Skip to main content

Migrate Your WordPress Site to HostBible

Step‑by‑step WordPress migration from any host to HostBible using (File Manager & phpMyAdmin): full site backup, MySQL export/import

C
Written by Christopher Handscomb
Updated over 3 months ago

Who this is for

Customers moving an existing WordPress site from another web host to HostBible using standard cPanel tools. This guide avoids proprietary “transfer/migration” wizards and walks you through a reliable, end‑to‑end manual move.

What you’ll need

  • cPanel access at your old host and at HostBible

  • WordPress admin login (optional but helpful)

  • A computer with a stable internet connection

  • Ability to update DNS at your domain registrar (or your DNS provider)

Overview (high level)

  1. Prepare the site (clean up, lower DNS TTL, note PHP version).

  2. Back up files and export the WordPress database at your old host.

  3. Create a database at HostBible.

  4. Upload your site files to HostBible and import the database.

  5. Update wp-config.php with the new DB credentials.

  6. Preview the site on HostBible (before going live).

  7. Search‑replace old URLs (safely) and fix permalinks.

  8. Point DNS to HostBible and issue SSL (AutoSSL).

  9. Check email and other services.

  10. Troubleshoot and finalize.

Step 0 — Pre‑migration checklist (recommended but optional)

  • Update WordPress, themes, plugins at your old host.

  • Disable/clear caching & firewalls temporarily (e.g., caching plugins, WAF maintenance mode).

  • Note your PHP version in use. In HostBible cPanel, choose a matching or newer version: cPanel → Select PHP Version.

  • Lower DNS TTL to ~300 seconds at your DNS provider (if possible) so the later DNS cutover propagates faster.

  • Confirm disk/database size so your HostBible plan has enough space.

Step 1 — Back up files at the old host

  1. Log in to cPanel (old host) → File Manager.

  2. Open your site’s document root (often public_html or an addon-domain folder).

  3. Select all WordPress files and folders (including hidden .htaccess).

  4. Click Compress → choose Zip → download the .zip to your computer.

    • Tip: If the site is very large, you can download via FTP/SFTP instead, but a zip is faster to upload later.

Step 2 — Export the WordPress database at the old host

Option A: phpMyAdmin (most common)

  1. cPanel (old host) → phpMyAdmin.

  2. Select the WordPress database (on the left).

  3. Click Export → Quick → SQL → Go to download the .sql file.

Option B: cPanel Backup tool (if enabled)

  • cPanel → Backup → Download a MySQL Database Backup → pick your WP DB.

  • If restore is disabled at HostBible, stick with Option A.

Not sure which database is yours? Check wp-config.php in File Manager for the DB_NAME value.

Step 3 — Prepare your domain at HostBible

  1. Log in to HostBible cPanel.

  2. If this domain is the account’s primary domain, the root is typically public_html.

    • For an addon domain: cPanel → Domains → Create/Add Domain → choose a document root (e.g., /home/username/mydomain.com).

  3. (Optional) If you plan a temporary staging path, create a subdomain (e.g., migrate.yourdomain.com) and use that document root for testing.

Step 4 — Create a fresh database at HostBible

  1. cPanel → MySQL® Databases.

  2. Create New Database (note the exact name).

  3. MySQL Users → Create New User with a strong password.

  4. Add User to Database → All Privileges.

  5. Keep these for the next step:

    • DB_NAME

    • DB_USER

    • DB_PASSWORD

    • DB_HOST (usually localhost on cPanel)

Step 5 — Upload your files to HostBible

  1. cPanel → File Manager → open the target document root.

  2. Click Upload and upload the .zip you created earlier.

  3. After upload, select the .zip → Extract.

  4. Ensure wp-config.php, wp-content, and .htaccess are present.

    • If WordPress was in a subfolder at the old host, maintain the same structure or adjust site URLs later.

Step 6 — Import the database at HostBible

  1. cPanel → phpMyAdmin.

  2. Select the new database you created in Step 4.

  3. Click Import → Choose the .sql dump from Step 2 → Go.

    • If the file is very large, you can compress it as .zip or .gz before import, or split it into parts.

Step 7 — Update wp-config.php

In File Manager, edit wp-config.php in your site root and update these lines to match Step 4:

define( 'DB_NAME', 'your_hb_dbname' ); define( 'DB_USER', 'your_hb_dbuser' ); define( 'DB_PASSWORD', 'your_strong_password' ); define( 'DB_HOST', 'localhost' ); // typical on cPanel

Save changes. If your table prefix was customized (e.g., wpyt_), confirm the same prefix exists in the imported database.

Step 8 — Preview the site on HostBible (before DNS cutover)

You have two safe options:

A) Hosts file preview (zero public downtime)

  • Find your HostBible server IP in cPanel (often shown under General Information).

  • Edit your computer’s hosts file to map yourdomain.com and www.yourdomain.com to that IP.

  • Visit the site in your browser → only you will see the HostBible copy.

  • Remove the hosts entries after testing.

B) Temporary subdomain (if set up in Step 3)

  • Log into WordPress → Settings → General → change WordPress Address (URL) and Site Address (URL) to the temporary subdomain.

  • Test thoroughly. You’ll switch back to the real domain just before DNS cutover.

