Announcing Duplicator WP-CLI Commands (And How They Speed Up Backups)
Looking for a smarter way to manage site backups? Explore Duplicator's new features, including customizable WP-CLI commands and permission settings!
Announcing Duplicator WP-CLI Commands (And How They Speed Up Backups)
Joella Dunn
Joella Dunn
John Turner
John Turner
Is your WordPress site not working after a migration?
You just chose to migrate your site to a better server or different domain name. But after making the move, your WordPress site isn’t working as it used to. There could be missing content, or you can’t even log into the admin area.
Don’t worry, these problems are usually easy to fix. In this post, I’ll show you some common post-migration issues and how to solve them!
Moving your WordPress site to a different hosting service can sometimes lead to annoying issues. Let’s explore the common problems you might face after a WordPress migration.
If your WordPress site isn’t working after migration, you might see that your content isn’t showing up properly.
When you open certain pages, images might not be displayed. Even if they exist in your media library, they don’t appear on the front end.
Here are some reasons your images disappear after a migration:
Another issue could be posts or pages not showing. This may be because of incorrect permalink settings.
Permalinks are the unique links to posts, categories, and other blog lists. When they don’t match, your content won’t appear properly.
If you’re unable to log into your WordPress site after migrating it, don’t panic. This is a frequent issue.
The most likely solution is to reset your password.
Now, because your site has moved, your old email may not be connected. Through phpMyAdmin, check that your wp_users table has the correct usernames.
You might also see a completely blank wp-admin login screen. This could be because of a plugin or theme conflict, a PHP memory limit, or problems with your wp-config.php file.
You can troubleshoot this issue by deactivating your plugins, increasing PHP memory limit, or checking the wp-config.php file for errors.
If your WordPress database is still connected to your old website after moving, this might cause problems like wrong redirects. To fix this, remember to change your database URLs after migrating.
Often, your migration’s success depends on the tool you use. The wrong migration plugin could fail to properly move all your files and database tables.
To set up your new site, the migration plugin will also need to update your wp-config.php file with new URLs. If it doesn’t do its job, you might have login errors, missing content, and other problems.
You’ll need a migration tool that you can rely on. To help you find the best one, here are my top WordPress plugins for migrations.
If your WordPress site doesn’t work after moving it, you may have lost some files. These could have important data like themes, plugins, or even content.
The smart thing to do is to back up your entire site before a migration. Use backup plugins like Duplicator for a hassle-free experience. This way, you’ll have a recovery plan if things go wrong and you lose files.
If files are missing and you don’t have a backup, don’t worry. Reach out to your web host support. They may have a backup or can help recover lost files.
Don’t forget, prevention is better than troubleshooting. Regular website backups should be a key part of your site management. They keep your WordPress site running well, especially after bad migrations.
It’s annoying when your WordPress site goes down during or after a migration. This often happens when your new site redirects to your old host.
Some hosts give you an internal address which can help you avoid downtime during the move. You can test your content on this new location and add redirects when everything’s functioning correctly.
If your new host doesn’t have one, you can simply update the hosts file on your computer. By adding your new IP address and domain to this file, you’ll access your new host’s files while visitors view your site on the old host.
Essentially, it makes your computer think your website has moved when it hasn’t. Then, when you’re finished with the migration, delete this entry from your hosts file. You’ll have zero downtime!
You might notice your internal links in blog posts don’t work. This is usually because they’re still connected to your old site.
You can solve this issue by using SQL queries to update your MySQL database. Or, you could use a plugin like Better Search Replace to make the job easier.
But, if you’re using the right tool, your URLs will automatically be updated during the migration. With Duplicator Pro, you can enter your old domain and replace it with the new one.
Duplicator will search and replace any old URLs in your database, so you don’t have to worry about broken links.
An “Error Establishing a Database Connection” can show up after moving your WordPress site. It happens when your site can’t connect to its database.
Usually, you can fix this by updating the database details in your wp-config.php file. Find these lines and make sure they match your new database.
// ** MySQL settings - You can get this info from your web host ** //
/** The name of the database for WordPress */
define( 'DB_NAME', 'database_name_here' );
/** MySQL database username */ define( 'DB_USER', 'username_here' );
/** MySQL database password */ define( 'DB_PASSWORD', 'password_here' );
/** MySQL hostname */ define( 'DB_HOST', 'localhost' );
If this doesn’t work, contact your new web hosting provider. You’ll want to check that your server is up and running. It could be down temporarily.
After ensuring that the database is set up correctly, you might need to repair it. Add this code to the wp-config.php file:
define ('WP_ALLOW_REPAIR', true);
Then, use WordPress’s built-in repair tool by visiting this link:
http://www.yoursite.com/wp-admin/maint/repair.php
One common issue after a WordPress migration is the 500 Internal Server Error. It can be one of the most frustrating errors because it often doesn’t tell you what’s causing it.
Sometimes, your host can’t access all of your site files after the move. You’ll have to find and update your file permissions.
Alternatively, you may have to regenerate your .htaccess file. We’ll walk you through this process later in the article.
