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How to migrate WordPress to LayerStack Cloud Servers by Plesk Panel

2020-03-03 By Aaron 6803 Views linux windows plesk wordpress cms_application
12 reviews

The server administrator can transfer a WordPress instance to a Plesk server using the Site Import extension. This guide outlines the general steps to migrate WordPress by Plesk Panel.


Installing the extension

  1. Log in to the Plesk panel of the server.

  2. Go to Extensions > Extensions Catalog, and then search for Site Import and click on the Site Import extension name.

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  3. Click Install to install it.

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Importing WordPress

Once the Site Import extension has been installed, the WordPress application can be migrated from the remote server to the Plesk server using either simple mode or advanced mode.


Simple mode:

  1. Click on Domains > domain.com > Website Importing option.

    In the below example, we have used the website layerstacksupport.com.

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  2. Specify the name of the website from which WordPress is to be imported in the Source domain name field and the username and password of an FTP or SSH (Plesk for Linux only) user on the source server that has access to the source website’s files.

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  3. Select the Speed up file transfer by using web streaming (beta) when possible checkbox if a large number of small files needs to be imported. This option is also useful in case the migration gets interrupted by any means since enabling the checkbox enables Plesk to resume interrupted import instead of starting over.

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  4. Click on OK.

    Plesk will then try connecting to the source website and scanning it for content. If the connection is successful, select one or more objects of the following types to import:

  • Applications

  • Folders

  • Databases

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    If the connection is not successful, make sure that the below requirements are met and try again:

  • The source website’s domain name resolves to the correct IP address from the destination Plesk server.

  • The FTP or SSH username and password are correct and have access to all files and directories of the source website.

  • You can connect to the source server via FTP from the destination Plesk server.

    NOTE: If the connection is successful but scanning for content fails, the advanced mode of importing can be tried.


Advanced mode:

In advanced mode, several important parameters such as connection type, data transfer, document root, etc can be specified.

  1. Click on Domains > domain.com > Website Importing option and then click on Switch to advanced mode.

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  2. Specify the name of the website from which WordPress is to be imported in the Source domain name field.

  3. Specify the full URL corresponding to the document root of the source website in the Source website URL field.

  • If the document root is /var/www/vhosts/domain.com/httpdocs, specify https://domain.com.

  • If the document root is /var/www/vhosts/domain.com/httpdocs/my/wordpress, specify https://domain.com/my/wordpress.

  1. Select SSH from under Connection type.

  2. Specify the Username and Password of an SSH user on the source server that has access to the source website’s files in the corresponding fields.

  3. If the source server has any custom SSH port, this can be specified in the SSH port field.

  4. Specify where to look for the website files in the Source document root and Files root fields.

    If the document root of the source website is inside the home directory of the SSH user, specify the document root absolute path in the Source document root field and keep the Files root field empty.

  • For example, if the document root of the source website is /var/www/vhosts/domain.com/httpdocs and the home directory of the SSH user is /var/www/vhosts/domain.com, specify /var/www/vhosts/domain.com/httpdocs in the Source document root field and keep the Files root field empty.

  • If the SSH user is chrooted, the document root absolute path that needs to be specified in the Source document root field is /httpdocs.

    If the home directory of the source website is outside the home directory of the SSH user, specify the document root absolute path in the Files root field and keep the Source document root field empty.

  • For example, if the document root of the source website is /var/www/vhosts/domain.com/httpdocs and the home directory of the SSH user is /root, specify /var/www/vhosts/domain.com/httpdocs in the Files root field and keep the Source document root field empty.

  1. Select the desired method for transferring the content under Way to transfer files.

  • (Recommended) If Automatic is selected, Plesk will first try to import content via rsync, the fastest method. If the attempt fails, Plesk will use SCP instead.

  • To have Plesk use rsync or SCP, select the corresponding option.

  • Plesk can also be made to use Web streaming by selecting it from the list. This option is good when a large number of small files needs to be imported or if there are chances that the import may be interrupted, however, choosing it may cause issues with the import.

  1. Click on OK.

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Importing Applications

When a website importing is initiated, Plesk scans the source website for the presence of certain applications and lists them.

When importing an application, keep in mind the following limitations:

  • The application must use a MySQL database.

  • The MySQL database server must use the default port.

    1. Select the checkbox(es) next to the application(s) that needs to be imported.

    2. By default, the application files are placed in the same location relative to the document root they occupied on the source. If required, the location at which the application files are placed on the target server can be changed. For this, click the / link under Destination Path and type in the path to the destination folder (relative to the document root).

    3. Click Start Import.

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      The installation’s status will change from Ready for import to Queued, and then to In progress. Once the status changes to Imported, application importing should be completed.


Synchronizing Imported Applications

At any time after an application has been imported, it can be imported again by selecting the corresponding checkbox and clicking the Re-sync button. This will overwrite any changes that have been made to the installation on the destination server.


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