most-common-problems-that-occur-during-wordpress-migration

When you finally decide that is time to move your WordPress website to a new HTTPS address provider, hosting, or a new domain name you can realize that the process is not that simple. Finding a host that lives up to your standards is the first challenge. After that, you are facing the migration itself.

WordPress is the most popular CMS and migration is a common process. As complicated as it can seem, you will be able to handle it. However, you should know about the most common problems. Being aware of the difficulties you can encounter will help you prevent them from happening. Take a look at the following potential problems that can occur during WordPress migration.

500 Internal Server Error

The 500 Internal Server Error is the cause of a headache for both developers and users. It happens quite often so you should know how to handle it. Luckily, the error can be solved with different methods.

The reason behind the error is that the new host can’t access all your files. Solve it by finding the folder and give all the permission to your new host. This method isn’t always the solution. In that case, there are other others.

You can access the .htaccess file and change the name. After that, reload it to the website. If the error still appears, you should generate a new .htaccess file and after you refresh it the error should be gone.

Sometimes this also doesn’t do the trick so the next step would be to delete the new file and bring back the old .htaccess file. When that is done, go to PHP settings where you can increase the limit of the memory. The last solution is to deactivate all your WordPress plugins and check them. In that way, you will find the cause of the problem.

Losing Data

During the migration process, you can lose files. Not only will you get frustrated and lose time on getting them back but you can also lose money. There will be no room for such a stressful situation if you back up the files.

Your host might do backups automatically. If it doesn’t, you can use WordPress plugins WP-DB-Backup, Duplicator, and UpdraftPlus that are designed for that purpose.

Another option is a manual backup. The steps are simple:

  • Go to the home folder (located in the file manager on the host website)
  • Find the public_html file
  • Compress the public_html file to .zip
  • Transfer the compressed file to a hard drive or on the server
  • Go to phpMyAdmin and export the database

Slow Download

The essential steps of migration are backing up the entire website. Bigger websites can lead to extremely slow download as you have to download everything from the old host to a folder on your computer.

In order not to waste precious time, there are ways in which you can speed up the process. Download files directly to the new host or compress all the files in an archive and download them all together. Save yourself some time and be more practical with these techniques.

Downtime

Picture the scenario where your website visitors want to access your site but instead of the landing page, they are greeted with a 404 error. Significant downtime can be a huge issue if you don’t solve it in time.

It can happen during the migration when you have transferred the files to your new host but the URLs still lead the users to the old host. Since there is nothing to see there, the screen will signal an error.

The best approach to migrating a website is to test it on a new host first. This will help you ensure that you’ll have consistent uptime by using an internal address. However, not everyone offers this option so you’ll need to resort to the following trick.

Change the hosts file on your computer. Use a Notepad as an administrator. Then, find the Shared IP Address on the new host’s cPanel.

You have to change the hosts file on your computer, this will make the website work on your computer only, while your visitors will be able to use the old host. Paste the Shared IP Address in a new line on the hosts file and add your domain name. Here’s an example:

584.241.65.9 www.yourdomainname.com

Use your domain name and test how the website acts on a new host. When the migration is done, you can delete this line.

While you’re handling all the problems, you can use academic websites for college writing to create engaging content for error that will prompt the users to come back.

Broken Images

Another one of the most common problems is concerned with images. The images can appear in the wrong places, not linked properly, or appear as broken files. Whatever the case is with your images, the fact is that the problem occurred during the upload.

To fix this mess you have to upload the file from the old server once to the new one once again. Re-upload should fix all the broken images. In some cases, it can happen that this doesn’t solve the problem. What you should do then is to go to your hosting server’s cPanel and replace both the old URL and new one in the SQL tab.

Concluding Thoughts

These are the problems that happen most often during WordPress migration. However, you need to keep in mind that there are many rare issues you can face. Find solutions for any additional problems by contacting support or search the answers on the WordPress Stack Exchange. With the collection of these sources of information, your problem must be fixed.

Customization Services Tailored for You

Looking for a custom website? We've got you covered. From unique designs to custom functionalities, let's bring your vision to life together!

REQUEST WEBSITE CUSTOMIZATION

Leave a comment