Announcing Duplicator WP-CLI Commands (And How They Speed Up Backups)
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Announcing Duplicator WP-CLI Commands (And How They Speed Up Backups)
Joella Dunn
Joella Dunn
John Turner
John Turner
Here’s the thing about WordPress migrations: they seem deceptively simple. Copy some files, move a database, and you’re done, right?
If only.
After helping hundreds of WordPress site owners through migrations (and yes, cleaning up plenty of migration disasters), we’ve learned that successful migrations come down to avoiding some very specific pitfalls. The kinds of pitfalls that can turn what should be a straightforward process into a technical nightmare.
In this guide, I’ll walk you through the most common site migration mistakes I see WordPress users make. More importantly, I’ll show you exactly how to avoid them.
Whether you’re moving to a new host, creating a staging site, or just making a backup (please tell me you’re making backups), these are the lessons you need to know.
Let me start with the mistake that makes me lose sleep at night – one that I see even experienced developers make…
Let me be crystal clear: if you only take one thing away from this entire article, let it be this – never, ever start a migration without a complete backup of your site.
Lots of people end up losing data during migrations. If this happens to you, you’ll want a good backup to fall back on.
But here’s what most tutorials won’t tell you — not all backups are created equal. A proper pre-migration backup needs to include:
With a backup plugin like Duplicator, you can customize exactly what data is saved in a backup. To back up all your original data, make sure to select all of the checkboxes.
And here’s a pro tip that’s saved me countless times: make multiple backup copies. Store one on your local machine, one in cloud storage, and if possible, one on a completely different server.
Duplicator makes this easy. Set up all of your different backup storage locations. Then, select them when backing up your original site.
It might seem overkill, but trust me, if things go sideways, you’ll be grateful for the redundancy.
Instead of juggling multiple backup methods and hoping you didn’t miss anything, Duplicator packages everything into a single, reliable backup. I’ve seen it save countless migrations that would have otherwise gone off the rails.
Ever tried cooking a complex recipe without reading it first? That’s what jumping into a site migration without a plan feels like. Except instead of a burnt dinner, you’re risking your entire website.
Here’s what a solid migration plan actually looks like:
First, you need to map out your timeline. And I don’t just mean “sometime this weekend.” You need specific windows for:
But here’s the part that most people miss: you need a rollback plan. Because sometimes, even with perfect execution, things just don’t work as expected.
Duplicator has a built-in recovery system. After moving a backup to another site, you can set a recovery point. This rolls back the site to an old backup if anything goes wrong during the migration.
The other critical piece? Resources. I see too many people start migrations without checking if they have:
Take the time to plan, document everything, and most importantly, expect the unexpected.
You create a staging site at something like staging.yoursite.com or yoursite.com/staging. You’re busy testing, tweaking, making sure everything works perfectly. Meanwhile, Google’s crawlers are quietly indexing every single page of your staging site.
The result? Duplicate content. Lots of it.
And here’s what most people don’t realize: Google doesn’t care that one version is your “staging” site. To search engines, you now have two identical websites competing against each other.
Here’s how this usually plays out:
Let me show you how to prevent this headache. The solution is actually pretty simple.
In your staging site, go to Settings » Reading. Check the box next to Discourage search engines from indexing this site.
I’ve seen too many site owners skip this step because they think “it’s just temporary” or “no one will find it.” Trust me, search engines will find it, index it, and you’ll be dealing with the SEO aftermath for months.
Here’s the hard truth: no matter how simple the change seems, testing in production is dangerous. Sure, you might get lucky. But why take the risk?
I see this mistake most often with:
“But setting up a staging site takes too much time!” I hear this a lot.
And yes, manually creating a staging environment can be a pain. You need to copy files, clone databases, update configuration settings… I get why people skip it.
This is one of the main reasons I started using Duplicator. Drag and drop a backup into a staging area, and boom — you’ve got a perfect copy of your site to test with. No server configuration headaches, no database juggling.
The real kicker? A staging site doesn’t just prevent disasters – it makes your development process faster. You can:
With a staging site, you can secretly redesign your site before you ever move it. This way, your new site will be fully ready to go on the new server. You won’t have to resolve as many errors after moving your site.
Have you ever migrated a site only to find unexpected errors? Nine times out of ten, compatibility issues are the culprit.
Here’s what most people don’t check before migrating:
I’m almost obsessive about running pre-flight checks before any migration. And yes, that means actually checking the numbers, not just assuming everything will work.
