Move WordPress From Your Computer to a Live Site by Hand

What is a local server?

A local server is a small web server that runs on your own computer. Tools like XAMPP or Local create one. It lets you build a site in private. Nobody else can see it until you move it to a real host.

A WordPress site has two parts. The first part is the files, such as themes, plugins and pictures. The second part is the database. A database is like a big filing cabinet that stores your posts, pages and settings.

Before you start

• Your domain name should already point to your hosting account.
• Find your cPanel login in your welcome email. Ask Hostvento support if you cannot find it.
• Keep a copy of your local site folder. Never work on your only copy.

Steps

Part 1: Get your files and database ready

1. Open your local site folder. It is often called htdocs or public_html.

   

2. Select all the files inside and make a ZIP file.
3. Open phpMyAdmin on your computer. It is a web tool for managing databases.
4. Click your WordPress database in the left list.
5. Click Export, then Go. A .sql file downloads.

Part 2: Create a new database on your host

1. Log in to cPanel and open MySQL Databases.

   

2. Create a new database and a new user with a strong password.

   

   

3. Add the user to the database and choose All Privileges.
4. Write down the database name, user name and password.

Part 3: Upload and import

1. Open File Manager in cPanel and go to public_html.
2. Click Upload and add your ZIP file.
3. Right-click the ZIP file and choose Extract.
4. Open phpMyAdmin in cPanel and click your new database.
5. Click Import, choose your .sql file and click Go.

   

Part 4: Fix the settings

1. In File Manager, right-click wp-config.php and choose Edit.
2. Change DB_NAME, DB_USER and DB_PASSWORD to the new details.
3. Save the file.
4. In phpMyAdmin, open the table wp_options. Your table prefix may differ.

   

   

5. Change the values of siteurl and home to your live address, for example https://example.com.

   

6. Visit your domain and check the site.

   

   

Warning: Importing into a database that already holds data can overwrite it. Take a backup first.

Quick recap

• Zip your local files and export your database.
• Create a new database and user in cPanel.
• Upload and extract the files, then import the database.
• Update wp-config.php and the siteurl and home values.

  

• Ask Hostvento support if you get stuck.