There are great instructions for transferring a WordPress website on wordpress.org. I don’t intend to replace them. These instructions are specific to HolyWebHosts. If you have a question or find a step that is unclear just ask. We are here to help.

We will Assume the following:

• The domain name on the old server…and the domain name on the new server are the SAME. This most likely means you are moving the site and expect a little downtime while the nameservers resolve. There are several ways to avoid downtime, but this article does not avoid them. If you need to make the transition with little/no downtime we can help and we might write about that in the future. WordPress.org covers the basic steps. If you can make the switch this way, the steps on WordPress.org will get you through the more complex uninterrupted changes.
• You have a domain AND a hosting account on HolyWebHosts (in the same account).
• You have an existing hosting account at some other place.

NOTE: When we mention your old account, we will call it old to help distinguish between the new HolyWebHosts account and your prior service.

Here are high-level steps:

1. Download your wp-content folder from the old hosting account
2. Get the WordPress Database files from the old site
3. Install WordPress on the new hosting account (see Installing WordPress the simple way)
4. Replace the new wp-content folder with the contents from the old site (the ones downloaded in step 2).
5. Import the old database files into the new database.

Here are the detailed steps:

Step 1 – Download the wp-content folder from the old server:

I can’t go into detail here since each host is a little different. You should be able to use a simple ftp program. Just make sure you get ALL of the contents of the wp-content folder and store it somewhere on your computer.

Step 2 – Get a copy of your WordPress Database from the old site:

The simplest way to save a copy of the database is to use a plugin called WordPress Database Backup. Install the plugin and configure it to email you a backup. Make sure you select all of the database tables.

After the file is downloaded extract the contents (it may be compressed).

Step 3 – Install WordPress on the new HolyWebHost account:

I covered this in a little detail already (see Installing WordPress the simple way).

After WordPress is installed you will want to record the new database information. To find the database information you will need to view the file wp-config.php. This file is located in the root of your WordPress installation. Be sure you are on the new server and open the wp-config.php file. Record the following information:

define('DB_NAME', 'yourDBName');

define('DB_USER', 'yourDBUserName');

define('DB_PASSWORD', 'yourDBPassword');

define('DB_HOST', 'yourDBHostname');

Step 4 – Replace the new wp-content folder with the old wp-content folder

Step 5 – Import the old database files into the new database: