets and newsletter signups
- The WordPress dashboard and the page editor
- Any member area, store or calendar
Send a test message through every form. A broken contact form after a migration is the most common problem we fix, because the new server handles outgoing mail differently. An SMTP plugin connected to a proper email service usually solves it.
Rather not risk it yourself?We handle WordPress moves end to end, including DNS, email and redirects, and we check everything before and after.
8. Plan for email before touching DNS
Email is the part of how to migrate a WordPress site that catches the most people. If your email runs through Google Workspace or Microsoft 365, it depends on MX records in your DNS. If you change nameservers to the new host and those records are not copied over exactly, email stops arriving. Nobody gets an error. Messages just disappear.
Before you switch, write down every DNS record at the current provider: A records, CNAME records, MX records and TXT records (these hold SPF, DKIM and domain verification). Recreate them exactly at the new DNS provider, or only change the A record and leave everything else where it is. The second option is often the safest way to handle how to migrate a WordPress site without touching email at all.
If your email was hosted on the old web host, you will need to move the mailboxes too, or this is a good moment to move to a dedicated email service.
9. Switch DNS and install SSL
This is the moment in how to migrate a WordPress site that visitors actually feel. When the site checks out on the new server, update your DNS. Either change the A record to the new server’s IP address, or change nameservers if the new host will manage DNS. Thanks to the low TTL from step 3, most visitors will reach the new server within minutes to a few hours.
Next, make sure SSL is active so the site loads over https without warnings. Most hosts issue a free certificate from Let’s Encrypt automatically once the domain points to them. Check the padlock, then confirm that http and www versions all redirect to one secure address.
10. Set up redirects if any URLs changed
If the domain stayed the same and you did not change page addresses, you can skip most of this. If the domain changed, redirects are the single most important part of how to migrate a WordPress site, because they carry your search rankings and old links over to the new address.
Set up 301 redirects from every old URL to its matching new URL, page by page, not just everything to the homepage. Keep the old domain registered and redirecting for at least a year, ideally longer. Links in old press articles, conference programs and email signatures will keep sending people there for years.
Then tell Google. In Search Console, verify the new domain and use the Change of Address tool. Google’s guide to site moves with URL changes explains the details.
11. Run checks after launch
The last real stage of how to migrate a WordPress site is checking. Once DNS has switched, repeat the checks from step 7 on the live domain, and add a few more:
- Search Console: submit the sitemap and watch for crawl errors over the next two weeks.
- Analytics: confirm the tracking code fires and traffic is still coming in.
- Forms: send one more test through each form on the live domain.
- Speed: run a quick test and compare it with the old host.
- Backups: confirm scheduled backups are running on the new server.
If you are learning how to migrate a WordPress site to a new domain, our technical SEO checklist is a good companion for this stage if the domain changed.
12. Close down the old host carefully
The final step in how to migrate a WordPress site is patience. Do not cancel the old hosting the same day. Keep it for a week or two in case something was missed, like an old mailbox or a file that did not transfer. Download a final backup from the old server before you close the account, and store it with your other backups.
Finally, update your records: new host login, new DNS settings, who has access. Future you will be grateful.
How to migrate a WordPress site: the full checklist
Here is how to migrate a WordPress site in one place, with rough timing. Use it as a plan for your own move or to check the work of whoever handles it.
| Step | When | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Gather logins and pick a quiet window | One week before | Domain registrar access |
| Full backup, stored off site | Before anything else | Missing uploads folder |
| Lower DNS TTL | Two or three days before | Forgetting to raise it afterward |
| Set up new host and staging | One or two days before | PHP version mismatch |
| Move files and database | Move day | Database connection details |
| Test on temporary URL | Move day | Forms and outgoing email |
| Copy email and DNS records | Move day, before switching | MX and TXT records |
| Switch DNS, confirm SSL | Move day | Mixed content warnings |
| Redirects and Search Console | Right after switch | Redirecting everything to the homepage |
| Checks after launch | First two weeks | Crawl errors, missing analytics |
| Close old host | After one or two weeks | Old mailboxes and final backup |
Common mistakes when learning how to migrate a WordPress site
- Switching DNS before testing. Visitors become your testers, and they will not file bug reports. They will just leave.
- Forgetting email records. The site looks perfect while the inbox goes silent.
- Redirecting everything to the homepage. It throws away the value of individual pages and confuses visitors.
- Cancelling the old host too early. Give yourself a safety window.
- Editing content during the move. Anything changed on the old server after the backup gets lost.
Knowing how to migrate a WordPress site well means the move is invisible. If clients notice the move, something was skipped.
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take to learn how to migrate a WordPress site?
The move itself often takes a few hours for a typical consultant site. Preparation, DNS changes and checks after launch spread the full process over about a week, though most of that is waiting rather than working.
Will my site go down during the move?
Not if you know how to migrate a WordPress site properly. If you follow the steps in order, especially testing before switching DNS and lowering the TTL, downtime is usually minimal or none. Visitors see the old site until DNS points to the new one.
What is the easiest way for a beginner to understand how to migrate a WordPress site?
Start with a reputable migration plugin and a host that offers staging. Follow the steps above, and do not skip the email records and testing. If the site is large or complex, consider having a professional do it.
Will changing domains hurt my SEO?
That depends on how you migrate a WordPress site to the new address. A domain change usually causes a temporary dip while Google processes the move. Proper 301 redirects for every page and the Change of Address tool in Search Console keep that dip as short as possible.
Can Design Fly 24 migrate my site for me?
Yes. We know how to migrate a WordPress site with minimal downtime, and we handle the backup, move, DNS, email, SSL and redirects, and we check everything afterward. It is often part of our maintenance plans or a redesign project.
Move your site without the stress
Once you understand how to migrate a WordPress site step by step, it stops being scary. Back up, prepare DNS, test before switching, protect your email, set up redirects and check everything after launch. That order handles almost every move a small business will ever need.
If you would rather hand it off, our WordPress maintenance services include migrations, and we often move sites as part of a website redesign. You can also see sites we look after on our work page. Get in touch and we will plan your move with you.
