How to Migrate a WordPress Site to WP Engine (Site Migration Plugin)
Move a WordPress site to WP Engine with its free Site Migration plugin: prepare the WP Engine environment, connect the old site, run the migration, then go live.
- wp-engine
- migration
WP Engine's Site Migration plugin copies a WordPress site from your old host into a WP Engine environment. You generate connection details in the WP Engine User Portal and paste them into the plugin on the old site.
Requirements
Both the old site and the WP Engine environment should meet these minimums:
- WordPress 5.0
- PHP 7.4
- MySQL 8.0
- WP REST API enabled
Use Chrome, Firefox, Safari, or Edge; Internet Explorer is not supported.
Step 1: Prepare the WP Engine environment
- In the User Portal, open Sites and click the destination environment name.
- In the secondary left menu, select Site migration (you may need to expand Manage).
- Open the Automated migration tab and click Install plugin.
- When you see the success message, copy the connection information.
New to WP Engine? See how to sign up for WP Engine first.
Step 2: Install the plugin on your old site
- In the User Portal, download the Site Migration plugin ZIP file.
- Log in to wp-admin on your old host's site.
- Go to Plugins → Add New Plugin → Upload Plugin, choose the ZIP file, and click Install Now.
- Click Activate Plugin.
Step 3: Run the migration
- In the old site's wp-admin, select Site Migration from the sidebar.
- Click START A NEW MIGRATION.
- Paste the connection information and click CONNECT.
- Choose Migrate the full WordPress site (recommended) or Customize the migration if you need to include root files or exclude specific tables or files.
- Optionally add an email address for status notifications.
- Click Start Migration.
Step 4: Test, then go live
Test the site on WP Engine. If the old site changed since the migration, you can run a second migration to sync it. Then add your domain in the User Portal and point DNS to WP Engine. SSL and CDN are added automatically when DNS points to WP Engine's advanced network or Global Edge Security.
For online stores, WP Engine suggests choosing I'll point this later at the DNS step and running a final sync with the old site in maintenance mode.
If the plugin will not work
WP Engine documents a manual migration checklist in the User Portal, and its support team is available 24/7.
See what WP Engine costs after the first annual term on the WP Engine renewal price page.
Source: How to Migrate Sites with the Plugin (WP Engine Support).
