Uploading a Wordpress Website Over Another Site

• 21 min read
• WordPress, Themes, Techniques (WP)

Quick summary ↬ Now powering over 17% of the Web, WordPress is increasingly becoming the content direction arrangement (CMS) of option for the average user. But what about websites built with an outdated CMS or without a CMS at all? Does moving to WordPress hateful starting over and losing all the time, energy and money put into the current website? Nope!

Now powering over 17% of the Web, WordPress is increasingly becoming the content direction organisation (CMS) of choice for the average user. Just what near websites built with an outdated CMS or without a CMS at all? Does moving to WordPress mean starting over and losing all the time, energy and coin put into the current website? Nope!

Migrating a website (including the design) over to WordPress is really easier than you might think. In this guide, we'll outline the migration process and work through the steps with a sample project. Nosotros'll besides cover some of the challenges you might encounter and review the solutions.

Further Reading on SmashingMag:

• Moving A WordPress Website Without Hassle
• Getting Ready For HTTP/2: A Guide For Spider web Designers And Developers
• A Expect At The Modern WordPress Server Stack
• Complimentary SSL For Whatever WordPress Website
  

More later on jump! Go on reading below ↓

Almost This Guide

Earlier we get to work, let's establish some context. Commencement, this guide was written primarily with beginners in mind and volition exist most helpful for bones websites. Some of you lot will likely run across advanced aspects of WordPress migration, simply they are beyond the scope of this guide. If you're tackling an avant-garde migration and get stuck, experience gratis to share your difficulty in the comments below.

Objectives

The objective of this guide is to aid you with the following:

• Plan an constructive migration to WordPress.
• Walk through the technical steps involved in migrating.
• Get ideas and resources to solve mutual migration challenges.

Assumptions

I assume you lot have basic familiarity with WordPress. Previous evolution experience with WordPress would be helpful, but not necessary. I too presume you have an existing website and design that you desire to migrate to WordPress.

Basic Steps

Hither are the basic steps that I recommend you follow for a typical WordPress migration:

1. Evaluate website. Work carefully through the pages on your existing website, identifying all of the types of content (standard pages, photo galleries, resource pages, etc.) and noting any areas that need special attention.
2. Set up environment. Set upwardly WordPress and get ready to import.
3. Import content. Bring over and organize your content, whether via an importing tool, transmission entry (for a small corporeality, when no tool is available) or a custom importing process.
4. Drift design. Comprise your existing design into a custom WordPress theme.
5. Review website, go live. Carefully review the import, making adjustments where needed, set up any URL redirects, and then go live.

With this outline in mind, permit'due south work through each step in detail.

Start With A Plan

The fundamental to a successful migration is to advisedly evaluate your current website. You need to figure out how to import and structure the content in WordPress before conveying over the design.

While the principles are the same across migration projects, the details often vary. And so, below are two lists of questions to ask every bit you piece of work out a plan.

Imported Content

• How much content needs to exist imported (number of pages, number of images, etc.)?
• Is the book low enough to be imported manually, or do you demand a tool?
• If yous demand a tool, does one already exist?
• Can the content be categorized into the standard "posts" and "pages," or does it call for custom post types?
• Does extra content need to be stored for certain pages (custom fields, taxonomies, etc.)?
• Will the URL structure alter? If so, volition the old URLs need to be redirected?

Existing Functionality

• Does the website integrate whatever tertiary-party services (information drove, reservations, etc.)?
• Do whatsoever forms need to be migrated (contact forms, application forms, etc.)?
• Is access to any content restricted (such as members-only content)?
• Does the website sell products (digital or physical)?
• Do whatever administrative tools need to be carried over (such as custom CMS functionality)?

A Working Example

My brother, Joshua Wold, has volunteered a website to serve as an example; it's for a side project of his in which he sells posters and postcards of a Vegan Food Pyramid. He congenital the website in plain HTML, with some basic PHP includes for the header and footer. Below is a screencast of me evaluating the website to requite you a sense of how the process volition work. Enjoy!

Set Up WordPress

Before importing the content, nosotros need to go WordPress ready to go. If you're just experimenting or if yous prefer offline evolution, start with a local installation of WordPress. Otherwise, the adjacent step is to install WordPress with your current hosting provider; or you could use the migration process as a bully opportunity to motility to a new host.

Once WordPress is up and running, yous're ready for activity!

For our example, we've installed WordPress with the same host, setting it upwardly in a /wp directory for the elapsing of the migration procedure.

