Understanding the Key Steps for Managing a Transferred Website: A Guide for Developers

Embarking on the journey of managing a website transfer for the first time can be both exciting and intimidating. If you’re stepping into a role involving website development and maintenance after previously working on static sites or as an editor, it’s essential to approach the task with a clear understanding of the critical aspects involved. Here’s a comprehensive overview to help you navigate this process confidently.

1. Clarify Your Hosting Environment

Since your website operates on a cPanel-based hosting platform, you’ll need to work within its constraints:

• File Management: Files are typically located in the public_html directory. You can upload, modify, and organize your site files here without root access.

• Server Access Limitations: Recognize that root-level modifications are unavailable, which means server configurations are limited, and you’ll primarily work within your user space.

• Understand the Existing Site Architecture

The current website appears to use a custom PHP-based Content Management System (CMS) running PHP 7.4 with some legacy code (“spaghetti code”). Before making changes:

• Assess the Codebase: Identify how the PHP files are structured and how they interact with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.

• Plan for Refactoring: To implement a new design or template, plan to separate PHP logic from presentation files. This may involve refactoring to improve code clarity and maintainability.

• Focus on Safeguarding the Current Setup

Before making any modifications:

• Backup Everything: Download the entire site directory and export the database. This ensures you have a restore point if anything goes wrong.

• Document Configuration: Note down PHP versions, installed modules, SSL certificates, and other server configurations.

• Setting Up a Local Development Environment

Developing locally is a best practice to test changes safely before deploying to live:

• Choose a Stack: Tools like WAMP (Windows), MAMP (Mac), or LocalWP (WordPress-centric) can emulate your server environment.
• Match Server Versions: Aim to replicate your live server’s PHP version, database version, and server configurations as closely as possible to avoid compatibility issues.

• Import Files and Database: Download the website files and database, then set them up in your local environment for testing.

• Handling SSL and Ports

While working locally:

• SSL Certificates: You typically don’t need SSL on local environments unless you’re testing HTTPS locally.