Migrate your website to LJPc: step-by-step guide

Do you want to migrate your website to LJPc and handle the move yourself, without your site going offline? This guide walks you through how to migrate your website step by step: your files, your database and your DNS. We cover both the manual method using FTP or SFTP and phpMyAdmin, and the faster WordPress method with a migration plugin. The goal throughout is a switch with no downtime, so your visitors never notice the move.

What does migrating your website mean?

Migrating your website means copying the contents of your site from your current hosting provider to the servers of LJPc. For most sites that involves three parts: the files (the website itself), the database (where a system such as WordPress stores your text and settings) and the DNS (which decides where your domain points).

Note that migrating your website is not the same as transferring your domain name. A domain transfer moves the registration of your domain to another party. If you want to do that as well, read how to transfer your domain to LJPc. This article is all about the contents of your website, so the files and the database.

LJPc provides hosting based on Plesk. That is the control panel where you manage your files, databases and certificates. You open Plesk with a single click from the LJPc portal, so you do not need a separate password.

Before you start: what you need

Make sure you have the following to hand before you begin migrating:

• An active hosting plan with LJPc, so that you have access to Plesk.
• The FTP or SFTP login details for your current host.
• Access to the database of your old site, usually through phpMyAdmin.
• A recent backup of your files and your database, just to be safe.
• An FTP client such as FileZilla, or you can use the built-in file manager in Plesk.

A useful bit of preparation: lower the TTL of your DNS a day or two in advance, to 300 or 3600 seconds for example. The TTL sets how long internet providers remember a DNS answer. A low TTL means your later DNS change is picked up more quickly.

Migrate your website to LJPc: step by step

The steps below work for almost any website with files and a database, such as WordPress, Joomla or a custom-built site. If you run a WordPress site and want to make things easier on yourself, do not skip the plugin method further down.

Step 1. Order your hosting plan with LJPc

Choose a hosting plan that suits the size of your site and complete your order. Once you have ordered, your plan is active straight away and you get access to Plesk through the portal. You do not need to change your DNS yet: you first build up your site calmly on the new server and move your visitors across later.

Step 2. Download the files from your old host

Connect to your current host and download all of your website files to your computer. You usually do this using FTP or SFTP with a program such as FileZilla. Choose SFTP if your host supports it, because the traffic is then encrypted over a secure connection.

Download everything from the web folder of your old host. It is often called public_html, httpdocs or www. For WordPress that also includes the folders wp-content, wp-admin and wp-includes, plus separate files such as wp-config.php and the hidden file .htaccess. Make sure hidden files are visible in your FTP client, otherwise you will miss them.

Step 3. Export the database

If your site uses a database, you export it separately. Log in to the control panel of your old host and open phpMyAdmin.

1. Select the database that belongs to your site on the left.
2. Click the Export tab at the top.
3. Choose the Quick export method and the SQL format.
4. Click Go and save the .sql file on your computer.

If you have a static site with no database, only HTML files for instance, you can skip this step.

Step 4. Upload the files to Plesk

Open Plesk from the LJPc portal and go to Websites & Domains. Open the File Manager there and go to the httpdocs folder. That is the web folder your site is served from.

The quickest approach is to upload a ZIP file. Compress your files into a ZIP on your computer, upload it to httpdocs and then choose Extract Files to unpack it. You can also copy the files straight to your LJPc space over FTP or SFTP. Check that your files sit directly in httpdocs and not in an extra subfolder.

Step 5. Import the database into Plesk

First create an empty database on your new hosting. In Plesk, go to Databases and add a new database with a database user. Note down the database name, the username and the password, because you will need them in a moment.

1. Go to Databases in Plesk.
2. Choose Import Dump and upload your .sql file, or open phpMyAdmin and use the Import tab there.
3. Wait for the import to finish and check that your tables are present.

Step 6. Update the configuration file

Your site needs to know where the new database is and which details it may use to log in. In WordPress you update the file wp-config.php for this. Open it in the Plesk File Manager and set these values to the new details from step 5:

• DB_NAME: the name of your new database.
• DB_USER: the new database user.
• DB_PASSWORD: the password for that user.
• DB_HOST: almost always localhost.

If you use another system, it has a similar file, such as configuration.php in Joomla. Because your domain name stays the same, you do not need to change the website URL.

Step 7. Test your site before you change the DNS

This is the most important step for a switch with no downtime. Test your site on the LJPc server while your old site is still online for everyone. That way you spot mistakes before your visitors do.

The most reliable method is the hosts trick: make your own computer point your domain to the IP address of your LJPc hosting temporarily, by adding a line to your hosts file. You find the IP address in Plesk. Only you then see the new server, while the rest of the world still sees the old one. Go through your pages, images, forms and the database connection, and fix any problems now.

Step 8. Change your DNS to LJPc

Once the site works on the new server, you point your domain to LJPc. You have two options.

• Nameservers: set the nameservers (NS records) of your domain to ns1.ljpc.network, ns2.ljpc.network and ns3.ljpc.network. LJPc then manages your DNS and points the records to your hosting space automatically.
• The A record only: keep your current DNS management and point the A record to the IP address of your LJPc hosting. Changing only the A record is more targeted and often quicker.

A DNS change is not visible everywhere at once. It takes time to propagate, usually a few hours up to a maximum of 48 hours, depending on your TTL. Keep your old hosting active during that time, so that visitors see a working site through both the old and the new address.

Step 9. Check your SSL certificate

As soon as your domain points to the LJPc server, LJPc issues a free Let's Encrypt certificate for you automatically. So you do not have to request the certificate yourself. The certificate also covers the www version of your domain and is renewed automatically before it expires.

Before the certificate can be issued, your A record must already point to LJPc, and any CAA record on your domain must allow letsencrypt.org. You can see the status in Plesk under SSL/TLS Certificates. After that, check that your site loads over https:// with a valid padlock.

Migrating WordPress with a plugin

If you run a WordPress site, you can migrate the files and database in one go with a migration plugin. That saves you the manual work with FTP and phpMyAdmin.

Duplicator

With Duplicator you create a package of your site: an archive file with all your files and your database, plus an installer script called installer.php. Upload both files to httpdocs on your LJPc hosting and open yourdomain.com/installer.php in your browser. The wizard asks for the details of your new database, after which it unpacks and installs the site. Afterwards, remove installer.php and the archive again, for security reasons.

All-in-One WP Migration

Install this plugin on both your old and your new site. On the old site you choose Export and then File, which gives you a .wpress file. On the new site you choose Import and then File to load that file in. Note that the free version imports files up to 512 MB. If your site is larger, use Duplicator or the manual method above.

Because your domain name stays the same, these plugins do not need to rewrite any addresses. You still change your DNS as in step 8, and the SSL certificate follows automatically as in step 9.

Migrating with no downtime: the key tips

• Lower the TTL of your DNS 24 to 48 hours in advance, so the change comes through quickly later.
• Set everything up on the new server and test your site first, before you change the DNS.
• Keep your old hosting active for at least 24 to 48 hours after the DNS change.
• Choose a quiet moment for the switch, in the evening or at the weekend for example.
• Only cancel your old hosting once the new site works for everyone and your email still arrives.

Common mistakes and how to fix them

Would you rather not migrate your website yourself? LJPc helps you with the migration for free and moves your site across with no downtime. Stuck somewhere during the move? Feel free to contact support, and we will be glad to help you out.