Overview
The following describes how to create a temporary DreamPress domain at DreamHost for your WordPress site hosted at another company.
Background
If you have a WordPress site hosted at another provider, you won't change your DNS at the other hosting company until your DreamPress site is completely configured at DreamHost. Otherwise, your site will go down when you update the DNS.
To help you test your site before switching DNS, you can now use a dream.press subdomain to create your site at DreamHost. Then, when you're ready, you can easily switch your DNS to DreamHost to have it hosted on DreamPress.
Benefits of using a dream.press subdomain
Creating a dream.press subdomain allows you to migrate your entire website and ensure it's functioning properly before you make it live at DreamHost. You can then update the DNS to point to DreamHost, which avoids any downtime when changing your DNS.
When setting URLs within wp-admin for a temporary dream.press subdomain, use https://example.dream.press (replace 'example' with your subdomain and do NOT include the 'www' in the URL). If your real domain uses 'www', you can change it later when you're ready to move it to the real URL.
Creating a dream.press subdomain
To create a dream.press subdomain:
- Navigate to the Manage Account page.
- To the right of your DreamPress plan, click the Manage button.
- Within the Sites under this plan section, click Add Site.
- To the right of Add a New Domain, click Continue.
- Select Free Temporary Domain.
- Enter a temporary dream.press domain name.
- Click Add to DreamPress.
A confirmation message appears, followed by further instructions sent to your email address. You must wait until the setup completes in your panel before proceeding.
Importing your WordPress site
Once your dream.press subdomain is added, continue with the following steps:
- Import the existing WordPress site into this temporary DreamPress site.
- After your site content is migrated, test the example.dream.press site to confirm it works as intended.
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If you're migrating from another hosting company, add your current site (example.com) to the Manage Websites page as DNS Only.
DO NOT add hosting for your real domain. If you do, you will not be able to migrate your temporary site.
- Change your temporary domain to your live site when you're ready.
If you are having trouble migrating your website from another host, or just don't have the time, DreamHost currently offers a service that takes care of that for you. You can find more information in the DreamHost Website migration services article.