Having used Namecheap’s shared hosting for almost three years, I thought of trying out other types of hosting too. While checking the different types of hosting, I found Cloud Hosting to be a lot more affordable and convenient for me. And it took some time for me to figure out the best Cloud Hosting services. And I finally decided to try out Cloudways, as I had already won a $25 coupon code from them.
Keep checking these Cloudways coupon codes regularly, you might find something lucky.
Okay, Let’s get back to the tutorial. Today we will see how to migrate your WordPress site from any web hosting to Cloudways.
Well, I just moved from Namecheap to Cloudways to understand how this Cloud Hosting works.
Moving your WordPress site to Cloudways:
Without wasting much time into Cloudways introduction and Cloud Hosting advantages, let me quickly dive in to the steps on this migration.
The first and the foremost thing that you need to do is to create an account at Cloudways.
Creating Your Cloudways account:
If you are about to create a new account at Cloudways, then feel free to use my affiliate link. Where, I will get a small commission from Cloudways when you pay for their hosting.
P.S. Cloudways will not levy any extra charge for using my affiliate link.
Once you go to the Cloudways homepage, you are definitely going to be mesmerized with their cool graphic designs.
Just click the “Get Started Free” button and that will land you at the Signup page.
To make this process of signing up easier, you can use LinkedIn, GitHub or Google+ to sign up. However, if you wish to use a Cloudways Promo code, just fill the form.
Don’t forget to tick the checkbox agreeing to their terms and conditions and then click “Start Free”
Now, you will be receiving an email from Cloudways, requesting you to activate your Cloudways account.
Just click “Activate account” to activate your Cloudways account.
Create your Cloudways Server:
Now, you will have to log in to your Cloudways account and create your first Cloudways Server.
As soon as you log in to the Cloudways account, you will find options to create your Cloudways server.
Under the Applications, I chose WordPress with the recent version. Further, you can give a name to your Application, Server, and Project.
Now, choose the Cloudways Partner, where you want your server to be hosted. I have chosen Digital Ocean.
And I have changed the server size and location. Don’t worry you can always scale the server size when you want.
Cloudways is a very flexible hosting service, which charges you only for what you use. And so, when I changed my server requirements, the pricing has changed accordingly.
Once, you have finished the settings, just click “Launch Now”. And then it takes you to your first Cloudways Server.
Congratulations!
Using the Cloudways WordPress Migrator Plugin:
Note, that you haven’t paid anything so far, and you are just using the trial version. You can take a call whether you want to use this service or call off within 3 days time.
Now, to migrate your WordPress site from your existing hosting, Cloudways has got a tool called Cloudways WordPress Migrator Plugin.
Install this plugin from the WordPress directory.
If you need help in installing WordPress plugins, do refer to this tutorial.
Once you installed the plugin, just activate it.
And that will take you to the Cloudways Migrator Plugin Page. This form requires some details that you need to fill out.
The first one is your email, where you will get email notifications about this website migration.
Next is the Destination Site URL.
You can get these details from your Cloudways account. Click the Applications menu and open the WordPress one that you created now.
Now, this application details page will have the credentials you need.
For the Destination Site URL, just copy the Application URL and paste it. Don’t worry about using your own Domain name. We will come to that section later.
Next, you need Database Name. It is the one named DB Name under MYSQL Access. Just copy these details and paste them on the form.
You can find the Server Public IP Address on the right side of the page as Public IP under Application Credentials
And, the last two are the SFTP Username and SFTP Password, which you will find at your server page. Just click the Server Page in the menu and open your server.
You will find this Server Management Page with Master Credentials. The Username available there is your SFTP Username and the password is your SFTP Password.
After filling these details, tick the checkbox agreeing to the terms and service and click “Migrate”
BlogVault Migration:
BlogVault will start migrating your WordPress site.
First, BlogVault will validate the details you provided.
Next, it will start with the migration process.
You need to be a lot more patient. Because this migration is definitely going to take some time depending upon the size of your WordPress site files and database.
Once, your migration is complete, you will see the success message. If you see a failure message, then you need to sort it out. First contact Cloudways support to identify the reason for this migration failure. And then escalate it to your current web hosting.
Apart from using this Cloudways WordPress Migrator Plugin, you can also use the manual migration method.
(Alternate) Migrate your WordPress site Manually:
To manually upload your files to the server, you will need
- an FTP client like Filezilla.
- WordPress files backup of your current website
- WordPress Database backup of your current website
I am not going deep into this, because I found these following tutorials pretty impressive and self-explanatory.
- How to connect your application using SFTP and SSH?
- How to download your WordPress Backup from cPanel?
- Tutorial to upload your WordPress files to your server using Filezilla (Refer till uploading WordPress files)
- How to export your Database from cPanel and update your WordPress Configuration file?
While updating your WordPress Configuration file, you will need DB Name, DB Username, and DB Password. Use the ones you find in the MYSQL Access of your WordPress Application.
And finally,
- How to upload your Database to your Cloudways server?
If you still need help in manual migration, just ping me on the comments section. I will come up with a complete tutorial on this.
(Common) Changing the DNS:
Now, you have successfully migrated your WordPress site. And you can access this using the application URL, which you can find under the Application Management section.
Do check if everything is working fine with your WordPress site. Make sure your theme is working fine without any errors and all your plugins are installed and activated.
Once, you are satisfied with this migration, you will have to change the DNS settings.
First, open your Application in Cloudways server and proceed to the Domain Management section. Under Primary domain enter your domain name. (Do include www. if needed)
If you have any subdomains, just add them under Additional Domains.
And then click “Save Changes”
Now, open the DNS settings of your domain. Because we are going to create A records. The following resources will help you with creating A records in different Domain Registrars.
- How to create an A record in GoDaddy?
- How to create an A record in Namecheap?
- And, How to create an A record in DreamHost?
The exact A record that you are supposed to create is going to vary depending upon your Domain Registrar.
The following screenshot will give you an idea on what type of A record, Cloudways is expecting you to create.
My domain is with GoDaddy and so I have used the @ value.
If you are confused with what A record you need to create, just check with the Cloudways Live Chat. They will help you better.
If your Nameservers or A records are pointed towards your old hosting account, then just remove it. And wait for the DNS Migration to take place. It can take up to a maximum of 24 hours. But, I have always found it done within an hour.
Now, that you have successfully migrated your WordPress website from your existing web hosting to Cloudways.
Upgrade your Cloudways Account:
After three days of trial, you need to decide. Whether you want to continue hosting with Cloudways or move on to a different hosting.
To continue with Cloudways Hosting, you need to upgrade your account. Just add your Credit Card to Cloudways. First, they will charge you with $0.01 to verify your credit card.
Further, you can add funds to your Cloudways account. And that will help you to successfully upgrade your Cloudways account.
My website speed after Cloudways Migration:
After migrating OnlineRockersHub to Cloudways, I did test the page speed at Pingdom and happy with the results I saw.
The homepage is loading at 1.18s with a performance grade B. This is pretty solid loading time. And, I am happy with this performance.
Wrapping Up:
I hope, you find this tutorial useful especially if you are migrating your WordPress site to Cloudways. Try this Cloudways service and pay for it if you like.
Do check Cloudways pricing to see if this hosting suits you!
Here are some useful resources to check after moving to Cloudways:
-
- How to setup CloudwaysCDN with your website?
- What are the add-ons available at Cloudways?
- Which Email add-on should you use at Cloudways?
- How to activate Rackspace Email add-on at Cloudways?
- How to activate Elastic Email add-on at Cloudways?