Step 9 — Fix URLs (search & replace) and permalinks

WordPress stores absolute URLs in the database. After import, you may need to update the old domain to the new domain (or to the temporary preview domain if you used one).

Safest (no code):

  • Log into the new WordPress at HostBible → Plugins → Add New → install Better Search Replace (or a similar tool).

  • Search for: http://olddomain.com and https://olddomain.com

  • Replace with: https://newdomain.com (or your temporary preview URL)

  • Run a dry run first, then run the replacement.

  • Finally, visit Settings → Permalinks and click Save (no change needed) to rebuild .htaccess.

Why a plugin? It safely handles serialized data, which manual SQL “find & replace” can corrupt.
​Advanced users: If you have WP‑CLI on HostBible, wp search-replace handles serialization too.

Step 10 — Go live: update DNS to point to HostBible

Choose one approach:

Option 1: Change nameservers to HostBible

  • Use the nameservers provided in your HostBible Welcome email or client portal.

  • Update nameservers at your domain registrar.

  • All DNS records (A, MX, etc.) will follow HostBible’s zone.

Option 2: Keep your existing DNS provider and update only the A/AAAA records

  • Point yourdomain.com and www to your HostBible server IP (from cPanel).

  • This keeps email and other records as‑is at your current DNS provider.

After DNS is updated and propagates, visitors will reach the site on HostBible.

Step 11 — Issue/verify SSL (HTTPS) at HostBible

  1. Once the domain resolves to HostBible, open cPanel → SSL/TLS Status (or Let’s Encrypt if present).

  2. Click Run AutoSSL (or ensure it ran automatically).

  3. In WordPress, set Settings → General to use https:// URLs.

  4. If you see mixed‑content warnings, run the search‑replace again for http:// → https:// or use a trusted plugin to force HTTPS.

Step 12 — Email considerations (if you use domain email)

  • If you will host email at HostBible, recreate the mailboxes in cPanel before changing nameservers so mail isn’t bounced during cutover.

  • If email stays with a third‑party (e.g., Microsoft 365, Google Workspace), ensure MX and related records remain pointed to that provider (Option 2 above is simplest).

  • To bring over old messages from the previous host, connect both accounts via IMAP in a mail client and drag‑copy folders, or use an IMAP migration tool.

Step 13 — Post‑migration checks

  • WordPress admin loads and shows HostBible IP when you check your site via a header‑checking tool (or hosts preview).

  • Media loads correctly (no broken images).

  • Permalinks work (no 404s).

  • Contact forms send mail (configure SMTP if needed).

  • Caching/CDN re‑enabled (Cloudflare, caching plugins).

  • PHP version set appropriately in cPanel → Select PHP Version.

  • Cron jobs re‑created if you had custom crons.

  • Robots.txt and .htaccess rules intact.

Common issues & fixes

Error establishing a database connection

  • DB_NAME, DB_USER, DB_PASSWORD, DB_HOST in wp-config.php must match the HostBible DB + user + privileges.

  • Confirm the user has ALL PRIVILEGES on the database.

White screen / 500 errors

  • Temporarily rename /wp-content/plugins to /plugins.off to disable all plugins; then reactivate one by one.

  • Check Error Log in cPanel for recent PHP errors.

  • Make sure PHP version/extensions match what your site needs (try switching versions in cPanel).

Broken permalinks / 404s

  • WordPress → Settings → Permalinks → Save to rebuild rules.

  • Ensure .htaccess exists and is writable.

Mixed content after enabling SSL

  • Run search‑replace from http:// to https://.

  • Clear all caches (plugin, CDN, browser).

Uploads missing or won’t upload

  • Verify /wp-content/uploads exists and is writable (typically 755 directories, 644 files).

Wrong site opens (addon domains)

  • Confirm the document root for each domain in cPanel → Domains and that DNS for each domain points to HostBible.

Multisite

  • Update define('DOMAIN_CURRENT_SITE', 'yourdomain.com'); in wp-config.php and the domain paths in the database wp_blogs, wp_site, wp_sitemeta. Use a serialization‑safe search‑replace for all URLs.

Quick reference (copy/paste)

Typical wp-config.php DB lines

define( 'DB_NAME', 'hb_user_db' ); define( 'DB_USER', 'hb_user' ); define( 'DB_PASSWORD', 'yourStrongPass!' ); define( 'DB_HOST', 'localhost' ); $table_prefix = 'wp_'; // or your custom prefix

Places in cPanel you’ll use

  • File Manager

  • phpMyAdmin

  • MySQL® Databases

  • SSL/TLS Status (AutoSSL)

  • Domains (for addon domains / redirects)

  • Select PHP Version

  • Zone Editor (if you manage DNS at HostBible)

Final tidy‑up

  • Remove any maintenance plugins or temporary security rules.

  • Delete old backups from the webroot to save space (keep a local copy).

  • Cancel your old hosting plan only after confirming everything (including email) runs on HostBible.

Related Articles
Fix: “Error establishing a database connection” in WordPress (HostBible cPanel)
HostBible Guide: Fix WordPress “Error 500 – Internal Server Error” (cPanel)
Fix: “The uploaded file exceeds the maximum upload size for this site” (WordPress on cPanel)
HostBible Guide: Install WordPress on cPanel
WordPress performance on HostBible: get the most from LiteSpeed (no extra cache plugins)
Did this answer your question?