Migrating WordPress to xaweho

WordPress is the most common migration to us. Plesk has the WordPress Toolkit with a built-in migration function — plus there’s the manual route. Here are both variants and what you need to watch out for.

Three routes to a WordPress migration

Route 1: WordPress Toolkit migration (easiest)

The WP Toolkit has a migration function that copies WordPress from the old server to us.

Requirement: SSH or FTP access to the old server.

Process:

1. Plesk → WordPress → + Import
2. Pick the source:
   • URL of the old WordPress setup
   • SSH access or FTP access to the old server
3. The WP Toolkit connects, copies files and DB
4. URL adjustment runs automatically
5. The site with us is live (on a test domain until DNS is switched)

Works without a hitch for 90% of WordPress migrations.

Route 2: Manual migration via FTP + SQL dump

The classic route for power users or with Toolkit incompatibilities:

1. Backup at the old host:
   • Files: /wp-content/, /wp-config.php, all custom plugins/themes
   • DB: SQL dump from phpMyAdmin
2. Upload to xaweho:
   • Files via FTPS into /httpdocs/
   • Import the DB dump via phpMyAdmin
3. Adjust wp-config.php: new DB credentials
4. URL adjustment: in WP admin → Settings → change the URL, or via SQL

Route 3: We migrate for you (a flat €49)

You send a ticket with your old credentials. For a flat €49 we do everything — including mailboxes and databases —, give you a test URL for the trial run, then go live.

For most customers the most relaxed route.

Preparation at the old host

Pull a backup

Plugin recommendation: All-in-One WP Migration (Free or Pro).

• Install the WP plugin
• Tools → Export → download the file (.wpress format)
• For large setups: the Pro version for backups >512 MB

Alternatively: a Plesk backup (if the old hosting has Plesk) or a cPanel backup.

Check the URL status

WP admin → Settings → General:

• Site URL and WordPress Address

Note down both. When migrating to the same domain they stay the same; on a domain change the URLs must be adjusted.

Migration steps in detail

With All-in-One WP Migration

At the old host:

1. Install and activate the plugin
2. Tools → Export → File
3. Download the file (.wpress)

At xaweho:

1. Plesk → WordPress Toolkit → + Install (fresh WP installation)
2. Open the WP admin of the fresh installation
3. Install the All-in-One WP Migration plugin
4. Tools → Import → upload the .wpress file
5. The plugin imports files and DB, replaces URLs automatically
6. The login credentials are the ones from the old host (the plugin overwrites the fresh installation)

Handy: no SQL dumps, no FTP wizardry.

Limit: the free version tops out at 512 MB. The Pro version (~€70 one-time) for larger sites.

Manually

If the plugin isn’t a fit:

1. Files via FTP:

   /wp-content/themes/<dein-theme>/
   /wp-content/plugins/<deine-plugins>/
   /wp-content/uploads/
   /wp-config.php (anpassen!)
   /.htaccess

   Upload everything to xaweho into /httpdocs/.

2. DB dump:

   • In the old phpMyAdmin: DB → Export → SQL → compressed
   • In the xaweho phpMyAdmin: create an empty DB → Import → SQL file
   • More in Using phpMyAdmin

3. Adjust wp-config.php:

   define('DB_NAME',     'neuer_db_name');
   define('DB_USER',     'neuer_db_user');
   define('DB_PASSWORD', 'neues_passwort');
   define('DB_HOST',     'localhost');

4. URL adjustment (see below)

URL adjustment

On a domain change (e.g. from alteseite.de to neueseite.de) or from HTTP to HTTPS:

Standard solution: the Better Search Replace plugin.

1. Install the plugin on the new site
2. Search: http://alteseite.de, replace: https://neueseite.de
3. Select all tables
4. Dry run first
5. If everything looks good: run it for real

Important: it also handles serialized PHP data correctly (a manual SQL replace destroys it).

Alternative: WP-CLI

With SSH access (included in every plan):

wp search-replace 'http://alteseite.de' 'https://neueseite.de' --all-tables --dry-run
wp search-replace 'http://alteseite.de' 'https://neueseite.de' --all-tables

Test steps after migration

Before you switch DNS and the site goes live — check thoroughly:

1. Open the homepage (on the test URL): no errors
2. Log in to WP admin: works with the old credentials
3. Permalinks: Settings → Permalinks → Save (regenerates .htaccess)
4. Themes/plugins: all active, no error messages
5. Images: load correctly from /wp-content/uploads/
6. Forms: test submission
7. Custom functionality: everything that isn’t standard
8. WooCommerce shop: test order
9. Cron jobs: WP cron runs
10. SEO tools (Yoast, RankMath): sitemap regenerated?

Pitfalls

Permalinks return 404 after migration

The classic mistake. WP uses .htaccess for clean URLs.

Solution: WP admin → Settings → Permalinks → just save (regenerates .htaccess).

wp-content/uploads path wrong

If the old site had /blog/wp-content/uploads/ and the new one lives in the root: image links point nowhere.

Solution: fix the _wp_attached_file paths in the DB or replace them with Better Search Replace.

Plugins incompatible with the new PHP version

If the old host ran PHP 7.4 and the new one 8.x: some plugins throw errors.

Solution: update the plugins, then switch the PHP version. Or set the PHP version with us to 7.4.

Caching plugin causes trouble after the move

Plugins like WP Rocket or W3 Total Cache store paths in their caches. After migration: clear the cache completely, possibly uninstall and reinstall.

htaccess with hardcoded paths

If the old .htaccess has server-specific settings (e.g. /var/www/altedomain/...): they won’t fit with us.

Solution: regenerate a fresh .htaccess from the WP defaults after migration.

SSL cipher problems after migration

If the old site ran with old TLS (TLS 1.0/1.1) and browsers warned: with us it’s on newer TLS, so it should be cleaner. For mixed-content problems: enable HTTPS forcing.

The DNS switch — the final step

Same as with a website migration: point the A record to the new IP.

With a short TTL you can switch worldwide in 5 minutes.

The WordPress domain stays the same, only the IP changes.

Frequently asked questions

How large can the site be for a WP Toolkit migration? Practically unlimited. We’ve migrated 50 GB sites. It just takes a few hours then.

Migrating a multisite WordPress? More complex. The WP Toolkit supports it. With many sub-sites (>10): manual is often better. Open a ticket.

What if the old host won’t give me a backup? With your old FTP credentials and Plesk/cPanel login we fetch the data directly. As long as you still have access to the old account, it works.

Can I make my own backup before migrating? Recommendation: yes. A Plesk backup or the All-in-One WP Migration plugin as extra insurance.

What about redirecting www.altedomain.de to neuedomain.de? Set up 301 redirects in .htaccess:

RewriteEngine On
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ https://neuedomain.de/$1 [R=301,L]

(leave it at the old host as long as the domain is there)

Is the migration window critical for SEO? A DNS switch with a short downtime <1 hour: irrelevant for Google. Longer problems (>24h offline): can cost SEO rankings. So: test well first, then switch DNS.

Where do I find migration logs? WP Toolkit → site → Logs. Plus All-in-One WP Migration shows progress during import.

Migrating multiple WordPress sites in parallel? Possible, we batch it. Duration scales linearly.

What’s next

• Migrating a website to xaweho
• WordPress Toolkit in Plesk
• Creating backups and restoring