Migrate a WordPress Website with SSH

Migrating a WordPress website from one host to another using only SSH access can be done in several steps:

Step 1: Create a backup of your website

Before you start migrating your website, it is important to create a backup of your current website files and database. To create a backup, you can use the following command:

tar -czvf backup.tar.gz /path/to/wordpress

This command will create a compressed backup of your WordPress files.

To create a backup of your WordPress database, use the following command:

mysqldump -u username -p dbname > dbname.sql

This command will create a backup of your WordPress database.

Step 2: Download the backup files

Once you have created a backup of your website, download the backup files to your local computer using the following command:

scp username@oldhost:/path/to/backup.tar.gz /path/to/local/directory

Step 3: Create a new database

Log in to your new hosting account using SSH and create a new database for your WordPress website using the following command:

mysql -u username -p -e "create database dbname"

Replace ‘username’ with your database username and ‘dbname’ with your database name.

Step 4: Upload and extract the backup files

Upload the backup files to your new hosting account using the following command:

scp /path/to/backup.tar.gz username@newhost:/path/to/wordpress

Once the backup files are uploaded, extract them using the following command:

tar -xzvf backup.tar.gz

Step 5: Update the wp-config.php file

Update the wp-config.php file to point to the new database by editing the following lines:

define('DB_NAME', 'dbname');
define('DB_USER', 'username');
define('DB_PASSWORD', 'password');
define('DB_HOST', 'localhost');

Replace ‘dbname’ with your new database name, ‘username’ with your new database username, ‘password’ with your new database password, and ‘localhost’ with your new database host.

Step 6: Update the site URL

Step 7: Test your website

Finally, test your website to ensure that everything is working correctly. You can use the following command to check the status of your website:

curl -I newsite.com

Replace ‘newsite.com’ with your website URL.

That’s it! You have successfully migrated your WordPress website from one host to another using only SSH access.