Understanding the Essentials of Managing a Transferred WordPress Site: A Guide for Beginners

Starting Your Journey with a Transferred Website

Embarking on the management of a website you’ve recently taken over can be both exciting and daunting, especially if it’s your first time working with a live, non-static site. Whether you’re a designer venturing into development or a developer new to server management, understanding the critical aspects of maintaining and customizing an existing website is essential.

Key Considerations When Owning a Transferred Website

1. Server Environment and Access

Since the site is hosted using cPanel, it’s important to recognize your limitations and capabilities:

• File Management: You typically have access to the ‘public_html’ directory where website files reside. Unlike root access, which grants full control over server settings, cPanel provides a user-friendly interface for managing files, databases, and SSL certificates.

• Database Access: Ensure you can access and backup the database through cPanel’s phpMyAdmin or equivalent tools. This is crucial for site migration, testing, and development.

• Working with the Existing Content Management System

• Custom PHP Code: The site utilizes a custom PHP-based CMS running on PHP 7.4 with a spaghetti code structure. Before making design changes, plan to refactor the PHP to separate logic from presentation, which facilitates easier modifications and future updates.

• Template Changes: To update the site’s appearance, you’ll need to work within the existing PHP templates. Familiarity with PHP, HTML, and JavaScript is vital. It’s advisable to develop a staging environment to test changes safely before deploying live.

• Setting Up a Local Development Environment

• Environment Tools: Tools like WAMP (Windows), MAMP (Mac), or XAMPP (cross-platform) can help create a local server environment. Ensure your local setup mirrors the production server’s software versions—PHP, MySQL/MariaDB, Apache/Nginx—for compatibility.

• Downloading Files and Database: To replicate the site locally, download all files from ‘public_html’ and export the database via phpMyAdmin. Import both into your local environment for testing and development.

• Handling SSL and Network Configurations

• SSL Certificates: SSL ensures secure communication. For local development, SSL is usually not necessary, but for staging or production, verify SSL certificate validity and configuration within cPanel.

• Ports and Access: Typically, web servers run on standard ports