Settings and Plugins

With WordPress installed, nosotros'll make a few minor adjustments:

• Update permalinks.. Go to Settings → Permalinks to brand changes. In most cases, I'll switch to "postname"-style permalinks.
• Update users.. I create an admin-level business relationship for myself and any admin or editor accounts that are needed for clients and collaborators. I also remove the default "admin" user name if it exists (a basic but wise step for WordPress security).

Depending on the needs of the project, nosotros might have to preinstall plugins. Here are the major categories of plugins:

• Form management. Migrating a form "as is" is usually a mess; simply recreating it using a forms plugin is usually easier. My electric current favorite is Gravity Forms ($39+ per license). Other options are Formidable (with free and pro versions) and Contact Course seven (entirely free).
• SEO management. Search engine optimization (SEO) is a touchy subject. My philosophy is to build content for people, not for search engines. That being said, there is a common-sense arroyo to SEO that is solidly supported by the WordPress plugin ecosystem. And if your old website includes custom meta descriptions, giving them a new domicile during the importing process is important. I recommend WordPress SEO (free).
• Multiple languages. If your sometime website supports multiple languages, WordPress has y'all covered. My plugin of choice is WPML ($79 per license, free for not-profits). Another selection is MultilingualPress (complimentary).
• Security. WordPress security is a topic near and dear to me. The increasing popularity of WordPress has made it a target for security attacks. WordPress itself is rarely the problem; a poorly secured hosting surround or an outdated or poorly adult plugin ordinarily is. I apply managed WordPress hosting for the majority of my projects, which offers a expert foundation for solid WordPress security. Options include WPEngine, ZippyKid, Pagely and Synthesis. In addition to managed hosting (and especially if y'all opt for a not-managed host), consider installing a security plugin, such as Better WP Security (free) or Wordfence (also gratis). Last just non least, review the "Hardening WordPress" guide in the Codex.
• Backups. If you opt for managed hosting, backups are unremarkably included (make certain, though). If you're managing backups yourself or y'all want an extra layer of data protection, not bad options are available, including VaultPress ($xv+ a calendar month), CodeGuard ($5+ a month), BackupBuddy ($75+ per license) and BackWPup (free).

Import Content

With WordPress up and running, it'due south time to bring over all of your content.

If your onetime website has a CMS, an importing tool might be available. Start by viewing the list of content-importing scripts in the Codex. If there's a friction match, great! Follow the instructions and get to work. If all goes well, you'll have migrated the content over without any problem.

If your one-time CMS is not in the list or you don't have a CMS at all and you've got fewer than 100 pages, and so transmission migration is probably the fashion to become. Copy and paste the contents, noting the old URLs as y'all get (tracking the migration in a spreadsheet is a good idea).

If you lot've got a custom CMS or a database of records without an importing tool and a high volume of content, then you might want to bring in a specialist to movement the content over before continuing. The higher the volume of content, the college the chance of human mistake and the more than important automating it becomes.

For our project, I've migrated the content manually and replaced the existing navigation with a WordPress menu. You can watch the process in this next screencast:

Bring Over The Pattern

With our content in WordPress, it'due south time to bring over the design. Incidentally, if you're considering a new design, then now is a great fourth dimension to look at the many first-class WordPress themes out at that place, both in the official repository and in third-party marketplaces such every bit ThemeForest and Creative Market. For our purpose, I'll assume that you're happy with your pattern.

Evaluating A Design

Evaluate the source code of a prospective blueprint equally best you tin can before tackling the migration. If the code is tabular array-based or more than complex than you're comfy with, and so migrating the pattern might not exist worth the effort. While anything is possible (I've migrated some circuitous table-based designs in my fourth dimension), non everything is practical.

Working With Source Code

In my experience, the easiest mode to migrate is to work directly with the source lawmaking in the browser. While having access to the original hosting environment tin exist helpful (especially when working with a lot of images and downloadable files), the means that websites are congenital vary and then widely that you'll frequently have to reverse-engineer the original architecture in club to derive anything useful.

Going directly to the source code in your browser of choice will relieve a lot of time and, disallowment any important "behind the scenes" functionality, give you everything you need. Google Chrome is currently my browser of choice, and I've pulled our source-lawmaking samples directly from the browser. (In Chrome, go to Menu → Tools → View Source, or but right-click to bring upwardly the contextual bill of fare.)

Create A Custom Theme

If you lot're new to them, learn most using themes in the Codex. For the migration procedure, yous can either build a new WordPress theme from the ground up or modify an existing theme to meet your needs. I recommend the latter.

