How to Migrate a WordPress Site with cPanel Installatron

If your new host uses cPanel, it probably includes an app installer that can copy a WordPress site from another server for you. On many hosts that’s Installatron; on others it’s Softaculous, which works almost the same way. This guide covers Installatron. It’s a good option for a straightforward site moving between two cPanel accounts.

Before you start

• The old site has to be online and reachable at its current address. Installatron connects to it to copy the files and database.
• You’ll need FTP or SFTP login details for the old host, and the path to the folder WordPress lives in (often public_html).
• Take a full backup first, and keep it somewhere other than either server.

Step 1: Add your domain to the new cPanel account

In the new cPanel, open Domains and click Create A New Domain. Enter your domain and leave the document root as suggested unless you have a reason to change it. (Older cPanel versions called this Addon Domains.) You don’t need to point DNS yet.

Step 2: Start the import in Installatron

1. In cPanel, open Installatron Applications Installer and choose WordPress.
2. Click Import existing install, then choose to import from another location.
3. Enter the old site’s URL.

Step 3: Enter the old host’s login details

Installatron asks for the FTP or SFTP server, username, password and the folder WordPress is in on the old host. If the import can’t find WordPress, the folder path is usually the problem. Check it in the old host’s file manager: it’s the folder that contains wp-config.php.

Step 4: Choose where it goes and import

Pick the domain you added in step 1 and the folder to install into (leave the folder blank to install at the root). Start the import. Installatron copies the files, creates a new database, imports your content and updates wp-config.php for the new server.

Step 5: Test, then switch DNS

1. Test the new copy before your domain points to it. A hosts-file entry on your computer lets you load the real domain from the new server.
2. Check pages, forms, logins and any checkout.
3. Update your domain’s A record to the new server’s IP.
4. Once the domain points to the new server, install an SSL certificate (most cPanel hosts do this automatically with AutoSSL).

If something goes wrong

• Uploads fail after the move: see fixing “upload folder is not writable”. It’s usually an old upload path.
• Errors or a white screen: the new server may run a different PHP version. Match the old one, then update.
• The import times out: large sites can be too big for this method. A migration plugin or a manual move works better.

Other things Installatron can do

Once a site is managed by Installatron, the same screen can help you look after it:

• Backups on demand or on a schedule, with one-click restore. Store them off the server too.
• Clone the site to a subfolder or subdomain to use as a staging copy for testing updates.
• Automatic updates for WordPress, plugins and themes, with an option to back up first.

Rather not do it yourself?

Our migration service moves the site, DNS and SSL for you, then monitors it for 48 hours. It starts at $199 per site, and complex setups are quoted before we start.