WordPress is the world’s most popular website-building platform, powering over a third of all websites online today. While WordPress itself is free and open-source, you’ll need a way to get your website up and running around the clock. Short of turning your spare bedroom into a data centre, that’s where managed hosting comes in.
As your business grows, your hosting needs change. Whether your site’s slowed down, support has let you down, or you’re just not getting value for money, moving to the right host can improve performance, strengthen security, and set your site up for what’s ahead.
WordPress Migration — Key takeaways
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- ☑︎ Choose the method that suits you. Automatic is easiest, plugins offer a middle ground, and manual gives you full control.
- ☑︎ One-click migration makes it simple. 123 Reg Managed WordPress Hosting handles the heavy lifting.
- ☑︎ Back up before you do anything else. Files, database, everything. It takes minutes and could save you hours.
- ☑︎ Give DNS changes time. It can take up to 48 hours for your domain to point to the new host. Patience pays off.
- ☑︎ Always do a final check. Test your links, images, and forms once you’re done — and delete any leftover migration files for good measure.
When should I migrate my WordPress site to a new hosting provider?
In an ideal world, every host would be great — giving you fast speeds, excellent support, and solid security without any headaches.
Alas, things don’t go as planned sometimes, and you might find it’s time to make a move.
Signs it’s time to switch your WordPress host:
✘ Your site keeps going offline.
Unexpected downtime is costly. If your site is regularly going down and your host isn’t fixing it quickly, it’s time to find a more reliable one.
✘ Your site is too slow.
A slow site frustrates visitors and harms your search rankings. If your host can’t deliver the speed you need, it’s worth finding one that can.
✘ Your host can’t keep up with your growth.
As your site grows, your hosting needs to grow with it. If your host can’t handle the extra traffic or resources, it’s time to move on.
✘ Support is slow or unhelpful.
When your site’s down, you need help that’s fast and effective. If you’re regularly left waiting, it might be time for a change.
✘ You’re missing key features.
Need WooCommerce support, staging environments, or better security tools? If your current host doesn’t offer them, moving to one that does can make a real difference.
✘ You’re managing updates and backups yourself.
Handling updates and backups manually is time-consuming and leaves room for error. A managed host should take care of this for you.
✘ Security is lacking.
Security should always be a top priority. If your host doesn’t provide SSL certificates, malware scanning, firewalls, and automatic backups, your site is more vulnerable than it should be.
✘ You’re ready for managed hosting.
If your site has outgrown what you can manage alone, managed hosting gives you automatic updates, built-in security, and the extra capacity to handle higher traffic — without the hassle of doing it all yourself.
✘ You’re not getting the value you deserve.
If you’re paying for a service that isn’t meeting your needs, it’s worth shopping around. Better features at a better price are always worth considering.
How do I migrate my WordPress website?
There are three ways to move your WordPress site: using an automated tool, a downloadable third-party plugin, or doing it yourself with manual migration.
For most users, we’d recommend the automatic route. 123 Reg Managed WordPress Hosting comes with an easy one-click migration tool, plus great support every step of the way. (And getting top-notch customer support is one excellent reason to make the switch.)
Automatic migration is the simplest option. Using a plugin offers more control without quite as much complexity as going manual. Manual migration is the most involved — it requires FTP, database work, and file editing — but gives full control to those who are comfortable with the technical side.
So, let’s take it step by step, from the easiest to the most hands-on: (A) Automatic, (B) Plugin-based, and (C) Manual.
Before you begin
Moving a WordPress site comes down to a few core steps: back up your content, move your files, update your domain settings, and you’re done. It doesn’t have to be complicated.
If you’re using one-click automatic migration, most of the work is done for you — but a few quick checks will help things go smoothly:
☐ Update WordPress to the latest version to avoid compatibility issues.
☐ Back up your site — just in case. The migration tool handles the move, but having a copy of your database and files gives peace of mind.
☐ Deactivate caching plugins or anything else that might interfere. No need to uninstall them — just switch them off for now.
Bear in mind that any custom tweaks made to core files won’t be carried over during migration. Files like wp-config.php or functions.php are part of the default WordPress setup, and any customisations you’ve made will need to be reapplied on the new site.
The good news: your destination site will automatically run the latest versions of WordPress and PHP, giving you a fresh start with the most up-to-date features and security.
As always, one of the great things about WordPress is the community and all the resources out there. For more info on how to back up manually, check out the official WordPress Developer Resources.