Most of my migration projects take started with the latest version of WordPress' default theme (currently Twenty Twelve). Recently, I stripped down the default theme to create my own migration starter theme, which I'll utilise in our case and which y'all're welcome to use yourself. (Feel free to advise improvements!) Let's get to work.

Download a copy (Cipher) of the migration starter theme or follow along in your own theme of option as nosotros piece of work through the relevant theme files.

1. Mode Canvas

Our first step is to bring over the styles from the sometime website. In nearly cases, this is as simple as searching the source code for references to .css and then copying and pasting the contents from those style sheet(s) into our own mode.css. Let'due south get to information technology.

1. Open up up style.css.
2. Replace the details of the theme ("Proper name," "URI," "Description," etc.) with your ain.
3. Paste in the styles from the former website.

A Note About Images

Every bit you migrate the manner canvass(due south), search for and update any references to images. In general, I similar to continue all images in an /images/ binder inside the theme's directory. More often than not, changing the locations of images referenced in the original CSS is necessary, and I brand certain to update all references in the style sail and templates accordingly.

The next step is to create the header for our new theme. Our objective here is to merge the structure of the current code base of operations with WordPress' templates. Here's what we're going to do:

• Replicate the HTML structure of the old website.
• Replace the static menu with a WordPress-powered menu.
• Utilise WordPress' title tag and leave the wp_head hook in identify.
• Merge any other relevant tags from the old header.

Let's go into the code!

Original HTML

                      <!DOCTYPE HTML> <html> <caput> <title>Vegan Food Pyramid posters, postcards and wallpapers</title> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /> <meta name="google-site-verification" content="PO3bWDpUEh4O6XXwnmfyfxrKRDf8JsRrNIcGdzv3POs" /> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="style.css" media="screen" /> <link rel="shortcut icon" href="https://www.veganfoodpyramid.com/favicon.ico?5=2" /> <script type="text/javascript" src="//use.typekit.net/tty6xpj.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript">try{Typekit.load();}take hold of(e){}</script>  </head> <body> <a href="https://veganfoodpyramid.com"><h1 id="logo">Vegan Food Pyramid</h1></a> <ul course="card">    <li><a form="active" href="https://veganfoodpyramid.com">Products</a></li>    <li><a href="https://veganfoodpyramid.com/wallpaper.php">Wallpaper</a></li>    <li><a href="https://veganfoodpyramid.com/most.php">Nearly</a></li>    <li><a href="https://veganfoodpyramid.com/contact.php">Contact</a></li> </ul>                  

                      <!DOCTYPE html> <html> <caput>    <championship><?php wp_title( '|', truthful, 'right' ); ?></title>    <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-eight" />    <meta name="google-site-verification" content="PO3bWDpUEh4O6XXwnmfyfxrKRDf8JsRrNIcGdzv3POs" />    <link rel="shortcut icon" href="https://www.veganfoodpyramid.com/favicon.ico?5=2" />    <script blazon="text/javascript" src="//use.typekit.internet/tty6xpj.js"></script>    <script type="text/javascript">try{Typekit.load();}take hold of(e){}</script>    <?php wp_head(); ?> </head>  <trunk <?php body_class(); ?>>     <header>       <a href="https://veganfoodpyramid.com"><h1 id="logo">Vegan Food Pyramid</h1></a>       <?php wp_nav_menu( array(             'theme_location' => 'chief',             'container' => false,             'menu_class' => 'menu'       ) ); ?>    </header>                  

Explanation

One of the challenges of migration is deciding whether to improve code as yous go on. Our project has a few areas that could be improved, simply Joshua and I agreed to leave them equally is. Most of you volition be tackling the migration of a design that hasn't been coded to current all-time practices (although, in fairness to the original coder, they may have been best practices at the time).

If time and opportunity allow, I encourage you lot to meliorate on the code. Otherwise, take comfort in the fact that, with the website now on WordPress, improvements will be a whole lot easier down the road.

Let's work through the changes we've made!

