How to move a WordPress website from one host to another

Help for WordPress

Moving a website built in WordPress is a fairly technical process and for that reason, we recommend you make a backup before you attempt the process. This article refers to self-hosted WordPress sites, not sites built on the WordPress.com hosted platform.
A WordPress site or blog consists of two parts working together: 1) the files inside the folder where your site is installed, and 2) a MySQL database which stores all your pages, posts, comments, and settings.

Database

Create a full export of your WordPress database. A simple way to do this is with phpMyAdmin, it's the same process as backing up your database and is included in most hosting accounts. There's a detailed post describing how to do make a database backup on the WordPress site. You can also find some WordPress plugins that will create a full database backup/export. The WP-DB-Backup plugin does exactly that.

[Optional] If your site is changing it's domain name, then this step if necessary. If you are simply moving hosts, and keeping the same web address (domain name), then skip this step.
If the address is changing, you need to filter your database and correct all the paths, or none of your images will show up on your new site. This is because all of the paths to the images (including your site address) are stored in the database. Open the .sql database export file in a text editor with a good find/replace function and replace the old site domain name with the new one everywhere it is found. You also need to make sure that the "wpurl" and "home" options in the "options" table have the correct new domain name.

Website Files

Download all your WordPress files from your existing site, using FTP. The WordPress Codex provides an excellent tutorial on FTP, if you need any help.
On your new website location, upload all your WordPress files, using FTP.
On your new website server, create a new mySQL database and import the database export file you created (and possibly filtered) earlier. This can be done using phpMyAdmin, or any other MySQL admin tool provided by the host. Your host may also import the file for you.
Edit your wp-config.php file to make sure your new database name, user, and host info is correct. This means opening the wp-config.php on your computer using a plain text editor like Notepad. Do not use a WordProcessor as this will add extra hidden characters. Once you've changed the details, save it, and upload it by FTP.

Too Complicated?

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Just choose a hosting plan and sign up, and we'll do the rest.