Transfer WordPress sites to new servers fast and safely


c. Finalize the transfer

* Login to the dashboard of your new blog with your old familiar username and password (they are imported when you restored your database), and check that everything works as expected.

— Check your Permalinks scheme at the “Permalinks” section of your dashboard. Since it was imported from your database, the scheme should appear fine, however, confirm it by pressing the “Save” button and watch for WordPress messages at the top of the page. You may need to change file permissions in order for WordPress to configure Permalinks properly.

— After Permalinks are confirmed, change file permissions to make them more restrictive and disable also web (debug) errors if you had them enabled. Some problems that seem severe at this stage, may come from file and folder permissions. Some folders inside the wp-content folder need write and delete permissions, such as the cache folder. If you don’t know how to handle permissions, the support team of your new host can help you.

* Check your plugin settings and make sure they work. Browse all the main sections of your web site to see if everything works.

* Now it’s time to edit again your wp-config file to remove those two definitions concerning the temporary alias url.

* Go to the web page of your registrar and change the DNS settings for your domain, informing this way the internet to access your pages in the new server and ignore the old. — Delete the temporary alias url at the control panel of your new host.

Allow 2 days for a full propagation of DNS changes, until your blog is available only in the new server. While waiting, make other crucial adjustments on your account, such as replicating email addresses. Note that you may be able to access your site in the new server before your email addresses are functional.

Enjoy!