Easy way to migrate Joomla site to new server

Website owners often need the migration of their sites due to some business reasons.

The steps to migrate Joomla to new server involve copying of website files and databases.

However, careless migration could lead to improper working of the site. Don’t need that situation right?

We often get requests from our customers to migrate Joomla site to new server as part of our Server Migration Services.

Today let’s discuss how our Support Engineers migrate Joomla site to another server.

Steps to migrate Joomla site to a new server

Website migrations are essential to use enhanced features and latest technologies.

Therefore, the initial step in migrating a Joomla site to a new server is to take the backup of the website files and databases. As we all know, backup is essential to prevent the corruption of data.

But how do we take the backup?

Let’s move on and check the migration steps in detail.

Backup and Restoration of website files and databases with root access

Having root access on the server make things really easy.

We usually take the backup of files using the following tar command:

tar -czf username_backup.tar.gz  /home/username/public_html

Now, the backup will be available in the user’s home directory.

After compressing the core files of the Joomla website, we transfer it to the new server using the command scp.

Firstly, we move to the directory that contains the backup file and then executes the command,

scp username_backup.tar.gz remote_username@remote_IPaddress:/remote/directory

If the remote server uses a custom SSH port, then we need to specify the port in the command using -P argument.

Joomla is a database-driven CMS. So, the migration of databases is also crucial.

We generally take the backup of the database using the command:

mysqldump database_name > database_name.sql

This command keeps a copy of the database into a .sql file.

At the destination server, we restore the database backup using MySQL command.

mysql database_name < database_name.sql

Backup and Restoration of website files and databases without root access

When not having the root access, we always encourage customers to take a backup from the control panel. Let’s now check the steps to take the backup of files using Cpanel.

1. First, log into cPanel. Then, select Backups from the Files section.
2. After that, click on, Download a full website backup.
3. Next, choose the Home directory as the Backup destination.

Now we have generated the backup. After that, either uses FTP or the File Manager facility in cPanel to restore all the Joomla files to the new server.

For example, in cPanel,

We move to File Manager under the Files section. Choose the backup file and click on upload.

This is how we restore the Joomla files.

For the backup and restoration of databases without having root access, we use cPanel.

1. Firstly, we log in to the cPanel.
2. Then, we navigate to Backups>>Download a MySQL database backup
3. After that, we select the name of the database.
4. Finally, we choose the destination to save the backup.

To restore the database, we follow the below steps,

1. First of all, we log into cPanel and move to Backups.
2. Then, select the Browse option under Restore a MySQL database and choose the .sql.gz file that wants to restore.
3. Click on Open and then upload. Now the provided destination will contain the restored database.

phpMyAdmin also helps in importing and exporting the Joomla database. In phpMyAdmin, we select the database and choose the export tab. After that, we click on Save and Go.

Similarly, for restoration, we choose the database and click on the Import tab in PHPMyAdmin. We click on the Browse button and select the database file from the computer. And, proceed with the import of the database.

That completes the backup and restore using phpMyAdmin.

How we fix the common migration errors

At 1onlyhost, we see many customers getting errors while migrating Joomla files to a new server. Let’s check on how our Support Engineers fix some top errors.

1. Blank page error

Quite often users receive a blank page while loading the Joomla site after migration.

In general, variations in the PHP configuration of the source and destination servers end up in the Joomla blank page error.

Recently, one of our customers approached us with a blank page error on the Joomla site. On checking, our Support Engineers found that the missing PHP module was the problem. To find the real reason behind the blank page, we had to set the error reporting in Joomla configuration to the maximum. Finally reinstalling the PHP module resolved the Joomla blank page error.

Similarly, incorrect rules in .htaccess file cause Joomla blank page errors. Here, we fix the error by correcting the rules and syntax in the .htaccess file.

2. Incorrect Directory Structure

Blank page error in Joomla could also occur due to incorrect website directory structures.

Different servers have different directory structures. Joomla sites throw an error for incorrect directory structures. So while we migrate Joomla sites, our Support Engineers make sure that the files and folders have a proper directory structure.

3. Corrupted Joomla files

Joomla core files include administrator, cache, etc.

Sometimes, migration could lead to the corruption of Joomla core files. This causes an error while loading the site.

Then, our Support Engineers fix this error by upgrading the Joomla version or by re-restoring the backup.

[Need help in Joomla website migration? Our Migration Engineers are on stand-by.]

Conclusion

In short, migrating Joomla site to a new server includes copying website files and databases. Today we discussed how our Support Engineers migrate Joomla files to new server and how they fix the related errors.