How to Migrate a Large WordPress Site (The Easy Way)
Written By:
Joella Dunn
Joella Dunn
Joella is a writer with years of experience in WordPress. At Duplicator, she specializes in site maintenance — from basic backups to large-scale migrations. Her ultimate goal is to make sure your WordPress website is safe and ready for growth.
Reviewed By:
John Turner
John Turner
John Turner is the President of Duplicator. He has over 20+ years of business and development experience and his plugins have been downloaded over 25 million times.
January 23, 2025
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April 20, 2023
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Server timeouts. Database errors. Incomplete transfers.
These are the nightmares that keep you awake when it’s time to migrate a large WordPress website.
You’ve built your site over the years, adding tons of new content, products, users, and other data. Now, you need to move it – maybe to a new host.
Your current hosting provider’s strict time limits might threaten to derail the entire process. Fortunately, you can avoid any PHP timeout issues and successfully migrate your site from the old host to a new one.
In this step-by-step guide, I’ll show you how to migrate a large WordPress site!
Quick Summary: How to Migrate a Large WordPress Site
1. Install Duplicator Pro.
Duplicator Pro is the best plugin for backing up and migrating large WordPress sites. It has a custom DupArchive file format that will effortlessly compile all of your data (even if you have thousands of files).
2. Update the default settings for large site support.
You’ll need to set the SQL mode to use PHP code and multi-threaded processing. Switch the archive engine to DupArchive. This will help you avoid any issues building a backup.
3. Back up your WordPress site.
Now that Duplicator can handle a larger site, create a new backup. Select all of the data you want to include in the migration. Once the backup is built, download its archive file.
4. Drag and drop the backup into another location.
On the new server, install Duplicator. Drag and drop the archive file into the import box. Follow Duplicator’s step-by-step instructions to finish migrating your large site!
Potential Problems When Migrating a Large WordPress Site
As your site grows, your original WordPress hosting plan may not be able to support it. In this case, it’s time to upgrade your plan or migrate to a new hosting provider.
Here are some more reasons to migrate your site:
Moving to a new domain name for a rebrand
Moving to a localhost staging site for safe testing
Moving to a new Content Management System (CMS)
Moving from HTTP to HTTPS
If you own a small website, it’s fairly easy to migrate to a new server, domain, or host. However, larger sites like e-commerce stores can face unique challenges.
During the migration process, you’ll have to package your website’s files and MySQL database into a zip file. This makes it easy to transfer to another server, but compiling all of the data on a large site can be difficult.
Usually, budget web hosting servers configure PHP scripts to time out quickly. If you only have 30 seconds to create a large zip file and dump your WordPress database, it will time out.
For a large site, timeouts can prevent you from backing up your current site before migrating it to another server.
Fortunately, you can avoid this problem. Using the right tools, you’ll successfully back up your large website and migrate it to a new location!
How to Migrate a Large WordPress Site
Migrating a large WordPress site can be a daunting task. However, even as a beginner, you can easily move your website and avoid any timeout issues from your server.
We’d recommend disabling any caching, firewall, or redirect plugins before getting started.
Step 1: Install Duplicator
If you receive timeouts every time you try to migrate your large website, you might consider moving small chunks of data at a time.
Here at Duplicator, we created an easier solution for migrating large sites!
Most website owners install a WordPress migration plugin to easily transfer their site files and database to another location. However, not all of these tools are built for large WordPress site migrations.
Duplicator Pro is a migration and backup plugin that makes it easy to migrate a large website. In fact, it’s capable of migrating sites as big as 400GB.
Unlike other options, this plugin can back up your site in a DupArchive. This is a custom file format built for large sites.
Using chunked systems, Duplicator will create your site backup in multiple parts. Since this doesn’t compile a large zip file all at once, it’ll allow you to bypass the server timeout problem.
Duplicator also supports multi-threaded SQL mode, which will chunk your database script over multiple requests.
Don’t believe me? See how Harald Polz migrates his 400GB WordPress site to a staging area!
Here are some more features that make Duplicator the best migration plugin:
Drag-and-drop import functionality for quick migrations
Disaster recovery to restore your site after errors or hacks
No extra add-ons to access premium features
Dedicated customer support
To get started with Duplicator, choose a subscription for the premium version. Although there is a free version, upgrading will give you advanced options like a multi-threaded PHP dump and the DupArchive file format.
Once you finish your purchase, download Duplicator Pro. In your WordPress dashboard, install and activate it.
You’ll also need to activate your license key. To do this, find Duplicator Pro » Settings » General.
Paste your license key. After you click Activate, you’ll be able to start using Duplicator!
Step 2: Update Your Backup Settings
Although the default settings are effective for most websites, you’ll need more support for a large migration.
First, it’s important to update your backup settings. Head over to Duplicator Pro » Settings » Backups. Find the Database section.
As we mentioned earlier, large WordPress site migrations can benefit from a multi-threaded SQL mode. So, set the SQL Mode to PHP Code and the Process Mode to Multi-Threaded.
You’ll also need to adjust the Archive settings. Under Archive Engine, choose DupArchive. This is the custom file format designed for large sites.
If you have limited server resources, we’d recommend enabling the server throttle. Set the Server Throttle to Medium or High based on your web host’s level of resources.
After this, save the new settings.