Here’s my compatibility checklist:
Duplicator actually has a built-in scanner that checks for these compatibility issues before you migrate. It’s saved me from more than a few late-night debugging sessions. It’ll warn you about potential problems before they become actual problems.
Here’s what most site owners don’t realize: a migration is the perfect time to clean house. I’d recommend taking some time to clean up your site to set it up for success on the new server. It’ll be faster, easier to manage, and easier to migrate.
Before you even think about migrating, here’s what you need to audit:
Content cleanup:
Technical audit:
SEO check:
Use your staging site to test how your cleaned-up site performs. I’ve seen sites load faster just by removing unnecessary bloat before migration.
You can use Duplicator to remove unnecessary data during a migration. As you back up your original site, feel free to remove inactive plugins and themes.
Duplicator has file and database table filters to help you reduce extra bloat. If you know what’s slowing down your site, remove it from the backup. This way, it won’t be clogging up your new site.
There’s nothing worse than planning for a migration only for your files to not transfer properly. You might end up with broken media files, lost data, or other errors.
Here’s what actually happens during a file transfer:
Miss any of these, and your site won’t be set up correctly. That’s why I don’t recommend manually migrating your site.
Your best bet is to use a dedicated migration tool. Duplicator is a trusted plugin that’s migrated 400GB sites without losing files!
Speaking of things that keep me up at night, let’s talk about database migrations.
Your database is the heart of your WordPress site. It’s where all your posts, pages, comments, and settings live. And one small mistake in the migration process can cause database errors or missing data.
The most common database migration mistakes I see:
If your database setup is incorrect, your website will likely be broken. It’s that simple!
The good news is, you don’t have to be a database expert to avoid these problems. Duplicator automatically handles most database setup issues for you.
It takes all of that complexity away, and that’s a huge win.
Let’s say you’re migrating your site to a new domain or a new server. If you don’t update the URLs in your database, you’re going to have a problem. Your website will be a mess of broken links.
Your website’s database is full of URLs. These URLs link to your images, your internal pages, and more. If you move your site to a new domain, those URLs are still pointing to the old domain.
This means your images won’t load, your internal links will be broken, and your website just won’t work right. It’s like having a road map that points to the wrong location.
WordPress stores URLs in more places than you might think:
You need to make sure you update all of these URLs to point to your new location.
Luckily, Duplicator can do a search and replace operation for you. It searches through your database and updates all the URLs to the new ones, so you don’t have to do it manually.
Believe me, you do not want to do this manually. It’s a huge headache. Let Duplicator take care of it!
Okay, so you’ve got your migration going, and it’s tempting to do other things, right? Maybe you want to check your email, watch a video, or just close your laptop for a bit.
DON’T DO IT.
Seriously, you need to let the migration process run its course. Interrupting it can cause major issues.
Why? You can end up with incomplete data, corrupted files, and a failed migration. It could mean starting the whole process over again.
I’ve seen interrupted migrations cause:
So, make sure you have a stable internet connection during your migration. Let the migration tool (like Duplicator) do its thing without interruption. It might take some time, but it’s worth it.
Don’t risk messing up your migration. Be patient, let it finish, and you’ll be good to go.
Alright, so you’ve moved your website. Congrats! But hold on, you’re not done yet. You’ve got to do some thorough testing.
Don’t just assume that everything is perfect. You need to go through every part of your site and make sure it works exactly how it’s supposed to.
What do you need to test?
Well, start with the basics. Make sure your site’s functionality is working correctly. Test your navigation, your forms, your buttons, and all of your pages.
Make sure that your site is responsive and that it looks good on all devices (including mobile). Check to make sure your links are working correctly, and images are loading properly.
You’ve got to validate that your entire site is working as it should, and that users are having the best possible experience. If you find any issues, fix them right away. It’s much easier to fix them now than after your site is live.
Thorough testing is the key to a successful site migration, don’t skip it!
You’ve tested your site, and everything seems to be working well. But did you check for broken links?
Broken links are bad news for your site. They create a poor user experience, and they can hurt your SEO, too.
Imagine clicking on a link only to end up on a page that doesn’t exist. It’s frustrating. People quickly leave sites when they run into too many broken links.
It’s also bad for search engines because they use links to crawl your site. If your links are broken, it can affect your rankings. You need to fix them as soon as possible.
There are a bunch of tools out there that you can use to scan your site for broken links. I highly recommend using Broken Link Checker. This plugin will find any broken links on your site and allow you to fix them.
