Running a website on WordPress gives us a lot of possibilities - from creating blogs, through company websites, to complex online stores. However, sooner or later, we may be faced with the need to move our website to another server or to another folder. In such a situation, it becomes necessary to export the website. In this article I will describe several methods that will enable us to do this process.
1. Tools built into WordPress
WordPress has built-in tools that allow you to export and import website content such as posts, pages, comments, categories and tags. Just go to the WordPress administration panel, then to the “Tools” > “Export” tab. Then we select the type of content to export and click "Download export file". Unfortunately, we do not export multimedia files such as images or website theme using this method.
2. All-in-One WP Migration Plugin
All-in-One WP Migration is one of the most popular WordPress website migration plugins. It allows full export of the website - content, database, multimedia files, theme and plugins. After installing and activating the plugin, the "All-in-One WP Migration" tab appears in the administration panel. Go to the "Export" subtab and select "Export to file". The file with the exported page will be downloaded to our computer.
3. Duplicator Plugin
Duplicator is another popular WordPress site migration plugin. Like All-in-One WP Migration, it allows full website export. After installing the plug-in in the administration panel, go to the "Duplicator" > "Packages" > "Create New" tab. After creating the package, we download two files - the archive with our website and the installation file.
4. Manual export via FTP
If we have access to our server via FTP, we can manually copy all the files of our website. Then, using phpMyAdmin or another tool, we export the website database. This method is more complicated and requires some technical knowledge, but it gives us full control over what we export.
5. Use of hosting services
Some hosting companies offer tools to migrate WordPress sites. This is convenient, but involves dependence on a specific supplier. Before using this method, it is worth checking carefully what is included in the migration service.
Before exporting a WordPress site, it is always a good idea to make a full backup of the site and database. In case of export problems, we will always have a point of reference. Let's also remember that website migration involves not only exporting, but also importing on a new server. Each of the above methods has its pros and cons - it is worth choosing the one that best suits our needs and skills.