Mastering a Transferred WordPress Website: Essential Tips for Beginners
Navigating a new website transfer can be challenging, especially if you’re stepping into a developer role for the first time. If you’re taking ownership of an existing site hosted on cPanel and planning to update its design and structure, here are some crucial considerations to ensure a smooth transition and effective management.
Understanding Your Hosting Environment
Since your site is hosted on cPanel, it’s important to recognize the limitations—namely, that root access is unavailable. Your work will involve managing files within the public_html directory. Make sure you are comfortable with FTP or the cPanel File Manager to upload, download, and organize site files securely.
Analyzing and Refactoring the Code
Your current site runs on a custom PHP-based CMS with PHP version 7.4, coupled with some spaghetti code. Before making design changes, focus on separating PHP logic from HTML, CSS, and JavaScript files. Refactoring the code not only enhances maintainability but also reduces the risk of breaking existing functionality during design modifications. Given your PHP experience, approach this systematically, perhaps by gradually isolating PHP scripts and cleaning up the codebase.
Managing SSL and Ports
Security is paramount. Ensure the site uses an SSL certificate—most hosting providers offer free SSL via Let’s Encrypt. Check that your site loads over HTTPS and that all resources (images, scripts) are also served securely. When dealing with SSL and ports, remember that in most shared hosting environments, standard ports (80 for HTTP and 443 for HTTPS) are used, and configuration adjustments are handled through cPanel or your hosting provider’s tools.
Creating a Development Environment
To safely test changes, you’ll want to set up a local copy of the website. Tools like WAMP (Windows, Apache, MySQL, PHP) or XAMPP are popular options for local server environments. When migrating, ensure that your local setup matches the server’s PHP version, database version, and server configuration to avoid compatibility issues. Download both the site files and the database for a complete replica.
Backing Up the Website
Prior to making any modifications, perform comprehensive backups of the website files and database. This ensures you can restore the site if something goes wrong. Use cPanel’s backup tools or manual methods (zip files for code, phpMyAdmin for databases) to secure your data.
Step-by-Step Checklist
- Assess the current site structure: Audit the existing PHP code, themes, and plugin configurations