Addressing broken links will keep your users happy and your site healthy. It’s an easy win.
Even after you’ve migrated your WordPress website, you’ve got to keep an eye on your site’s performance. You need to make sure your site is running smoothly after the migration. You don’t want any surprises.
What should you be monitoring? You want to track things like website speed, uptime, and server resources.
If your site is loading slowly, or if it’s down frequently, this can cause problems. Slow speeds and downtime can lead to lost revenue and dissatisfied users. They may leave your site and not come back.
To check your loading speed, use IsItWP’s Speed Test. This alerts you of any issues so you can fix them quickly.
Monitoring your website performance is an ongoing process, and it’s super important. Keep an eye on things, so you can keep your site in tip-top shape.
Don’t forget to cancel your old hosting account. I know it sounds simple, but it’s something people often forget. You might think it’s no big deal, but you could end up with some unnecessary charges if you forget.
You’re paying for a service that you’re not using anymore. Plus, you may be keeping data on that hosting account that you’re not using anymore.
Don’t pay for something you don’t need. It’s just wasted money. It’s an easy step to take, don’t forget to do it.
This is a crucial step that can trip up even the most experienced website owners. After you migrate your site, you need to update your DNS records.
What are DNS records? They basically connect your domain name to your web server. Think of them like a phone book for the internet.
If you don’t update your DNS, your website won’t appear at the correct URL. This means your visitors won’t be able to find you.
You need to update your DNS records to point to your new server. This is usually done through your domain registrar.
Keep in mind that DNS updates take time to propagate. It can take a few hours for these changes to take effect across the internet. So be patient.
You’ve moved your site, updated your DNS, and everything seems fine. But have you told search engines about the move?
It’s easy to forget this step, but it’s super important for maintaining your search rankings. Search engines need to know that your site has moved to a new location.
If you don’t tell them, they might still index your old site, and this can lead to a drop in traffic and indexing issues. You don’t want to lose all that SEO work that you’ve done.
To do this, find the Change of address setting in Google Search Console.
Select your new site.
Think of a sitemap as a roadmap for search engines. It tells them which pages on your website they should crawl and index.
After migrating your site, it’s important to submit a new sitemap to Google Search Console. This will help them find all your new pages and understand your website’s structure.
If you don’t submit a new sitemap, search engines might not know about all of your pages, and this can lead to indexing issues. That means your content might not show up in search results.
Take the time to create a new sitemap and submit it to Google Search Console. It’s a simple way to help your website get found by more people.
For a full step-by-step walkthrough, see this guide on how to submit a sitemap to Google.
Let’s talk redirects. When you move your site, you may need to redirect old URLs to new ones.
There are two types of redirects you should know about: 302 redirects and 301 redirects. It’s important to know the difference.
A 302 redirect is a temporary redirect. A 301 redirect is a permanent redirect.
When you’re migrating your site, you want to make sure you’re using 301 redirects.
Why? Because 301 redirects pass link equity. This means that you’ll keep the SEO value that your old URLs have built up.
302 redirects, on the other hand, don’t pass link equity. So if you use 302 redirects, you could lose a lot of SEO juice.
Backlinks are links from other websites that point to your site. They help build your domain authority and show that your site is a trusted resource.
If you’ve migrated to a new domain name, you need to update your backlinks to point to the new website.
Use a backlink checker and find all the websites linking to your old domain. Then, contact those sites and ask them to update the links.
Before you migrate your website, make sure that your new server meets all of the requirements that your site needs. If you don’t do this, you could run into some major problems.
You need to check the PHP limits, the file upload size, and other important server settings.
If these settings are too low, your website might not work correctly. You could get errors, your site could load slowly, or you might not be able to upload files.
Always double-check your server requirements before migrating. This step will help prevent a lot of headaches down the road.
If you’re running a WordPress multisite network, you need to be extra careful when migrating your site.
Multisites have their own nuances that require more planning. It’s not as straightforward as moving a single site. You’ll need to pay extra attention to the network settings, the sub-sites, and all the configurations.
Migrating a multisite incorrectly can cause all sorts of problems, including broken sites or lost data. I’d definitely recommend using a multisite migration plugin, which has extra support for your needs.
For example, Duplicator automatically gives you options for migrating a single site into a network, migrating a full multisite, cloning a sub-site, and more. You’ll just have to choose the right migration setting.
SEO is a crucial part of any website strategy. It’s a bad idea to ignore it during a site migration.
