Standalone Importer Steps
There are 6 Standalone Importer steps to go through for a successful migration/restoration. You’ve actually already covered the first step by entering your password and selecting your backup file.
Step 1 – Authentication Required & Choose Your Backup File
You’ll be prompted to enter your Standalone Importer password to continue.
Step 1 also prompts you to choose your backup file for the migration. These file options are divided into three tabs: Server, Upload and Stash.
Note: During Step 1 you’ll find Advanced Options. Select any optional advanced options if needed or directed by technical support.
Once you’ve selected your Advanced Options or if you do not need to select any of these options, click Next Step.
Step 2 – Unzipping Backup File
This step unzips the backup file. There is nothing you need to do for this step. Just select Next Step once the extraction has completed
Step 3 – URL and Database Settings
This is where you will enter the database settings for the new location.
Enter the following URL settings:
WordPress Address – This is the address where you want the final WordPress site you are restoring/migrating to reside. Ex: http://foo.com/wp
Use optional custom site address (Home URL)? – OPTIONAL. This is also known as the site address. This is the home address where your main site resides. This may differ from your WordPress URL. For example: http://foo.com
Enter the following Database Settings:
These settings control where your backed up database will be restored to. If you are restoring to the same server, the settings below will import the database to your existing WordPress database location, overwriting your existing WordPress database already on the server. If you are moving to a new host you will need to create a database to import into. The database settings MUST be unique for each WordPress installation. If you use the same settings for multiple WordPress installations then all blog content and settings will be shared, causing conflicts!
MySQL Server – This is the address to the mySQL server where your database will be stored. 99% of the time this is localhost. The location of your mySQL server will be provided to you by your host if it differs. WordPress has a list of known values and examples here.
Database Name – This is the name of the database you want to import your blog into. The database user must have permissions to be able to access this database. If you are migrating this blog to a new host you will need to create this database (ie using CPanel or PHPMyAdmin) and create a MySQL database user with permissions.
Database User – This is the database user account that has permission to access the database name in the input above. This user must be given permission to this database for the import to work.
Database Password – This is the password for the database user.
Database Prefix – This is the prefix given to all tables in the database. If you are cloning the site on the same server AND the same database name then you will want to change this or else the imported database will overwrite the existing tables.
If you haven’t set up a database for the new location, but have access to cPanel for the new site, you can create your new database through cPanel in the Standalone Importer’s Step 3. To create your database, click the Have cPanel? Click to create a database button.
In the window that opens, you can automatically create a database along with a new database user with permissions. Fill out the required information and then click Create Database.
Once you’ve entered all the new database information or created your new database, click Next Step.
Note: Advanced options are also available during Step 3. These advanced options allow customizations of various Standalone Importer functionality for custom purposes or troubleshooting. Exercise caution as some advanced options may have unforeseen effects if not used properly, such as overwriting existing files or erasing existing database content.
Step 4 – Database Import
Step 4 imports the database information into the database of your new site. Once the import is completed, click the Next Step button.
If step 4 does not complete, the number one reason is mistyped credentials. Definitely triple-check those. Another reason this step might fail is that your host has an extra layer of protection around writing to the database, like approved IP addresses or similar.
The SolidWP support team can definitely help with tips, but your web host might need to allow temporary exceptions for this step to run.
Step 5 – Database Migration
This step updates all of the URLs, paths, etc. on your site to match your new site.
Before you move to the final step, be sure to go to your new site and check all of your links to ensure they have changed. You may view your entire import log for providing to support by clicking the View Import Log button.
Once you’ve tested your new site, you can move to the final step by clicking Clean up & remove temporary files.
Step 6 – Final Cleanup
Step 6 removes any temporary files from your new site that were used for the migration. Your site will then be ready at the URL indicated on that page.
