Having trouble with Unicode and character encoding with your migration? This guide provides practical solutions to troubleshoot and resolve these issues effectively.

To begin with, make sure you are using the latest version of Duplicator Pro. Please check the changelog and system requirements.

Strange Characters and Symbols

Are you seeing strange characters like “�” or “????” after migrating your WordPress site? This typically happens due to encoding mismatches between different servers. WordPress uses UTF-8 or UTF8MB4 by default, and changing the database charset or collation may help resolve these issues.

Solution One: Adjust wp-config.php

1. Open wp-config.php and locate the following lines:
   • define(“DB_CHARSET”, “utf8”);
   • define(“DB_COLLATE”, “”);
2. Try removing or commenting them out:
   • //define(“DB_CHARSET”, “some_value”);
   • //define(“DB_COLLATE”, “some_value”);
3. Switch between utf8mb4 and utf8 to see which works best:
   • define(“DB_CHARSET”, “utf8mb4”);
   • Or: define(“DB_CHARSET”, “utf8”);

Solution 2: Adjust Installer Settings

1. During the installation, enable the Advanced mode in Step 1 of the installer
   This screenshot shows how to enable the advanced mode in Step 1:
   
   
   
   
2. In Step 2, navigate to Options and set:
   • Charset: utf8mb4
   • Collation: utf8mb4_unicode_ci

Solution 3: General Fixes

Update Meta Tag: Ensure your theme’s header.php contains the correct meta tag:

<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html" charset="UTF-8">

Note: Invalid quotes or missing charset declarations can cause display issues.

Fix Database: Encoding issues can get complex and if the above solutions don’t work then you may need to perform a deeper dive into fixing the issue.

Upgrade Your Server: If issues persist, consider upgrading to PHP 7.4+ and the latest MySQL version, then rebuild.

Unicode and International Character Issues

Some systems may struggle to retain special characters when moving between different servers, operating systems, or database versions. If you experience character corruption, try these fixes:

Solution 1: Database Issues

Check wp-config.php

1. Ensure DB_CHARSET and DB_COLLATE are correctly set.
2. If missing, add these lines:
   • define(“DB_CHARSET”, “utf8mb4”);
   • define(“DB_COLLATE”, “utf8mb4_unicode_ci”);
3. Refer to WordPress’s official guide on Converting Database Character Sets for more details.

Modify the Database SQL File

• Open database.sql in Notepad++.
• From the Encoding menu, select Encode in UTF-8 (without modifying the content).
• This ensures proper reading by the system.

Solution 2: File System Issues

• Filter Files: If Unicode characters in file names cause errors, exclude them during migration and move them manually afterward.
• Use Shell Zip (Pro Version): In Duplicator Pro, enable shellzip for better Unicode handling.
• Upgrade to PHP 7.4+: Newer PHP versions handle Unicode characters more efficiently.