Understanding Website Migration: Key Considerations for WordPress and cPanel Transfers
Embarking on your first website migration can be an exciting yet challenging experience, especially when transitioning from static sites to dynamic, CMS-driven environments. If you’re taking over a website hosted on a cPanel server, there are several crucial aspects to consider to ensure a smooth transition and successful website management. Here’s a comprehensive guide to help you navigate this process confidently.
-
Assess Your Hosting Environment
-
Limited Access: Since you do not have root access, you will primarily work through the cPanel interface. Your main areas will be the File Manager and the Database Management tools.
-
File Management: Upload and organize website files via the public_html directory. Be cautious when handling existing files to avoid overwriting essential configurations.
-
Review the Existing Website Structure
-
Custom CMS & Code: This site employs a custom PHP-based content management system running on PHP 7.4, with a mixture of code that might be considered “spaghetti code.” Before making design changes, plan to refactor the code to separate logic from presentation, improving maintainability.
-
Backup Everything: Before initiating modifications, back up all files and databases. This ensures you can revert if needed.
-
Handling PHP and Compatibility
-
PHP Version: Confirm the current PHP version (PHP 7.4). If you plan to upgrade PHP in the future, verify that the custom code remains compatible.
-
Refactoring: Consider gradually refactoring the PHP codebase—separating backend logic from HTML and JavaScript—to facilitate theme customization and future development.
-
Preparing the Development Environment
-
Local Setup: Using tools like WAMP (Windows), MAMP (Mac), or LAMP (Linux) can replicate your server environment locally. Download both the website files and the database to set up an identical copy for testing.
-
Database Migration: Export the database via cPanel’s phpMyAdmin, then import it into your local environment. Match the database credentials in your configuration files accordingly.
-
Security and SSL Considerations
-
SSL Certificates: Understand how SSL is configured on the live site. If SSL is enabled, ensure your local environment respects HTTPS during testing. When deploying updates back to the live server, handle SSL certificates correctly to prevent security issues.
- Ports and Firewalls: For local testing, standard ports (80 for HTTP, 443