A. Automatic Migration: The easy way to move your WordPress site
Automatic migration is the simplest way to move your WordPress site. The heavy lifting — transferring files, databases, and settings — is all handled for you.
123 Reg 1-click WordPress migration
123 Reg Managed WordPress Hosting includes a simple one-click migration tool that automatically connects to your old host, copies your files, and sets everything up on the new server — without making any changes to your live site in the process.
It’s worth making a few temporary changes to help things go without a hitch:
☐ Disable plugins (especially security plugins) and switch to a default theme. This is particularly important if your site is running an older version of WordPress, as Managed WordPress Hosting uses the latest version.
☐ Turn off CAPTCHA verification to avoid authentication issues.
☐ Avoid custom WordPress login URLs (such as a hidden wp-admin page).
☐ Disable any Firewall or CDN settings to prevent connectivity conflicts.
To get started:
- Purchase a 123 Reg Managed WordPress Hosting plan.
- After purchase, you’ll see your Confirmation # — select Continue.
- When asked how you’d like to start, select Import an existing WordPress site.
- Enter your website URL and select Continue. Copy the URL directly from your browser to make sure it’s entered correctly.
- The migration uses the ManageWP Worker plugin. Choose how to install it:
- Automatic installation — enter your WordPress login credentials and select Continue. This may take a few minutes. (Note: your credentials are only used to install the plugin and won’t be stored.)
- Manual installation — install and activate the ManageWP Worker plugin yourself, then copy the connection key, enter it when prompted, and select Continue.
- Select your preferred data centre location from the dropdown and select Start Migrating. Choose the location closest to your audience for the fastest loading times.
Depending on the size of your site, migration can take anywhere from a few minutes to a couple of hours. If you need to leave the page, copy the URL so you can return and check on progress.
Once complete, you’ll receive a confirmation email and be given a temporary domain to preview your site — check everything looks right before updating your DNS settings.
Update DNS settings (if needed)
Once you’re happy with how everything looks on the temporary domain, you can update your DNS settings to point your domain to the new hosting. If your domain is registered with 123 Reg, this can often be handled automatically.
If it’s with another provider, you’ll need to update the A record or nameservers manually.
DNS changes can take up to 48 hours to fully propagate, so your site may briefly load from the old host in the meantime.
For more, see: Domain Name System (DNS) Management Guide and How Do I Connect My Domain to My Website?
Quick tips:
☐ Migrate during off-peak hours to avoid affecting visitors during busy times.
☐ Clear all caches, including plugin and browser caches, before and after migration. This helps everything load correctly.
B. Plugin Migration: How to move your WordPress site using a third-party tool
Using a plugin is the next easiest way to migrate your WordPress site. A good plugin handles the heavy lifting, so you don’t need to worry about manual file transfers or database imports.
Choosing your plugin
Each plugin works a little differently, but they all follow a broadly similar process. Before picking one, do a bit of research — look for plugins with solid reviews (aim for 4 stars or above). The options below are all well-regarded, but as with any third-party tool, always make sure you’re downloading from a reputable source.
Popular options include:
☐ All-in-One WP Migration
☐ UpdraftPlus
☐ Duplicator
☐ WP Migrate DB
From your WordPress dashboard, go to Plugins > Add New, search for your chosen plugin, click Install, and then Activate.
Back Up Your Site
Follow the plugin’s instructions to back up your site — including files, themes, plugins, and the database — and download the backup to your computer.
Set Up the New Site
Install a fresh copy of WordPress on your new host, either using your provider’s one-click installer or by downloading it directly from wordpress.org . Then install the same migration plugin, and upload your backup file.
The plugin will handle most of the migration work, including updating settings and URLs where necessary. Once the move is done, check that everything looks as expected — images, links, and content.
Update DNS Settings
Point your domain to the new host by updating your DNS records. As with automatic migration, this can take up to 48 hours to fully propagate.
Clean Up
Deactivate the migration plugin and remove any unnecessary files once you’re done. Tools like WP-Optimize or WP-Sweep can help tidy things up.
See also: Essential WordPress Plugins for Business and A Beginner’s Guide to WordPress Plugins
C: Manual Migration: How to move your WordPress site yourself
Now for the nitty-gritty. Manual migration gives you full control over every step, making it ideal for those who want complete customisation and aren’t afraid of a bit of technical work.
That said, if you’re not comfortable with file transfers or databases, it’s easy to make mistakes — so only go down this route if you’re confident in your abilities.
Here’s how to manually migrate your WordPress website to a new host, step by step:
1. Back up everything
Before you do anything else, back up your current WordPress site — files, database, the lot. This step is critical. If anything goes wrong during the move, you’ll have everything safe and ready to restore.
