{"id":3509,"date":"2014-09-17T09:00:40","date_gmt":"2014-09-17T14:00:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wpengine.wpengine.com\/?post_type=support&#038;p=3509"},"modified":"2026-02-02T11:02:03","modified_gmt":"2026-02-02T17:02:03","slug":"migration-process","status":"publish","type":"support","link":"https:\/\/wpengine.com\/support\/migration-process\/","title":{"rendered":"Manual Migration Process"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>At WP Engine, we strive to ensure every customer has a great experience, which includes a seamless migration from your old host to WP Engine. One of the great features of our platform is our <a href=\"https:\/\/wpengine.com\/support\/wp-engine-site-migration\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">WP Engine Automated Migration Tool<\/a>, which you can use to easily migrate your site\u2019s content and database with one click.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Most sites will be able to use the <a href=\"https:\/\/wpengine.com\/support\/wp-engine-site-migration\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">WP Engine Automated Migration plugin<\/a> to get their content and database to WP Engine. However, for those who are unable or simply don\u2019t want to use this plugin, this guide will assist you with the steps to migrate your site manually.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-css-opacity\">\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">About Manual Migrations<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>If you\u2019re unable to use our <a href=\"https:\/\/wpengine.com\/support\/wp-engine-site-migration\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Automated Migration Tool<\/a>, or simply prefer the manual method, that\u2019s okay! We have a helpful checklist available from your <a href=\"https:\/\/identity.wpengine.com\/\">User Portal<\/a> which offers guided navigation through the entire Manual Migration process. It also offers some useful tools to help guide you, such as:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><b>Tracking migration progress <\/b>\u2013 Exporting your database and wp-content folder from your old host and importing them both into the WP Engine platform.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><b>Personalized instructions <\/b>\u2013 SFTP credentials and domain configuration<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-css-opacity\">\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Access Manual Site Migration Page<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Log in to the <a href=\"https:\/\/identity.wpengine.com\/\">User Portal<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Click on the environment <strong>name<\/strong> you wish to migrate to<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Select <strong>Site Migration<\/strong> (You may have to expand the <strong>Manage<\/strong> dropdown section)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Click <strong>Manual migration<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"604\" src=\"https:\/\/wpengine.com\/support\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/manual-migration-1024x604.png\" alt=\"Screenshot of an environment's Site Migration page in the WP Engine User Portal showing the Manual Migration tab\" class=\"wp-image-125389\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wpengine.com\/support\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/manual-migration-1024x604.png 1024w, https:\/\/wpengine.com\/support\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/manual-migration-300x177.png 300w, https:\/\/wpengine.com\/support\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/manual-migration-768x453.png 768w, https:\/\/wpengine.com\/support\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/manual-migration-1536x906.png 1536w, https:\/\/wpengine.com\/support\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/manual-migration-1500x885.png 1500w, https:\/\/wpengine.com\/support\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/manual-migration.png 1800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The process is divided into two primary sections, with two steps in each section: Export and Import.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-css-opacity\">\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Export<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The export process creates a copy of your existing site\u2019s content and saves it to your local machine. This content is then used in the second \u201cimport\u201d portion of the process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You will need to export two sets of data from your existing site: Database and wp-content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Export Database<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The database contains data like your post content, users, orders and even some settings. The export file itself stores this information as SQL which is used to create the posts, comments, and options from your old host when imported to our servers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/wpengine.com\/support\/exporting-database\/\">Learn how to export the database from your prior hosting provider using our guide.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/wpengine.com\/support\/restore\/#Download_a_Backup\">Need to export a database from a WP Engine environment? Use a backup instead.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Export wp-content<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The wp-content folder contains your plugins, themes, and media. As these are typically the largest files on your site, this particular export process may take a while.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/wpengine.com\/support\/downloading-wp-content-folder-previous-host\/\">Learn how to export the wp-content from your prior hosting provider using our guide.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/wpengine.com\/support\/restore\/#Download_a_Backup\">Need to export wp-content from a WP Engine environment? Use a backup instead.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-css-opacity\">\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Import<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The import process takes both data sets acquired in the previous export processes (database and wp-content) and loads them onto WP Engine\u2019s servers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Import Database<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Importing the database requires that you first clear your default WordPress\u00ae database on the WP Engine environment your new website will live.<sup><a href=\"#legal-disclaimer\">1<\/a><\/sup> Then you will import your exported database file to WP Engine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/wpengine.com\/support\/importing-database\/\">Learn how to import your database to WP Engine with our guide.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"color:#32373c;background-color:#00d1b2\" class=\"wp-block-genesis-blocks-gb-notice gb-font-size-18 gb-block-notice\" data-id=\"10de4b\"><div class=\"gb-notice-title\" style=\"color:#fff\"><p>NOTE<\/p><\/div><div class=\"gb-notice-text\" style=\"border-color:#00d1b2\">\n<p>If you have a large database, simply include the <code>.sql<\/code> database file with your zipped wp-content in the next step. If you encounter issues, please contact <a href=\"https:\/\/my.wpengine.com\/support\">Support<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Import wp-content<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>To import your wp-content to WP Engine, you will simply upload the wp-content directory as a .zip to WP Engine using the form on the page. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When the file is uploaded, you\u2019ll see a success notification on the screen letting you know that we\u2019ve received your file. We\u2019ll unzip your file and let you know via email when it\u2019s time for the next step.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"color:#32373c;background-color:#00d1b2\" class=\"wp-block-genesis-blocks-gb-notice gb-font-size-18 gb-block-notice\" data-id=\"10de4b\"><div class=\"gb-notice-title\" style=\"color:#fff\"><p>NOTE<\/p><\/div><div class=\"gb-notice-text\" style=\"border-color:#00d1b2\">\n<p>If you prefer to upload and import the content yourself, this can be done using <a href=\"https:\/\/wpengine.com\/support\/sftp\/\">SFTP<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/wpengine.com\/support\/ssh-gateway\/\">SSH Gateway<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-css-opacity\">\n\n\n\n<p><strong>NEXT STEP: <a href=\"https:\/\/wpengine.com\/support\/going-live\/\">Going live with a domain on WP Engine<\/a><\/strong><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Our migration checklist provides a guided navigation through the entire process of manually migrating your site to our platform.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":126216,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"mediapress_authors_byline":[],"mediapress_draft_name":"","_mediapress_is_draft_copy":false},"support-categories":[37,21],"support-tag":[29,12,22],"mediapress_author":[],"class_list":["post-3509","support","type-support","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","support-categories-migrations","support-categories-setup","support-tag-migration","support-tag-support","support-tag-video"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.9 - 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