WP Engine is the leading provider of Managed WordPress hosting. As the first hosting company to bring a WordPress only hosting solution to market, they have built an extraordinary platform.
Additional Reading: How Hosting with WP Engine can Reduce your Website Maintenance Efforts and Risks
Like everything else they do, WP Engine has made migrating your site easy and frustration free. With the use of their free custom plugin, and the help of BlogVaults incredible service, you can move your site to WP Engine in minutes.
This article will guide you through the process of using WP Engine’s automated migration feature.
Prerequisites
- WP Engine hosting account
- Live WordPress website
If you haven’t already, you will need to purchase your WP Engine hosting plan and get logged in. Once you are logged in and your account is setup, you can begin.
Step 1: Install & Activate the WP Engine Migration Plugin
Starting from the WordPress Admin of the site you want to migrate to WP Engine.
- Go to Plugins => Add New
- Search for “WP Engine Automated“
- Click Install Now
- Click Activate
Step 2: Generate SFTP Username & Password
Jump back over to your WP Engine account.
- Click Site Migration
- Click Generate new password
Step 3: Add SFTP Credentials to Plugin
In this step you are going t bounce back and forth between your WP Engine account and the WordPress admin for the site you want to migrate.
You will need to copy the SFTP credentials from your WP Engine account into the migration plugin you installed in step one.
- Copy each item from your WP Engine and past into the appropriate field within the migration plugin.
- Click Migrate
After clicking Migrate you will be redirected to a new screen that will show BlogVault at the top of the page, this is where the magic starts to happen.
Step 4: Sit Back and Wait
The migration will progress in two parts.
Part 1: The Backup
BlogVault will create a backup, first the Database then the site Files. You can watch this in real time as the process progresses, or you can wait for BlogVault to send you an email when the migration is complete.
Note: You do not have to keep this page open for the migration to complete.
Part 2: The Migration
After the backup is completed, BlogVault will use it to move your site to the WP Engine hosting account under the temporary domain.
When the migration is completed (or in the event that it fails) WP Engine/BlogVault will send you an email, and the progression page, if you’re still watching, will update with the results.
Next Steps
1. Verify the Migration
You will want to click through your pages just to make sure you’re not seeing any issues with the migration.
If there are issues, you can always try the migration again. I would recommend contacting WP Engine support before you try another migration, they may be able to provide some suggestions to ensure your next attempt is a success.
They offer 24/7 live chat:
2. Create a New Backup
This step is optional but can save you a ton of time if something gets messed up after the migration is completed. Instead of redoing the migration you can simply restore your backup.
- Go to Backup Points
- Click Create backup
- Enter your email address
- Click Create backup
Once the backup is complete, you will receive an email letting you know.
3. Redirect Your Domain
Only complete this step after you are sure the migration was a success!
- Go to Domains
- Click Add domain
- Enter your domain name
- Click Next
- Click See domain
Scroll to the bottom of the page to see your DNS Details. The preferred method of pointing your domain to WP Engine is with the CNAME, however not every domain register, such as GoDaddy, supports this method and you will need to use the A Record and IP address.
Pro Tip: If you are using a domain registrar like GoDaddy, I recommend using Cloudflare for DNS management.
- Click the ‘copy’ icon for your preferred method
For the final part of this step, you will need to login to your domain registrar account and update your DNS records.
It can take up-to 24 hours for the DNS changes to complete. It is recommend that you avoid making any changes to your site until after that time period.
The Wrap Up
There are other methods of migrating your site to WP Engine, and a long list of other migration plugins you can use, however, this process was developed by WP Engine and is the most efficient and effective way.
We have migrated sites to WP Engine with other solutions, however we have never had a failed migration using the WP Engine Migration Plugin.
If you’d rather not fuss with this at all, you can always order a Migration Service from WP Mantis and we will migrate your site for you!