Understanding Your First Website Transfer: Key Considerations and Best Practices
Embarking on your first project to take ownership of an existing website can be both exciting and daunting, especially when transitioning from static sites or content management roles to full-fledged development and maintenance. Here’s a comprehensive guide to help you navigate this process smoothly and confidently.
Assessing the Current Setup
Hosting Environment: You mentioned the site is hosted on a cPanel-based server without root access. This means you’ll be working within a shared hosting environment, primarily managing files in the public_html directory. Familiarize yourself with cPanel functionalities, including file management, database access, and SSL management.
Website Architecture: The site utilizes a custom PHP-based CMS running on PHP 7.4, with code that appears to be somewhat disorganized (“spaghetti code”). Your initial goal should be to preserve existing functionality while preparing the site for design updates. Refactoring the code later can improve maintainability, but for now, focus on understanding its current structure.
Backup and Cloning
Before making any modifications, always create a complete backup of the website files and database. This can be done via cPanel’s backup tools or by manually downloading files and exporting the database through phpMyAdmin. Having a backup ensures you can restore the site if something unexpected occurs.
Setting Up a Development Environment
To work safely away from the live site, set up a local development environment. WAMP (Windows, Apache, MySQL/MariaDB, PHP) is a suitable choice for Windows users. For Linux or Mac, alternatives like XAMPP or MAMP can be used.
Key steps include:
- Downloading all website files from the server.
- Exporting the database via phpMyAdmin and importing it into your local database server.
- Configuring your local environment to match the server’s PHP version, database version, and server configurations as closely as possible. This reduces discrepancies and surprises during testing.
Understanding SSL and Port Configurations
SSL/TLS: Ensure your local setup can handle HTTPS if the site uses SSL certificates. You might need to generate self-signed certificates for local testing or adjust configurations to bypass SSL restrictions temporarily.
Ports: Typically, local servers run on port 80 (HTTP) or 443 (HTTPS). Confirm your local environment is configured to serve your site on the correct port and update your hosts file if necessary to map domain names to localhost.
Modifying the Site
Once your environment is ready:
- Focus initially on refraining from altering core
