How to migrate WordPress site to Cloudways?

Having used Namecheap’s shared hosting for almost three years, I also thought of trying other types of hosting. While checking the different types of hosting, I found Cloud Hosting to be a lot more affordable and convenient. 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.

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I migrated my WordPress website from Namecheap to Cloudways to understand how this Cloud Hosting works.

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Migrate WordPress site to Cloudways:

Without wasting much time on Cloudways introduction and Cloud Hosting advantages, let me quickly dive into the steps of this WordPress website migration.

The first and foremost thing you need to do is 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. I will get a small commission from Cloudways when you pay for their hosting.

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P.S. Cloudways will not levy any extra charge for using my affiliate link.

Once you go to the Cloudways homepage, you will be mesmerized by their cool graphic designs.

Just click the “Get Started Free” button to land you on the Signup page.

To make signing up easier, you can use LinkedIn, GitHub, or Google+. However, if you wish to use a Cloudways Promo code, just fill out the form.

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Don’t forget to tick the checkbox agreeing to their terms and conditions and click “Start Free.”

You will receive an email from Cloudways requesting you to activate your Cloudways account.

Just click “Activate account” to activate your Cloudways account.

Create your Cloudways Server:

You must log in to your Cloudways account and create your first Cloudways Server.

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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.

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Cloudways is a very flexible hosting service that charges you only for what you use. And so when I changed my server requirements, the pricing changed accordingly.

Once you have finished the settings, 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 and are just using the trial version. You can take a call whether you want to use this service or call off within 3 days.

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To migrate your WordPress site from your existing hosting, Cloudways has a tool called Cloudways WordPress Migrator Plugin.

Install this plugin from the WordPress directory.

Once you have 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.

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The first 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.

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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’s 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 on your server page. Just click the Server Page in the menu and open your server.

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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 in these details, tick the check box agreeing to the terms and services and click “Migrate.”

Similar Read: Best Free and Almost Free Hosting Companies For Non-Profits

BlogVault Migration:

BlogVault will start migrating your WordPress site.

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First, BlogVault will validate the details you provided.

Next, it will begin with the migration process.

You need to be a lot more patient. Because this migration is definitely going to take some time, depending on 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, you must sort it out. First, contact Cloudways support to identify the reason for this migration failure. And then escalate it to your current web hosting.

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Apart from using this Cloudways WordPress Migrator Plugin, you can also use the manual migration method to migrate your WordPress site to Cloudways.

(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 the following tutorials impressive and self-explanatory.

• How to connect your application using SFTP and SSH?
• How to download your WordPress Backup from cPanel? 
• Tutorial on uploading your WordPress files to your server using Filezilla (Refer to 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 your DB Name, DB Username, and DB Password. Use the ones you find in the MYSQL Access of your WordPress Application.

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And finally,

• How to upload your Database to your Cloudways server?

If you still need help in manual migration, just ping me in 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. Ensure your theme works without errors and that all your plugins are installed and activated.

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Once satisfied with this migration, you must change the DNS settings.

First, open your Application in the 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.”

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Now, open the DNS settings of your domain. Because we are going to create A records. The following resources will help create A records in different Domain Registrars.

• How to create an A record in GoDaddy?
• How to create an A record in Namecheap?
• And, How do you create an A record in DreamHost?

The exact A record you are supposed to create will vary depending upon your Domain Registrar.

The following screenshot will give you an idea of what type of A record Cloudways expects you to create.

My domain is with GoDaddy, so I have used the @ value.

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If you are confused about what A record of creating, just check with the Cloudways Live Chat. They will help you better.

If your Nameservers or A records are pointed toward your old hosting account, just remove them. 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.

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.

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To continue with Cloudways Hosting, you need to upgrade your account. Just add your Credit Card to Cloudways. First, they will charge you $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.

After Migrating my WordPress site My Site Speed:

After migrating BlogHeist to Cloudways, I did test the page speed at Pingdom and was happy with the results I saw.

The homepage is loading at 1.18s with a performance grade of B. This is a pretty solid loading time. And I am happy with this performance.

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Wrapping Up:

I hope you find this helpful tutorial, especially if you migrate 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!

Have you migrated your WordPress site? Let me know in the comments section. If you find this helpful tutorial, let me know by pinning this.

Here are some valuable resources to check after moving to Cloudways:

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• How to set up CloudwaysCDN with your website?
• What are the add-ons available at Cloudways?
• Which Email add-on should you use at Cloudways?
• How to activate the Rackspace Email add-on at Cloudways?
• How to activate the Elastic Email add-on at Cloudways?