Navigating a Website Transfer: Essential Considerations for First-Time Web Ownership

Embarking on managing a transferred website for the first time can be both exciting and daunting. If you’re transitioning from a primarily design-focused background to a role involving full website ownership—especially with a non-static site—it’s important to understand the key aspects to ensure a smooth and successful process. Here’s a comprehensive guide to help you prepare and execute this transition confidently.

Understanding Your Hosting Environment

1. Hosting Setup and Access Rights
2. Sharing Your Environment: You’re working within a cPanel hosting environment, which provides a user-friendly interface but typically limits root access.
3. File Management: Files are located in the public_html directory; remember, modifications here are directly reflected on your live site.

4. Database Access: Usually via phpMyAdmin or similar tools provided in cPanel.

5. Managing SSL and Security

6. SSL Certificates: Ensure your site has a valid SSL certificate to enable HTTPS. Many hosts provide free SSL certificates via Let’s Encrypt.

7. Ports and Protocols: Standard web traffic occurs over ports 80 (HTTP) and 443 (HTTPS). Don’t need to configure these unless custom solutions are involved.

8. Data and Backup Procedures

9. Downloading Files and Database:
10. Files: Use cPanel’s File Manager or FTP clients like FileZilla to download the entire site directory.
11. Database: Use phpMyAdmin or command-line tools to export your database.
12. Creating Backups: Always back up your current site before making major changes.

Preparing for Design Changes

1. Codebase Examination
2. Custom CMS: Recognize that the site uses a custom PHP-based CMS with a potentially complex, spaghetti-style codebase.

3. Version Compatibility: The site runs PHP 7.4; ensure your development environment matches this version to avoid compatibility issues.

4. Setting Up a Local Development Environment

5. Recommended Tools: WAMP (Windows), MAMP (Mac), or LAMP (Linux) are suitable solutions for creating local PHP/MySQL environments.
6. Replicating the Environment:
7. Download all site files and database.
8. Import the database into your local MySQL/MariaDB server.

9. Configure your local copy to match live site URLs and environment settings.

10. Cleaning Up the Codebase

11. Refactoring: Gradually separate PHP logic from HTML and JavaScript to facilitate easier design modifications.
12. Version Control: Use Git or another version control system to track changes and safeguard your work