• Doctype. Make sure to deport over the aforementioned doctype. In this case, the original HTML already has an HTML5 doctype (a relatively rare occurrence on sometime websites). Using a modern doctype in a code base written for an older specification (such equally XHTML or HTML4) could break the layout (particularly in old browsers).
• Meta tags. I usually bring over the majority of meta tags equally is, replacing them in WordPress. The exception in our example is the reference to the style canvass, which is being inserted automatically via wp_enqueue_style in the functions.php file.
• Scripts. Scripts can be tricky. If a script belongs on every page (such as a tracking script or font script), then putting it directly in the header (or footer) file is fine. If information technology needs to appear just on certain pages, then a provisional tag will do the play a joke on. As a best practise, annals all scripts and add them to the header (or footer) via wp_enqueue_script. If you're up for the challenge, I recommend doing information technology this fashion. (Check out a tutorial on enqueuing TypeKit the right manner.)
• wp_head. Leave <?php wp_head(); ?> at the bottom of the </caput> tag in the merged header file. WordPress uses wp_head, among other things, to enqueue scripts and fashion sheets that are referenced in the theme (commonly in functions.php) and in plugins that you lot've installed. Without wp_head in place, well-nigh front-end plugins won't work.
• body_class. Notice our use of the <?php body_class(); ?> tag. WordPress uses this to provide a series of helpful classes to the <body> tag depending on the page being viewed. In our example, the <trunk> classes weren't being used. Yours might have unique IDs or classes on each page, in which case you can create a custom part using conditional tags to add the advisable classes to the corresponding pages. Have a look at the Codex for some examples.
• WordPress menus. Switching to a WordPress-powered carte du jour is one of the more complex tasks in well-nigh bones migrations. It will exist adequately straightforward for us. We have a bill of fare with uncomplicated markup that uses an agile class (generated via PHP) to indicate which page the visitor is viewing. The wp_nav_menu role is highly flexible and offers built-in functionality to handle the current land of an element in the menu. I've updated the references in the style sheet to the active form and changed them to use the equivalent generated by wp_nav_menu, which is electric current-menu-detail. Sentry the screencast on importing content to come across how I've fix up the carte du jour for our instance.

And that's a wrap! Let's motion on to the next piece.

The footer is usually the most uneventful template in the migration procedure. As with the header, our objective is to merge the relevant parts of the original source code. Let's go to it!

Original HTML

                      <div id="footer"><p>© 2013 VeganFoodPyramid.com</p></div>  <script blazon="text/javascript"> var gaJsHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https://ssl." : "https://www."); document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + gaJsHost + "google-analytics.com/ga.js' blazon='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E")); </script> <script type="text/javascript"> try { var pageTracker = _gat._getTracker("UA-6992755-1"); pageTracker._trackPageview(); } catch(err) {}</script>  </body> </html>                  

                      <div id="footer"><p>© <?php repeat date('Y'); ?> VeganFoodPyramid.com</p></div>  <script blazon="text/javascript"> var gaJsHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https://ssl." : "https://world wide web."); document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + gaJsHost + "google-analytics.com/ga.js' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E")); </script> <script type="text/javascript"> attempt { var pageTracker = _gat._getTracker("UA-6992755-1"); pageTracker._trackPageview(); } grab(err) {}</script>  <?php wp_footer(); ?>  </trunk> </html>                  

Explanation

Some footers are hard to migrate (such as ones with circuitous menus and widgets), but nigh are simple. In this case, we've merged the HTML with our footer template, making certain to preserve our reference to the wp_footer hook. We've likewise inverse the date reference to utilize PHP, ensuring that it updates with each year.

iv. Home Page

Ane of the challenges of a migration is that there are so many different ways to become the chore done. The home page is a good illustration of this considering it tends to be the most unlike from the rest of the website. Adopting the simplest method is commonly best. I've opted to put all of the dwelling house page's content directly in the template. Changes will be rare and can easily be made by editing the template.

Let's look at the code, excluding the header and footer, which we've already covered.

Original HTML

                      <div id="content">  <div id="poster"> <a href="https://veganfoodpyramid.com/images/Vegan-Food-Pyramid-New.jpg"><img class="production-img" src="https://veganfoodpyramid.com/images/Vegan-Food-Pyramid-New.jpg" /></a> <div form="clarification"> <h2>Poster</h2> <p>A 30×20-inch affiche illustrating over 125 vegan nutrient items equally an alternative to the traditional nutrient pyramid. This poster volition grab people's attention and serve equally a suggestion for nutrient ideas.</p> <h3>$30 each</h3> <p>Includes gratis aircraft worldwide</p> <a class="button" href="https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=2FKQT879CXYYG">Buy</a> </div> </div>  <div id="postcard"> <a href="https://veganfoodpyramid.com/images/Vegan-Nutrient-Pyramid-New.jpg"><img class="product-img" src="https://veganfoodpyramid.com/images/postcard-splash.jpg" alt="Postcard Splash" /></a> <div class="description"> <h2>Postcards</h2> <p>Beautiful four×6 postcards that tin can be mailed and shared with friends and family. Hand them out at events. Post them on walls. Share the vegan love!</p> <h3>$fifty for 50</h3> <p>Includes free aircraft worldwide</p> <a class="push" href="https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=EN387WHNSSFMW">Buy</a> </div> </div>  </div> <!-- end content -->                  