Step 3: Create a Backup
Next, you can create a backup of your website. This will bundle all of your WordPress files, plugins, themes, database, and other content.
To do this, go to Duplicator Pro » Backups » Add New.
At the top of the page, name the backup with dynamic tags. Then, feel free to change the storage location.
Although Duplicator supports many third-party cloud storage services, some providers may not support files big enough for large sites.
You’ll see that the backup file is in a DAF format instead of ZIP. This is the custom DupArchive for large websites.
If you want to exclude certain data from the migration, feel free to add filters before continuing with the build.
This can help you clean up your site during the migration. You could only include active themes, plugins, or other important files to set up your new website without unnecessary data.
If certain large files are unnecessary, use Duplicator’s file filters to exclude them. If you need these files on the new site, download them manually and upload them via FTP or cPanel.
After you click on Next, Duplicator will scan your site.
Hit Create Backup. This will automatically start compiling your large site into a single file.
If you want to achieve zero downtime, consider updating your hosts file with the new IP address.
Step 4: Import Your Website
Once you build a backup, you’ll see it on the Backups page. To migrate it to another location, click on Download » Archive.
If you’re manually moving your site using a File Manager like cPanel or an SFTP/FTP client like FileZilla, you’ll need to download the installer PHP file too. However, Duplicator Pro allows you to simply drag and drop the archive file into the new WordPress website.
First, you’ll need to find your WordPress login information from your new web host. On the second site, be sure to install and activate Duplicator Pro.
After you activate your license key, navigate to Duplicator Pro » Import Backups.
Next, drop the DupArchive file into the import box. After it uploads, click Continue.
Scroll down the page to see an overview of the current site. Then, click on Launch Installer to start the import.
Now you’ll see options to deploy your uploaded backup. The Install Type should be a Full install single site.
Under Validation, Duplicator will review the import for any problems. Be sure to review any of these notices. To continue, accept the terms and notices and hit Next.
Lastly, a pop-up will ask you to confirm the installation. Once you click on OK, the import will run.
If the migration is successful, you’ll see an Admin Login button. Before clicking on this, check the box next to Auto delete installer files.
You can now log back into your wp-admin page!
To finish the migration, be sure to update your Domain Name Server (DNS) to point to the new location. For additional final steps, read this Ultimate WordPress Migration Checklist.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
How do I transfer a large WordPress site?
You can transfer a large WordPress site by creating a DupArchive backup with Duplicator Pro. This will avoid any PHP timeout issues with your current server. Then, drag and drop this backup into the new location. Alternatively, upload the backup files to the new server and launch the installer.
How can I move a large WordPress site for free?
You can do a free migration of a large site by using an FTP client to manually download all the files in your root directory, or public_html folder. After this, upload this as a zip file to your new site.
Note: Usually, your hosting service provides your FTP login credentials in your control panel.
You’ll need to download your original database. Although you could export your database as a SQL file in phpMyAdmin, it’s easier to build a database-only backup with Duplicator Lite.
Take the upload files generated by Duplicator and add them to your new root folder. Lastly, open http://yoursite.com/installer.php in a browser window and go through the steps shown in the Duplicator installer wizard.
This two-part installation can be effective for websites with a large media library. However, keep in mind that you may still experience problems performing a database dump.
For the best results, consider creating a DupArchive in Duplicator Pro. Pricing for the premium version starts at just $49.50 per year, which is more affordable than other migration plugins or services.
What is the best WordPress migration plugin?
Duplicator Pro is the best WordPress migration plugin for any type of website. This tool supports drag-and-drop migrations so you can move your WordPress site without any downtime. Plus, you can use Duplicator to regularly back up your website.
Alternatives: UpdraftPlus, All-in-One WP Migration, and Migrate Guru are capable of performing migration services. However, Duplicator’s custom DupArchive file format makes it easy to migrate large sites and Multisite networks.
How much does it cost to migrate a WordPress site?
The cost of migrating a WordPress site will depend on how and why you’re moving your website. To quickly move to a new WordPress host or server, you can purchase a WordPress migration tool like Duplicator Pro for as little as $49.50 per year.
However, you’ll also have to consider the cost of setting up the new hosting account. Many WordPress hosting providers support free migrations, but you’ll have to purchase a hosting plan first.
If you’re moving to a new domain name, you’ll have to buy a new domain. These usually cost between $9 to $14.99 yearly.
What is the fastest way to migrate a WordPress site?
The fastest way to migrate a WordPress site is to create a backup of the original site with Duplicator Pro. Then, install Duplicator on the second site and go to the Import page. Finally, drag and drop the backup file to migrate your data to the new location.
How do I export an entire WordPress site?
To export an entire WordPress site, you can use a backup and migration plugin like Duplicator Pro. This tool allows you to compile all your data into a single zip file. Once you create a copy of your site, you can download it as a backup or move it to another host, domain, or server.
Conclusion
You’ve just migrated your large WordPress site!
While you’re here, you may also like these WordPress tutorials:
Are you ready to move large sites without any stress? Try out Duplicator Pro for custom large file formats that make migrations easy – no matter your site’s size!
Joella is a writer with years of experience in WordPress. At Duplicator, she specializes in site maintenance — from basic backups to large-scale migrations. Her ultimate goal is to make sure your WordPress website is safe and ready for growth.
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