Using WordPress migration plugins is an excellent way to ease the pain of migrating a WordPress site on to another domain or server. These plugins usually bring with it a whole host of other features, such as testing and backup, which makes it all the more recommendable. If you’ve spent countless hours tugging your hair and launching obscenities in response to the frustration that migration brings, read on.
We have selected the following five WordPress plugins that form a quick and effortless solution to the migration problem. If you prefer manual migration, you can follow article: How to Migrate WordPress.
All-in-One WP Migration
“The only tool you will ever need to migrate a WordPress site”. This is a bold claim made by the developers. Actually, they do support it a great deal with their comprehensive product. Users feel the same way, as the popularity of this plugin has skyrocketed over a recent period. This plugin can deal with any serialization problems that occur during find and replace operations, with which you can apply an infinite number of times.
The plugin can also works on all hosting providers, because it is independent of extensions. It can work on all OS platforms and keep the maximum execution time well under the 30 second norm. It also supports all MySQL drivers.
Duplicator
While still in Beta, the Duplicator WordPress Migration Plugin is by far one of the most sought after plugins. Some may be put off by the slightly more complex migration process offered by Duplicator. Developers have themselves stated that “This plugin does require above average technical knowledge”.
WordPress site migration is a prolonged and intricate process, so if you don’t want to take your chances, and aren’t entirely sure about your technical know-how, perhaps you’d like to look elsewhere for your migration needs. Fortunately, the developers have provided a comprehensive guide to using the plugin. Given the effectiveness of Duplicator, it might be worth reading and attempting. Apart from backing up your site, this plugin can also create snapshots and templates for your WordPress site.
WP Clone
WP clone is a popular choice for migration, with over a 100,000 installs. It is a user-vetted plugin that is reliable and efficient. Those additional features mentioned include replicating the website for testing and development, backup for security and the installation of pre-configured versions of WordPress.
Coming down to the technical nitty-gritty, we have a few more reasons why WP Clone is a solid choice:
- You avoid the hassle of having to upload large files, as the site backup is fetched directly from the host’s direct http connection.
- Only the user’s content and data is backed-up and restored. This diminishes loading time and enhances the security of the WordPress site.
- WP Clone is virtually compatible with a 100% of hosts that utilize WordPress, since it uses the WordPress internal zip archive function.
- Most importantly, all that needs to be done is that a new WordPress must be created on the destination, the plugin installed and activated and easy steps to be followed. There’s absolutely no need for the host or destination site to be accessed through FTP.
WP Migrate DB
DB is a handy tool that has all your data exported as a MySQL data dump, alters the file paths and URLs accordingly, and saves it to your local computer. The greatest asset is the ease with which you can replace your production site with your local site, or update the local site with new data from the production website.
This plugin comes in a PRO variant which offers premium features, such as the migration of media files, detailed video guides, selection of tables for migration, and more.
WordPress Move
WordPress Move is a quieter option. The plugin offers you the feature of renaming the domain or migrating the server to another. The choice is left with you. While not packed with features like the aforementioned plugins, WordPress Move is simple to use and swift in execution, meaning that those who have little technical expertise and would like to a quick resolution can turn to Move.