Merged Dwelling Page (/page-templates/front-folio.php)

                      <?php /**  * Template Name: Forepart Page Template  */  get_header(); ?>  <div id="content">     <div id="poster">       <a href="<?php echo get_stylesheet_directory_uri(); ?>/images/Vegan-Food-Pyramid-New.jpg"><img class="product-img" src="<?php echo get_stylesheet_directory_uri(); ?>/images/Vegan-Food-Pyramid-New.jpg" /></a>       <div course="clarification">          <h2>Poster</h2>          <p>A xxx×xx-inch poster illustrating over 125 vegan food items equally an alternative to the traditional food pyramid. This poster will take hold of people's attending and serve as a proffer for food ideas.</p>          <h3>$30 each</h3>          <p>Includes gratis shipping worldwide</p>          <a class="button" href="https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=2FKQT879CXYYG">Buy</a>       </div>    </div>     <div id="postcard">       <a href="<?php echo get_stylesheet_directory_uri(); ?>/images/Vegan-Food-Pyramid-New.jpg"><img class="product-img" src="<?php echo get_stylesheet_directory_uri(); ?>/images/postcard-splash.jpg" alt="Postcard Splash" /></a>       <div class="description">          <h2>Postcards</h2>          <p>Cute 4×half-dozen postcards that tin be mailed and shared with friends and family unit. Paw them out at events. Mail service them on walls. Share the vegan love!</p>          <h3>$l for 50</h3>          <p>Includes complimentary shipping worldwide</p>          <a form="button" href="https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=EN387WHNSSFMW">Buy</a>       </div>    </div>  </div> <!-- end #content -->  <?php get_footer(); ?>                  

Caption

The front end-page.php template begins and ends with a reference to the header and footer that we've simply prepared. In between, nosotros'll merge the rest of the HTML, and we'll use the get_stylesheet_directory_uri function, which will dynamically generate references to the images folder in our new theme.

5. Standard Page Template

With the header and footer done, the standard templates are usually quite easy. For brevity's sake, we'll get direct to the merged templates.

Merged Template (page.php)

                      <?php /**  * The template for displaying all pages.  */  get_header(); ?>  <div id="content">     <?php while ( have_posts() ) : the_post(); ?>        <?php get_template_part( 'content', 'page' ); ?>     <?php endwhile; ?>  </div>  <?php get_footer(); ?>                  

Content Template (content-page.php)

                      <?php /**  * The template used for displaying page content in page.php  */ ?>     <article <?php post_class(); ?>>       <?php the_content(); ?>    </commodity>                  

Explanation

There are several items to betoken out hither:

• The loop. If yous're new to WordPress or programming in general, this piece of lawmaking in the #content container might look intimidating. The "loop" is code used by WordPress to display a mail's content. You can learn more virtually the loop in the Codex. Meanwhile, but make sure that it'due south in in that location, or else the content you save in WordPress won't show up.
• get_template_part. Our page template here employs the handy get_template_part function, which is a great way to keep content organized, especially in complex projects. Our website is simple enough non to warrant information technology, but I left information technology in but to show y'all.
• post_class. I too added a reference to <commodity> (with the corresponding post_class function) to make further customization of the blueprint easier.

5. Full-Width Template (total-width.php)

Although not illustrated in the screencast, the design includes a total-width template for use on the "Wallpaper" folio, while the standard page template is changed to a narrow width.

Let's have a look.

Merged Template (templates/full-width.php)

                      <?php /**  * Template Name: Full-Width Template  */  get_header(); ?>  <div id="content" class="full-width">     <?php while ( have_posts() ) : the_post(); ?>        <?php get_template_part( 'content', 'page' ); ?>     <?php endwhile; ?>  </div>  <?php get_footer(); ?>                  

Caption

With the template created, all that remains is to assign it to a page. From the "Edit Page" interface, find the "Page Attributes" box (usually right beneath the "Publish" box) and select "Total-Width Template" from the "Templates" dropdown menu.

Now let'south tackle some of the "extras" that sometimes come up as challenges during a WordPress migration.

