Worry-Free Back Up and Security: How to Migrate WordPress Blog Content to WP Engine

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In order to have all security and back ups taken care of, WordPress users can sign up for services with WP Engine.
When first learning how WordPress operates, it is not uncommon for the complete beginner to feel overwhelmed. There are a plethora of plug-ins, hosting options, and website services available, and it can be difficult at the outset to know what exactly is needed.

When I set up my first blog, I read an article recommending Blue Host as the web host for my first WordPress blog. I really had no idea where WordPress ended and the web hosting services began. Taking the article’s advice on blind faith, I purchased a domain and web hosting services through Blue Host, which uses a C-panel to give the user control over the back-end processes of their website. If you know what you’re doing, this level of control is quite desirable.  

The first thing I taught myself on the C-panel was how to set up MX records. I wanted to use Google Apps for work as a professional e-mail address on my contact form, and this seemed like a good place to start. Setting this up successfully had me completely convinced that I had made the right web hosting decision. 

Unfortunately, my sense of elation was short lived. I wanted to make sure my security was in tip top shape before I launched my website. I had read that even one hack can affect where the site is ranked in Google search, which would in turn affect the site’s traffic numbers due to reduced visibility. As soon as I started learning about security plug-ins, I wanted to pull my hair out. There were options upon options, and multi-page tutorials on which combinations of back up and security plug-ins are compatible with each other, and which combinations will cause the site to crash or traffic to slow. I could see no easy way to make a decision, and I definitely didn’t want to devote hours of my time to the back end processes of my site. I wanted to simply focus on content.

Somehow, I stumbled across an article for WP Engine. After spending hours on teaching myself about website security technicalities, which files to back up, how often to do backups, and where to keep all this back-end information, I felt a palpable sense of relief. Apparently, one of the main selling points for WP Engine as a web hosting service is that they take care of all of this for the user. Site hack?  They’ll deal with it for you. Back ups? They already have your site on a schedule. Need to restore your data from a certain day? It’s a matter of a few easy clicks.  

Here's an overview of the site migration process steps:
 
  1.  Do not call to terminate your web hosting relationship with the first hosting provider just yet. First, sign up with a WP Engine plan suited to your site’s needs. My WP Engine informed me that if I had terminated my relationship with Blue Host first, it would have caused problems when I migrated my site.
  2. After signing up with WP Engine, log in to your dashboard. Install and activate the nifty WP Engine Migration Plug in. The WP Engine representative told me that all the content I had already built on my blog should transfer over smoothly.  
  3. Follow the steps in this migration tutorial by WP Engine: https://wpengine.com/support/wp-engine-automatic-migration/. The more existing content you have on your blog, the longer this process will take.  
  4. Point your DNS away from the old web host and toward WP Engine. After I asked very nicely, a Blue Host agent was willing and able to help me with this task.
  5. Enjoy your new hassle free security services, and turn your attention to your content.  
WP Engine did not endorse me or pay me to write this article. I am just this sincerely happy that I have no security head-aches. Happy blogging!
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Comments (1)

Kyle SantosQuality Assurance
CERTIFIED EXPERT

Commented:
Great job!

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