Move WordPress without downtime

You can move a WordPress site without interruption if you respect the order of steps: first transfer files and database, then test on the new server, and only then switch the DNS. At WWW4 we do that transfer for you; it is part of the hosting service and not a separate line on your invoice. You supply access to your current hosting, we do the rest.

WordPress has a few peculiarities that a plain file copy does not solve: the site URL in the database, the permalinks, cache plugins that remember the old address. Below you can read how we handle that and where it goes wrong in practice.

What we do, what you supply

A move goes most smoothly when it is clear in advance who does what. Most of the work is ours; from you we mainly need access and a few answers.

What WWW4 does

The complete transfer, from the first copy to the check after the DNS switch.

  • Pull files, uploads folder and database from your current hosting
  • Adjust wp-config to the new database and set new salts
  • Check site URL, permalinks and cache on the new server
  • Create mailboxes before the DNS switches, and check that forms arrive
  • Set the PHP version that suits your theme and plugins

What you supply

Without these details we cannot start. Request them from your current provider in good time.

  • Access to your current hosting: control panel or FTP and the database
  • Access to the management of your domain name, or its transfer to us
  • Which plugins and which theme you use, and whether licenses are attached
  • A moment when you can check the new site yourself before the switch

After the transfer your site immediately runs on hosting with Redis object caching and with the Jaan Performance Engine, our own WordPress plugin for caching and images. It comes free with your plan and we install it along with the move if you wish.

How the move runs

Five steps. Your old site stays online the whole time; only in the last step does the outside world notice anything, and by then everything has been tested.

1

Inventory and access

We look at what is running: which WordPress version, which theme, which plugins, how large the media library and the database are, which mailboxes exist and whether there is a WooCommerce shop on it. You provide us with access to your current hosting and to the domain management. Missing access is in practice the most common cause of delay.

2

Transfer files and database

The complete web space, including the uploads folder, and the database are copied to our server. We create a new wp-config with the new database details and fresh salts, and set the PHP version to what your theme and plugins expect. Your old site simply stays up.

3

Check site URL, permalinks and cache

WordPress stores its own address in the database. We check the site URL and home URL, have the permalinks rewritten so the rewrite rules are correct, and flush the cache of cache plugins that still hold the old address. This is the part most often skipped in a do-it-yourself move.

4

Test on the new server

The site is tested on our server while the DNS is still unchanged. Do all pages and images load, do forms arrive, does logging in work, does the checkout work if you have a webshop? You check along with us. Whatever turns out to be broken here costs nothing; after the switch it does.

5

Switch the DNS and check

Only now do you point the DNS at our server, or we do it if your domain name is with us. Then we check that https works, that no error pages have appeared and whether mail is still arriving on the old server that needs collecting. You only cancel your old hosting once everything has run well for a few days.

Where WordPress moves go wrong

A WordPress site is more than a folder of files. Six things that go wrong in a plain copy, and that we therefore always check separately.

Site URL and home URL in the database

WordPress stores its own address in the database. If that is no longer right, the new site sends you back to the old one or loads without styling. If the site runs on a temporary address for testing, that has to be set back afterwards.

Re-saving the permalinks

The readable addresses of WordPress depend on rewrite rules on the server. After a move the home page often works, but all underlying pages return a 404. Saving the permalinks once more fixes that.

wp-config and salts

The wp-config contains the database details of the old server and the keys that secure your login sessions. On the new server it needs new database details and new salts. Also carry over any extra settings your developer added there.

Uploads folder and large media libraries

On a site with years of photos, the weight is not in WordPress but in the uploads folder. You only notice a partial copy by missing images somewhere deep in the site. That is why we compare the number of files and the size on both sides after the transfer.

Cache plugins that hold on to the old URL

Cache plugins store ready-made pages with the old address in them, and sometimes separate configuration files too. If that cache is not flushed, the new site still seems to point to the old one. We flush it after the transfer and again after the DNS switch.

Email that has to come along

Your mailboxes move along and are created before the DNS switches. Look at WordPress itself too: an SMTP plugin still pointing at the old mail server sends no form or order mails after the move. We test that as part of step four.

What you get after the switch

Belgian data center — your site and your visitor data stay in Belgium
Redis object caching and the Jaan Performance Engine, included
Choose your own PHP version, per site
Free SSL certificate, renewed automatically
Daily backup of files and database, kept for 14 days
Support from the people who manage the servers

Further reading

Moving something other than a WordPress site, or want to do it yourself? These pages help you further.

Move your web hosting (general) Checklist: moving a website Changing the PHP version

Frequently asked questions about a WordPress move

No. Your site is first placed on our server in full and tested there, while the old one simply keeps running. Only once everything works does the DNS switch. By lowering the TTL in advance, that switch takes minutes instead of hours, and in practice your visitors notice nothing.
Transferring your website and your email is part of the hosting service and not a separate line on your invoice. You pay for your hosting plan, nothing extra for the move itself. In an exceptionally complex situation, for example dozens of sites or custom work outside WordPress, we discuss that in advance.
Yes, but with one extra arrangement: between the last database copy and the DNS switch, no new orders may come in, otherwise they only exist on the old server. That is why we plan those two steps shortly after each other at a quiet moment, or put the shop in maintenance mode very briefly. Orders, customers and stock move along in the database.
That depends on the size of the site, especially the media library, and on how quickly we get access to your current hosting. The transfer and testing itself is usually not days of work; waiting for access details is. If you have everything ready, we agree a moment for the switch.
Yes. The mailboxes on your domain are created with us before the DNS switches, so new mail arrives in the right place straight away. If you work with IMAP, we also transfer the contents of the mailboxes. If you work with POP3, your mail is already local on your device and nothing needs transferring.
You can, and our knowledge base has a checklist for anyone who wants to. Do take the WordPress-specific steps into account: site URL in the database, re-saving permalinks, a new wp-config and flushing the cache of your cache plugin. If you get stuck, we look along with you.
Not necessarily. Your domain name can stay with your current registrar; then you point the DNS at our server there yourself. If you do move the domain name along, with the transfer code from your registrar, you manage everything in one place and we switch the DNS for you.
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