Help with website migration and development site

[Fenwickwriter]

I have the following:

• My own server at Godaddy
• The content files for my website
• I have a new Wordpress template

My site is currently hosted elsewhere. I cannot get access to the FTP, so they sent me the files. I need to keep the website live on the current server, whilst I build another in development state on my (Godaddy) server. Then I need to transfer the domain to my server, onto the new design. I am trying to keep the content the same, with exactly the same urls. I am a beginner, and Godaddy have let me down hugely because they said they would support me with this and halfway through the process with one of their advisors, a supervisor came on and stopped the process. I had just managed to upload all the content files onto the server, after the support guy helped me set up the server and open a new account on it etc. It WAS going well. I wouldn’t mind so much, but I was promised help in the very beginning when I was tricked into buying a dedicated server and a migration package, which they then informed me was impossible without the FTP access to the current host. At the time I purchased it, I informed them this would be an issue, but they said they would still help me anyway if I had to do it all manually. I’ve had nothing by lies and false hope, and now I’m left with all this stuff I don’t know what to do with!

[PL281]

@Fenwickwriter 

I am an end user - I'm not going to get into what GoDaddy should or shouldn't have done - that said.... Let us see if I can help you get this setup

So you said you uploaded the files to the server already -

did you unzip them?

did you create a database?

If you can post a screen shot I can help you out a bit further

[Fenwickwriter]

Thanks for your offer of support.

I have since been advised to install WP onto another of my domains and host that on my server. Then I can supposedly migrate all my old content somehow onto this WP template and change the main domain name later on when the design is ready and point the nameservers to my hosting

Does that sound correct?

[PL281]

@Fenwickwriter 

Short answer - yes and no

So there are a couple of options - and depending on how technical the person is giving the recommendations may vary...

The issue with just launching a new site and using the WordPress Export / Import process is that it assumes you have access to the theme / plugins that are installed on the existing site. 

====================================================

I am assuming you have a VPS server based on your original post and I assume you were given a Zip file of your existing site - assuming this is all correct - here are the steps I would take

1) Create a new "cPanel" account on the server for your domain

2) Open the cPanel and go to the file manager upload the zip file to the public_html directory

3) Unzip the file

4) there should be a .sql file - it maybe in a subfolder that say DB - you will need to download this file it is the database for the website

5) next in cpanel you will want to go to the database wizard where you can create the database - I usually put wp for the database / user name so the actual name is the part in the grey box plus wp for example   site_wp.   Make sure you copy the password.

On the last step you want to select all the check boxes.

6) back on the cpanel main page, select phpMyAdmin and then drag/drop the .sql file which will upload the database

7) One the database is uploaded, then go to the wp_options table - there should be a record  (home_url) and (site_url) - one might be on the second page.

I would change the domain to http://new.YOURDOMAIN.COM  where it is your actual domain

😎 Back In cPanel file manager, you want to edit the wp-config.php file and update the database name / user / password - should be about 10 lines down

9) back on the cpanel main page under subdomains you will add "new" and make sure it is pointed to /public_html

10) in the DNS for your domain you will add an A record for new pointing to the IP of the server

Once that is all said and done, you can now get to the new copy of your site at http://new.YOURDOMAIN.com and edit it as needed - then when you are ready you can update the DNS to point your domain (with/without the www) to the new site - and then under settings -> General in wordpress you can update the new. to www.

Hope this helps

[Fenwickwriter]

Back In cPanel file manager, you want to edit the wp-config.php file and update the database name / user / password - should be about 10 lines down

9) back on the cpanel main page under subdomains you will add "new" and make sure it is pointed to /public_html

10) in the DNS for your domain you will add an A record for new pointing to the IP of the server

I managed to follow you up until this point, thank you so much. But I got lost here on "editing the wp-config". I am not sure what to do when I do that. I right clicked and edited, but I'm not sure what I'm supposed to be editing here. 

[PL281 · Accepted solution]

@Fenwickwriter 

So when you are in the file manager you should hopefully see a file wp-config.php the the public_html folder - you should be able to select the file and select edit.

When you are in the editing mode you should see something that says DB_USER and DB_NAME

These along with DB_PASSWORD is what you need to update. Also I forgot to include you want to check DB_HOST and make sure it is set to localhost

[Fenwickwriter]

What do I change here?

[Fenwickwriter]

Do you mean this?

[PL281]

@Fenwickwriter 

That looks perfect - in regards to the database name and what you are showing in the screen shot - so once you point new.yourdomain.com you should be up and running

[Fenwickwriter]

Thank you, yes. But I didn't edit anything with the wp-config file. I was hoping you could tell me what to edit. If it's alright I will try to go to the next step. But I'm not sure how I do this pointing business. At the moment the "A record" has the ip address of the server in it.

[PL281]

@Fenwickwriter 

Did you use the installtron to setup the WordPress site or did you unzip it and upload the database.

If you used the installtron then the reason the wp-config file looks correct is because it's pointing to the WordPress site it installed and not what you migrated.

[Fenwickwriter]

Yes I used the cPanel install. Have I messed it all up now?

Sent from my iPhone

[PL281]

When you did the cPanel install it created a blank site. While you can use
this - it is a bit more involved - hence the reason I had said to upload /
unzip the file.

What file was provided to you??

[Fenwickwriter]

<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 15 (filtered medium)" /><!--<br>/* Font Definitions */<br>@font-face<br> {font-family:"Cambria Math";<br> panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;}<br>@font-face<br> {font-family:Calibri;<br> panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4;}<br>/* Style Definitions */<br>p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal<br> {margin:0cm;<br> font-size:11.0pt;<br> font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;}<br>a:link, span.MsoHyperlink<br> {mso-style-priority:99;<br> color:blue;<br> text-decoration:underline;}<br>.MsoChpDefault<br> {mso-style-type:export-only;}<br>@page WordSection1<br> {size:612.0pt 792.0pt;<br> margin:72.0pt 72.0pt 72.0pt 72.0pt;}<br>div.WordSection1<br> {page:WordSection1;}<br>-->

I had a zipped file from the previous host content what they called “front end content files”. They refused to give me FTP access to the server their end, so that Godaddy could do a content migration. I bought a theme from Theme Forest, that was also in a zipped folder that I unpacked in the wp themes folder in the directory.

Sent from Mail for Windows 10

[PL281]

@Fenwickwriter

I wonder what is included in the "Front End Content" - it may just be the
wp-content folder or it could be much more - quick question - do you have
full admin access to the current site to add plugins?

[Fenwickwriter]

The old site isn’t a Wordpress site. I have access to CMS only and that’s a custom build, no access to code or anything really through that. They had my client a prisoner with this deal, as so many do, and she’s just so desperate to get away from them. Hence why I’m doing this and building a new one on a wordpress site, and she can host it anywhere she wants and has full control of it, allowing anyone to work on it she wants etc.

[Fenwickwriter]

I have emailed you at your website