• Breadcrumbs. Breadcrumbs are relatively common on websites. The easiest way to reproduce them is with a plugin. My current favorite is Breadcrumb NavXT (gratuitous). WordPress SEO also offers built-in breadcrumbs.
• Widgets. If the blueprint y'all're migrating has a sidebar, you lot could either reproduce it as is (the migration theme has a sample sidebar in place) or integrate WordPress widgets to allow for a dynamically managed sidebar. The folks at Automattic have prepared a handy guide to widgetizing themes. Offset in that location.
• Restricted content. In example some content needs to exist restricted, WordPress offers basic password protection by default. If y'all want more control, apply a plugin. For basic role management and content permissions, I recommend Members (free). For more avant-garde command (specially if payment is involved), consider Membership (which has bones and premium versions), s2Member (also free and premium) and WP-Members (gratuitous).
• Custom Post Types. Some migrations, particularly ones with a lot of different types of content, call for "custom post types." Y'all can learn about custom postal service types in the Codex. To set them upwards, I recommend using a plugin. Two good choices are Custom Post Blazon UI and Types (both free).

Review Website

At present that we've wrapped up work on the theme, it's fourth dimension for a review. Work advisedly through the pages on the migrated website. For a large website, focus on the unlike templates. As you review, here are some things to scout out for:

1. Cleaved links Brand sure all links work as they should. If you lot take only a few pages, you can check manually. For an automated check, use Integrity (gratuitous, for Mac) or Xenu's Link Sleuth (free, for Windows).
2. Broken styles Occasionally, for 1 reason or another, a design chemical element of your website might have broken during the migration. Carefully compare the onetime HTML to the new to make sure you lot haven't missed any of import code and that the respective fashion sheet rules have been carried over. If all else fails, a quick rebuild of the design element on the new website might be in society.
3. Cleaved functionality Exam whatsoever functionality that you lot've migrated over, such as "Buy now" buttons, contact forms, newsletter opt-ins, "members-merely" content, embedded maps, media players, etc.
4. Temporary links Depending on how yous've carried out the migration, temporary links to a subfolder or testing domain might appear in your content or theme. Yous'll want to update these before going alive. Employ the Search and Replace plugin (complimentary) to check for and update links in your content.

Setting Upwardly Redirects

If your link structure has changed (and it ordinarily will, fifty-fifty if simply slightly), brand sure that visitors are redirected from the old pages to the new. For pocket-size amounts of content, one of the easiest means to set redirects is by adding them to the .htaccess file.

Open the .htaccess file in the WordPress directory. If y'all don't meet it, gear up your FTP customer to show hidden files. Now, create redirect rules for each of the erstwhile pages. Be certain to put these rules after WordPress' block of rules.

Here are the rewrite rules for our links:

                      Redirect 301 /wallpaper.php https://veganfoodpyramid.com/wallpaper/ Redirect 301 /about.php https://veganfoodpyramid.com/about/ Redirect 301 /contact.php https://veganfoodpyramid.com/contact/ Redirect 301 /contactthanks.php https://veganfoodpyramid.com/contact/cheers/                  

If editing your .htaccess file is not an selection or if you're dealing with a lot of redirects, and then accept a look at Redirection (free).

Advanced tip: If the volume of redirects is very loftier (which is likely with a large-scale migration and a custom importing process), and so consider edifice a part that hooks into template_redirect, compares a generated list of cases, and then uses the wp_redirect function to redirect any matches.

Going Live

Going alive with a website unremarkably involves one of two tasks:

1. Relocate WordPress from the development binder to the root directory.
2. Point the domain proper noun from the old server to the new WordPress server.

Relocating WordPress

If you lot set up WordPress in a subfolder (every bit we did), then going live involves a few elementary steps. Follow the guide to using a pre-existing subdirectory installation.

Once you lot've made the change, check immediately for any broken links that you may have missed in the final review.

Pointing to a New Server

If you ready WordPress on a new server, then you probably used a temporary domain. Accordingly, remove references to the temporary domain before pointing the domain to the new server.

Also, if you're planning to update the proper name servers for your domain, and so commencement resolve whatever dependencies in the current DNS records (such as hosted email and third-party services). I usually go live with a domain by updating the A records, leaving the name servers in identify.

Decision

And there y'all have information technology! A successful WordPress migration is all about the details, and while this guide is by no ways comprehensive, y'all at present accept a good outline of the process and a sense of some of the challenges y'all'll come across, forth with ideas for solving them. If you run into challenges forth the way, share them in the comments beneath. Now go migrating!

(al)

eckleydresill.blogspot.com

Source: https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2013/05/migrate-existing-website-to-wordpress/

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