How to Migrate a WordPress Site to SiteGround (Free Migrator Plugin)

SiteGround moves WordPress sites with its free SiteGround Migrator plugin. You generate a token in SiteGround, paste it into the plugin on your old site, and the plugin copies everything into a new SiteGround site. Your current site stays live the whole time.

Check that your site can use the Migrator

The SiteGround Migrator is not suitable for:

• Sites hosted on WordPress.com
• Sites built locally on your own computer
• WordPress Multisite installations

For those, SiteGround points to its WordPress.com transfer guide or a manual transfer.

Step 1: Generate a migration token in SiteGround

1. Open Site Tools for your SiteGround site, then go to WordPress → Migrator.
2. Select your domain from the drop-down. Leave Path as it is unless WordPress lives in a subfolder.
3. Click Generate, then Copy the token.

New to SiteGround? You can also get a token from the setup wizard: in the Client Area, click Set Up Site, enter your domain, choose Migrate Website with Superfast WordPress Automigration, click Continue, and copy the token. Do not point your domain to SiteGround yet. If you still need a plan, see how to sign up for SiteGround.

Step 2: Install the plugin on your old site

1. Log in to the WordPress dashboard of the site you are moving.
2. Go to Plugins → Add New, then install and activate SiteGround Migrator.

Step 3: Start the transfer

1. Open SiteGround Migrator in the left sidebar.
2. Paste the token and enter an email address for the completion notice.
3. Click Initiate Transfer.

If the site URL will change, for example from www to non-www, the plugin shows a warning. Confirm it and click Continue. You can close the browser during the transfer and check progress in the plugin later.

Step 4: Test on the temporary URL

When the transfer finishes, SiteGround gives you a temporary URL that stays active for 48 hours. Use it to click through pages, test forms, and log in to the admin before visitors reach the new copy.

Step 5: Switch your domain to SiteGround

Change your domain's nameservers to:

• ns1.siteground.net
• ns2.siteground.net

You will find these in the plugin, the completion email, and your Client Area. Changing nameservers moves your whole DNS zone to SiteGround, so add any email or other custom DNS records in SiteGround's DNS zone editor first. Avoid editing the site for 48 hours after the switch so no changes are lost while DNS propagates.

After the move

• Check that email still works, and recreate mailboxes if you are moving email to SiteGround.
• Cancel the old host only after DNS has fully switched.

Want to see what SiteGround costs after the first year? See the SiteGround renewal price breakdown.

Source: How To Easily Migrate WordPress with WordPress Automatic Migrator (SiteGround Tutorials).