2. Create a New Database
WordPress uses a MySQL database to store your posts, pages, user accounts, settings, and more. This database needs to move with your site, as it contains everything that makes it tick.
Head to your new host’s control panel (e.g. cPanel) and set up a fresh MySQL database:
☐ Create the database.
☐ Add a new user and assign them full privileges to that database.
☐ Make a note of the database name, username, and password — you’ll need these later.
When creating the database, select the correct character set and collation (typically utf8mb4_general_ci) to ensure full compatibility with your content.
3. Install WordPress on your new host
If WordPress isn’t already installed on your new host, now’s the time. Use your hosting provider’s installer or download WordPress directly from wordpress.org — it’s free.
If you’re migrating to a subfolder or subdomain (e.g. example.com/wordpress), make sure WordPress is installed in the appropriate directory.
4. Download your site files
Use an FTP client like FileZilla to connect to your current host and download your site files.
☐ Log in to your old server using your FTP credentials.
☐ Navigate to the root folder, usually named public_html or similar.
☐ Download everything in this folder to a safe location on your computer.
Make sure hidden files such as .htaccess and wp-config.php are included — some FTP clients don’t show these by default. Depending on your site’s size, this step may take a little while.
5. Export your database
Export your site’s database using phpMyAdmin, which is usually available through your host’s control panel.
☐ Log in to phpMyAdmin and select your WordPress database from the left-hand menu.
☐ Click the Export tab, choose the Quick export method, and click Go.
☐ Save the exported .sql file to your computer.
This file contains all your site’s content, settings, and data. For larger databases, use the Custom export method for greater control over the export settings.
6. Upload your files to the new host
Time to move everything across.
☐ Open your FTP client and connect to your new server.
☐ Navigate to the public_html folder (or the equivalent root directory).
☐ Upload all the site files you downloaded in Step 4.
Once uploaded, check that file permissions are set correctly — 755 for directories and 644 for files — to avoid any access issues.
7. Import your database
Upload your database to the new host using one of the following methods:
☐ Via phpMyAdmin: Use the Import tab in your control panel to upload the .sql file. This is the most straightforward method for most users.
☐ Via cPanel: Use the Backup Wizard or MySQL Database tools to restore your database.
☐ Via SSH: A more advanced option for those comfortable with the command line.
For full step-by-step instructions, check out our support article: How do I import a MySQL database?
8. Update your configuration file
Now you need to edit wp-config.php so that WordPress points to your new database.
☐ Open wp-config.php in a text editor (you’ll find it in the files you uploaded).
☐ Update the database name, username, and password with your new database details.
☐ Save the file and re-upload it to your new server via FTP.
If your database uses a custom table prefix (e.g. wp_), make sure that’s updated too. If you’re migrating to a subdomain or subfolder, you may also need to update the WP_HOME and WP_SITEURL values in this file.
9. Check, tidy up, and secure
Visit your site and check that everything looks as it should. If something seems off, double-check your database credentials and confirm all files uploaded correctly.
Next, update your domain’s DNS records to point to the new host. As always, allow up to 48 hours for changes to fully propagate.
In your WordPress dashboard, go to Settings > Permalinks and click Save — even without making changes. This refreshes your permalink structure and helps prevent broken links.
Do a final scan for missing images, broken pages, or issues with contact forms. If anything’s still not right, check your file permissions, PHP version compatibility, or any residual data from the old host.
Finally, delete any migration files from the server and keep a backup of your database and key files somewhere safe — just in case.
See also: A Guide to .htaccess Files for WordPress
Final checks
Whether you migrated automatically or manually, run through these final checks before calling it done.
☐ Test your site thoroughly
Click through every page, post, and menu item. Confirm that images load, links work, and any forms or interactive features are functioning correctly.
☐ Reactivate plugins
Switch any plugins you disabled before the migration back on. Check their settings, as some may need reconfiguring on the new host.
☐ Update domain settings
If you’ve changed domains, update your domain details in your new hosting control panel and within WordPress itself at Settings > General.
And one last thing — don’t forget to cancel your old hosting plan if you no longer need it. No point paying for something you’re not using!
Wrap up
There are plenty of reasons you might need to migrate a WordPress website — be that performance, security, or simply switching to a new hosting provider. Whatever the reason, moving your site doesn’t have to be complicated. With the right support, it’s pretty simple and can set you up with a better website for your business.
Learn more about Managed WordPress Hosting from 123 Reg.