Another reason for the 500 Internal Server error is a plugin conflict. Try deactivating them and reactivating each one to see when the error happens again.
Other fixes include increasing your PHP memory limit, switching to a default WordPress theme, and re-uploading core WordPress files.
After moving your WordPress site, you might have an invalid SSL certificate. This happens often because SSL certificates are directly linked to your website’s domain name.
When you migrate, you might change your domain name. This can make your SSL certificate invalid.
The simplest way to fix this is by getting a new SSL certificate for your new domain. Your web host can help you do this.
After you update your domain name, your visitors may still be redirected to the old one. This happens when your site URL and home page URL are different than the values in your database.
Wrong redirects could also appear because of DNS issues. Make sure your DNS records are updated before you start troubleshooting.
To make sure your site is visible, read this guide on how to make sure your WordPress site redirects to its new domain.
Let’s walk through some troubleshooting you can do if something goes wrong after a migration. This way, you can fix any issue that pops up!
Caching plugins and server-side caches can hold onto old site versions, causing errors or issues with content display.
If you see an error after a migration, clear your cache. This will help display the latest changes on your site.
How you do this depends on your caching solution. Some plugins offer a “clear cache” or “purge cache” option in their settings.
Your hosting provider often has a feature for clearing the server-side cache on your hosting dashboard. If you’re not sure, look at the documentation for your plugin or hosting service.
Common problems like internal server errors or wrong permalink settings can be solved by regenerating your .htaccess file. This file controls your site’s configuration.
To reset the .htaccess file, open your WordPress files with a file manager like cPanel or a File Transfer Protocol (FTP) client. Find the .htaccess file, which is in your root directory (public_html folder).
Rename this file to something like: .htaccess_old
Now, go back to your WordPress dashboard. Navigate to Settings » Permalinks and don’t make any changes. Scroll to the bottom and hit Save Changes.
This automatically regenerates the .htaccess file.
If your newly migrated site isn’t working, you may need to check your file permissions. They are key to your site performing smoothly.
Directories on your WordPress site should have permissions set to 755. Files should be set to 644.
You can reset these permissions via SSH or FTP. By fixing file access issues, your WordPress site will work smoothly after a migration.
Post-migration, you may encounter misdirected URLs that still refer to the old site.
You can update database URLs with a plugin called Better Search Replace. It finds old URLs in all tables and updates them for you. This helps fix your site’s navigation after migration.
If you’re comfortable with editing the database directly, consider running SQL queries. This direct approach could help update all URL references efficiently.
Be sure to update your site’s location in the wp_options table. Old references here can cause redirection problems.
Also, pay attention to the wp-config.php file. You need to update it with your new server and database details to keep things functioning smoothly.
If your WordPress site stops working after moving it, the problem might be due to software conflicts. This can happen when plugins, themes, and core WordPress software aren’t working well together.
To troubleshoot, deactivate all plugins and switch to a default theme. Then, reactivate everything individually to pinpoint the source of the issue.
It’s a good idea to keep plugins, themes, and WordPress updated to the latest versions. These updates often include bug fixes and compatibility improvements.
However, be sure to test any updates on a staging site before applying them to your live site.
You can always reach out to your web hosting support team. They are experienced professionals who can help resolve most migration issues.
Be sure to share what’s going on, including any error messages you can see. The more information you provide about your problem, the quicker they can offer a solution.
When you don’t plan properly, you’ll face a lot of problems post-migration. Let’s talk about how to make the transfer as smooth as possible.
Take time to plan to prevent unwanted surprises. Here are some valuable resources that’ll help you successfully migrate your website:
There are plenty of WordPress migration plugins out there, but you won’t find a better one than Duplicator Pro. This tool makes migrations simple (and error-free).
All you’ll need to do is create a full backup of your original site. Then, download the backup archive file.
On the second site, drop the archive file into Duplicator’s Import Backups page.
Next, you’ll get a step-by-step migration guide. You can easily perform tasks like importing your database and updating URLs. This helps you avoid any errors as your site is moved.
After migrating your WordPress site, you can access the admin dashboard by adding ‘/wp-admin’ to your new site’s URL. Enter your credentials, and you should access your dashboard without issues. If you encounter difficulties, there are many ways you can get back into your website.
You’ll have to identify the issue — be it a login problem, plugin failure, or database connection error. Once you know what happened, you can take steps to fix the issue. Some general troubleshooting tips are to clear your cache, regenerate your .htaccess file, set correct file permissions, and update your database URLs.
WordPress migrations can lead to potential file loss, login issues, missing content, or downtime. Additionally, misconfigurations may lead to problems like redirecting to the old site when you visit the new URL.
The time it takes to migrate a WordPress site can vary. It depends on how big your site is, how fast your internet is, and how intricate your website is. Smaller sites may only take a few hours, while larger, more complicated ones can take a few days.
We hope your newly migrated WordPress site is working now!
While you’re here, I think you’ll like these extra WordPress guides:
Do you want to migrate your WordPress site without any errors? Download Duplicator Pro for fast, smooth, and efficient transfers!
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