Site Migration
Site Migration
Moving a WordPress site to a new host usually means hours of manual work — downloading database exports, re-uploading files, fixing broken URLs, and hoping nothing breaks. FlyWP’s migration system handles all of that for you. Whether you’re escaping a slow shared host or consolidating sites onto a single server, you can move an entire WordPress site — files, database, and configuration — with minimal downtime and no technical expertise required.
FlyWP gives you two main approaches depending on your source host: an automatic method that installs a helper plugin to coordinate the transfer, and a manual method for hosts that block plugin installs or have strict security rules (WAF — a Web Application Firewall that filters incoming traffic). You can also clone an existing FlyWP site and move it to a different server.
Migration Methods
| Method | Best For |
|---|---|
| Automatic (Migration Key) | Sites where you can install the FlyWP Migrator plugin |
| Manual | Hosts that block plugin installs, WP-CLI (a command-line tool for managing WordPress), or have strict WAF rules |
| Clone & Transfer | Moving an existing FlyWP site between servers |
How Migration Works
Starting a migration takes a few steps, then FlyWP takes over the heavy lifting:
- Create a new site on your FlyWP server and select Migrate as the site type.
- Choose your migration method (automatic or manual).
- FlyWP transfers files and database in parallel for faster completion.
- Post-migration tasks run automatically: URL replacements, configuration updates, and health checks.
Migration Statuses
As the migration runs, the dashboard shows you exactly where things stand:
| Status | Description |
|---|---|
| Pending | The migration has been created but has not started |
| In Progress | Files and/or database are actively being transferred |
| Completed | The migration finished successfully |
| Failed | An error occurred — check the error details and retry |
| Cancelled | The migration was cancelled by you |
Database Transfer Stages
The database (the file that stores all your posts, settings, users, and content) moves through several stages during migration:
| Stage | Description |
|---|---|
| Pending | Waiting to start |
| Creating Dump | Exporting the database on the source site |
| Dump Ready | The database export is ready for download |
| Downloading | Transferring the database dump to the new server |
| Importing | Loading the database into the new site’s MySQL instance |
| Completed | Database migration finished |
Real-Time Progress
FlyWP shows real-time progress for both file and database transfers. The dashboard polls for updates automatically, so you can monitor the migration without refreshing the page.
Error Handling
If a migration task fails, FlyWP records the error details and gives you the option to retry the failed step without starting the entire migration over. You can also cancel a migration at any point.
Post-Migration
After a successful migration, FlyWP automatically:
- Replaces URLs in the database to match your new domain
- Updates
wp-config.phpwith the new database credentials - Runs health checks to verify the site loads correctly