When you move your site, it’s an opportunity to make sure your SEO is up to date, and that you don’t lose any of the SEO value you’ve built up.
Make sure you check things like your meta descriptions, page titles, and hreflang tags. All of these elements are important for search engine optimization.
If you ignore them, you could lose your rankings, and that’s bad news for your traffic and business.
After you move your site, don’t forget to update your tracking codes. This is a really common mistake, and it can lead to inaccurate data.
If your analytics codes are not set up correctly, you won’t be able to track your site’s performance. You won’t be able to tell how many people are visiting your site, where they are coming from, or what they are doing.
Check your analytics platform, like Google Analytics, and update any settings that need to be changed. It’s also important to make sure that your tracking codes are in place on all of your pages.
This will make sure that you’re getting the most accurate data, and you can track the performance of your site correctly.
If search engines can’t access your site, you’re going to have a really hard time showing up in search results.
You need to check your robots.txt file and make sure it’s not blocking any important pages. It’s also a good idea to make sure that all of your pages are indexed correctly.
If you’re having crawlability or indexing issues, you need to fix them right away. You can use Google Search Console to find these problems. It will keep your site healthy and help people find it.
Migrating your site during a high-traffic period is not the best idea. You’ll want to try and migrate during a time when you have lower traffic. This will minimize the risk and reduce the amount of disruption.
Pick a time when your site is less busy, like late at night or early in the morning. This way, you’ll minimize any potential downtime and negative impact on your site’s visitors.
Before you move your website, it’s a good idea to record some important benchmarks. This will give you a before and after snapshot of your site, so you can see the impact of your migration.
You’ll be able to see if you have improved things, or if there are areas that you need to fix. Record things like your site speed, your search engine rankings, and your bounce rate. These are key indicators of your site’s health and performance.
After your migration, you can compare your before and after benchmarks and see if things have improved. Having this data will help you fix any site migration issues and improve your site.
I know I’ve just thrown a lot of potential pitfalls at you. So, let me share a real-world example of how the right migration strategy and tools can make all the difference.
Ergo Creative is an agency that specializes in brand, digital, and industrial design. To improve client sites, they need to be able to migrate them to better web hosts.
Before using Duplicator, they were spending a lot of time migrating large websites. It was a painstaking process that took too many resources and often resulted in errors.
But they found a better way!
With Duplicator, Ergo Creative is able to migrate these sites in under 20 minutes. They’ve been able to reduce downtime, avoid using FTP clients, fix MySQL version mismatches, and increase client satisfaction.
Here’s what the digital director, Neil Livesey, had to say:
“Duplicator has become an integral part of our toolkit, empowering us to navigate the intricacies of WordPress website management with confidence. If you’re a web developer looking for a reliable and efficient solution for website migrations and backups, Duplicator Pro is the answer.”
The most common website migration mistakes include inadequate planning, poor backup strategies, incorrect database setup, and not having an SEO migration plan. Following a proper website migration checklist and maintaining focus on SEO will help ensure your success.
The negative side of site migrations includes potential loss of organic traffic, SEO rankings, and functionality. Issues like broken links, poor redirects, and slow load times can disrupt user experience and search engine indexing. Careful planning and testing can minimize these risks during the migration process.
Plan a website migration by auditing the current site, defining goals, and creating a detailed project plan. Back up all data on your live site, map URLs, and test the new site in a staging environment. Schedule the migration during low-traffic periods, monitor performance post-launch, and address any issues promptly.
A website migration can take a few hours to a few months. The timeline depends on factors such as the site’s size, the complexity of the migration, and thorough testing before and after the transition. Smaller migrations may finish faster, while large projects may require additional time.
The first step in any website migration project is creating a detailed migration plan. This includes setting objectives, outlining technical requirements, and identifying potential risks to minimize disruptions and ensure a smooth transition.
Site migrations don’t have to be scary. I know it might seem overwhelming, but if you avoid these common migration mistakes, you’ll be in a much better position to have a smooth and successful migration.
You need a backup, a plan, and a staging site. Make sure everything is compatible, and that all of your files and data are transferred correctly. You also need to test your site and fix any issues you might find.
Use a tool like Duplicator Pro to make the whole process a lot easier. It automates a lot of complex tasks, and it helps you avoid many of the common pitfalls that I’ve mentioned!
If you have a migration coming up, I highly encourage you to check it out. It will make your life so much easier, and you’ll thank me later.
While you’re here, I think you’ll like these other WordPress guides:
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