Perplexing Methods for Transferring Your Local WordPress Site to a Server

So, you’ve been slaving away on your WordPress site on your laptop or desktop and now, it’s time to take it online. But how? You need to transfer it to a server, but how do you do that? There are several perplexing methods, each with its own set of advantages and disadvantages, but we will focus on the most common and straightforward method. Are you ready to have your mind blown?

Step 1: Export Your Local WordPress Database

To begin the transfer, you must first export your local database. Easy, right? Just go to your local WordPress dashboard, click on the “Tools” tab and select “Export.” Then, you’ll have to choose what to export, so select “All content” and click “Download Export File.” That’s it! Your WordPress database is now sitting on your computer like a time bomb.

Step 2: Upload Your Local WordPress Files to the Server

Now, it’s time to upload your local WordPress files to the server, but how? The answer is FTP, which stands for file transfer protocol. Don’t worry, though; there are several FTP clients to choose from like FileZilla or Cyberduck. Connect to your server using your FTP client and navigate to the “public_html” folder or other root directory where you want to install WordPress. Then, upload all your local WordPress files to this directory. Just make sure you upload all the files in the correct folders. Got it?

Step 3: Create a New Database on the Server

Before you can import your local database to the server, you must create a new one on the server. How? From your hosting account’s control panel or via a web interface. Just login to your server’s control panel, navigate to the “Database” section and choose “MySQL Databases.” Here, you can create a new database by entering the desired name and clicking on “Create Database.” Simple, right?

Step 4: Import Your Local WordPress Database to the Server

With your new database created and your local database exported, you can now import your local WordPress database to the server. Easy peasy, lemon squeezy! Just navigate to your server’s “phpMyAdmin” section, select your newly created database, click on “Import,” choose your local WordPress database file and click “Go.” Wait for the import process to complete and cheer wildly!

Step 5: Edit the wp-config.php File

Now, it’s time to modify the wp-config.php file in your WordPress installation to reflect the new server database details. Just navigate to the root directory of your WordPress installation on the server, locate the wp-config.php file and make a copy of it. Open the copy of the wp-config.php file in a text editor and replace the following lines of code with your server database details. Still with us?

Step 6: Change URLs in the Database

The final step is to change the URLs in the database to reflect your server’s domain name. Without doing this, you’ll have broken links and a sad website. To change the URLs, navigate to the “wp_options” table in your server’s phpMyAdmin, click on the “Edit” link next to the “siteurl” and “home” options. Replace the URLs with your server’s domain name, ensuring that you use the correct format. Phew, that’s it! You’re done!