{"id":127202,"date":"2022-03-08T10:52:51","date_gmt":"2022-03-08T16:52:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wpengine.com\/?post_type=resource&p=127202"},"modified":"2023-11-16T15:33:26","modified_gmt":"2023-11-16T21:33:26","slug":"local-wordpress-development-migrations-and-deployment","status":"publish","type":"resource","link":"https:\/\/wpengine.com\/case-studies\/resources\/local-wordpress-development-migrations-and-deployment\/","title":{"rendered":"Local for WordPress: A Guide to Site Migrations and Deployment"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Developing websites on your local machine is the de-facto method for professional WordPress development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are a ton of ways to set up a local WordPress development environment, and if you\u2019ve used Local<\/a>, you know how ridiculously simple it is to spin up a WordPress install.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What might not seem so simple, however, is how to go about deploying a site you\u2019ve developed with Local<\/a>. What\u2019s the best way to go about it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s what we\u2019re discussing in this article. Specifically, we\u2019ll cover:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

Note that this article will use the terms \u201cdeploy\u201d and \u201cmigrate\u201d interchangeably. Also, when referring to the local instance of your site, it might also be referred to as \u201corigin.\u201d Similarly, when referring to the destination site, it might be referred to as \u201cremote,\u201d \u201clive,\u201d or \u201cproduction.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spoiler alert:<\/strong> using Local Connect<\/a> with WP Engine<\/a> and Flywheel<\/a> is hands down the simplest method. But, regardless of which method you choose, we\u2019ll walk you through the process and address some common hurdles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Site Migration 101: What You Need for Any Migration<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

WordPress is made up of files and a database, so when we talk about migrating a site, we\u2019re talking specifically about moving those two things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you download WordPress<\/a> or look at the file structure of an existing WordPress install, you\u2019ll find three folders and a handful of files in the root directory:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

-- root<\/kbd><\/p>\n\n\n\n

   -- \/wp-includes<\/kbd><\/p>\n\n\n\n

   -- \/wp-admin<\/kbd><\/p>\n\n\n\n

   -- \/wp-content<\/kbd><\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of those files in the root directory is particularly important to this conversation and that\u2019s wp-config.php<\/kbd>. We\u2019ll mention that later. It\u2019s also important to point out that the \/wp-content<\/kbd> folder is where theme and plugin files live.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When moving a site to a host where WordPress is already installed, the only folder you\u2019ll need to move is \/wp-content<\/kbd>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deploy Your Site from Local Manually via Sftp or cPanel<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If your destination site is with a host that supports cPanel and\/or SFTP, migrating site files this way has a relatively low barrier to entry. (Not as easy for the database, but we\u2019ll get there in a moment).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

cPanel File Manager<\/a> is one method you can use to upload, move and remove files on a remote server. You can alternatively use an SFTP client such as FileZilla<\/a> (works with any operating system) to transfer files from your local machine to a remote server. If you\u2019re not familiar with SFTP, here\u2019s a primer<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Once you\u2019re set with your file transfer method, here\u2019s what you need to know about deploying a site created with Local.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Moving site files<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Your Local site files are located on your machine at Local Sites > yoursitename > app > public. <\/kbd><\/p>\n\n\n\n

From there, use cPanel File Manager or SFTP to move \/wp-content<\/kbd> to the root directory of the remote install.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Export the Local site database<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

By default, Local uses Adminer<\/a> for database management. To access the database of your Local site:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. Launch Local<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. For whichever site\u2019s database you want, click Start Site<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Click on the Database<\/strong> tab<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. Click Adminer<\/strong> to open the database UI<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  5. Click Export<\/strong> to prepare your database export<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  6. Leave the default options as-is, with the exception of changing the output to gzip<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Here\u2019s a video showing the above steps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    3. Importing site database on remote server<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    From your web host, you\u2019ll need to locate your database manager. There\u2019s a good chance your host is using phpMyAdmin<\/a>, but if it\u2019s not, just look for the database option.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Once your database manager is open, note the WordPress table names that already exist. They likely start with the wp_<\/kbd> prefix.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Before importing your database, you\u2019ll want to drop existing database tables. Here\u2019s a tutorial outlining the process of how to import a WordPress database<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    A few considerations to note:<\/p>\n\n\n\n