How to Manually Import or Clone a WordPress Site

Manually cloning or importing your WordPress site involves copying all files and the database, then configuring them on the new location.

Step 1: Backup Your Website Files

1. Log in to your current hosting cPanel or use FTP.

2. Navigate to the folder where WordPress is installed (usually public_html).

3. Download all files and folders to your local computer.

   • You can compress the entire folder into a .zip file for easier transfer.

Step 2: Export Your WordPress Database

1. In your hosting cPanel, open phpMyAdmin.

2. Select the database used by your WordPress site from the left sidebar.

3. Click the Export tab.

4. Choose the Quick export method and SQL format.

5. Click Go and save the database .sql file to your computer.

Step 3: Upload Your Website Files to the New Server

1. Log in to the cPanel or FTP of your new hosting account.

2. Upload the WordPress files (the ones you downloaded) to the desired folder (usually public_html).

3. If you uploaded a compressed .zip file, use File Manager to extract it.

Step 4: Create a New Database on the New Server

1. In the new host cPanel, go to MySQL Databases.

2. Create a new database and note down the database name.

3. Create a new database user with a strong password and assign it to the database with All Privileges.

Step 5: Import Your Database

1. Open phpMyAdmin in the new hosting account.

2. Select the newly created database.

3. Click the Import tab.

4. Choose the .sql file you exported earlier.

5. Click Go to start the import.

Step 6: Update Site URL and Email in the Database

After importing the database, you must update the site URL and admin email to match the new domain or setup:

1. In phpMyAdmin, navigate to the wp_options table (prefix might differ, e.g., wp123_options).

2. Find the rows with option_name:

   • siteurl

   • home

   • admin_email

3. Edit these values to reflect your new site URL and admin email address.

Step 7: Update wp-config.php File

1. In your WordPress files on the new server, open wp-config.php.

2. Update the database connection details:

   define('DB_NAME', 'new_database_name');
   define('DB_USER', 'new_database_user');
   define('DB_PASSWORD', 'new_password');
   define('DB_HOST', 'localhost'); // usually 'localhost'

    

3. Save the changes.

Step 8: Test Your Site

• Visit your domain on the new server and check if the site loads correctly.

• Log in to the WordPress dashboard to confirm everything works.

Optional Step 9: Fix Permalinks

• In the WordPress dashboard, go to Settings > Permalinks.

• Click Save Changes to refresh permalink structure.

Notes

• If your domain name changed, you may also need to update URLs within posts and pages using a plugin like Better Search Replace.

• Verify that file permissions and ownership are correct on the new server.