Overview
DreamHost has partnered with the makers of BlogVault to provide DreamHost Automated Migration, a free WordPress plugin that allows you to quickly and easily migrate your WordPress site to DreamHost.
The DreamHost Automated Migration plugin works with most WordPress sites—if you believe you might have an unusual site configuration or web host, see the FAQs section at the end of the article for possible solutions.
Add a hosting plan
You must have an active account and hosting plan at DreamHost in order to use the Automated Migration plugin. If you are not yet a DreamHost customer, see the following article for more information on how you can sign up for a DreamHost account:
Watch before you begin
Migrations are fast and free with the DreamHost Automated Migration plugin. The following walk-through videos show you how to migrate your site to either a Shared or DreamPress plan:
DreamPress
Shared
The following describes in detail how to use the DreamHost Automated Migration plugin.
Getting started
The source site (i.e., where you are migrating from) must use https:// in order to migrate to DreamHost.
Be sure to do the following before you install the DreamHost Automated Migration plugin:
- Test and install all available updates for WordPress, including all installed themes and plugins. Make sure your site has no errors or hacked code.
- To avoid any downtime on your site, keep the domain's DNS pointed at your old host until the migration is complete and you’ve had a chance to look at the migrated site at DreamHost.
How to install the DreamHost Automated Migration plugin
Step 1 — Finding your DreamHost account information
The following explains what information you need and where to find it in the DreamHost web panel.
- If you haven't already, Add Hosting to your domain in your DreamHost panel.
- If you manually added hosting to your domain, install WordPress using the DreamHost WordPress installer.
The plugin requires that the DreamHost WordPress install is located on the domain or the subdomain’s main directory instead of a subdirectory.
- It's okay to do this while your domain is hosted at your old host. Adding hosting at DreamHost does not affect your current hosting. Your existing site will remain live for now.
- If you are concerned about affecting your existing live site, you can add a temporary subdomain name ending with .dream.press (for DreamPress sites), or .dreamhosters.com for all other hosting plans. Please note that creating a temporary test site will create extra work at the end of the process since you'll have to update your database to the correct URL.
- Make sure the user assigned to your domain is either an SFTP or Shell user. An FTP user will cause the migration to fail.
- Locate your Migration Key in the DreamHost panel:
- DreamPress plans: Navigate to the Managed WordPress page. Click the Manage button to the right of your domain, click the Migration tab on the next page, and then click the blue Generate Migration Key button.
- All other plans: Navigate to the Manage Websites page and follow these steps:
- Click the Manage button to open the Manage Websites page, which allows you to adjust various settings for your site.
- Click the Website tab.
- Find the Migrating this site to DreamHost? section (in the WordPress box).
- Click the Get Key button.
If the token fails, try using the SFTP method described below and then Contact Support.
Step 2 — Installing and activating the plugin
To install and activate the DreamHost Automated Migration plugin on the WordPress site at your old host:
- Open the WordPress Admin Dashboard for your site.
- Select 'Plugins > Add New' in the left horizontal navigation bar.
- Type 'DreamHost Automated Migration' in the search field box at the upper right.
- Click the Install Now button in the box when it appears.
- Click the Activate button.
- The Migrate Your Sites to DreamHost page opens:
- Enter the following:
- Email — An email address where you would like to receive notifications about migration status and completion.
- Migration Token — The Migration Key obtained from your DreamHost panel.
- Review and agree (by clicking the checkbox) to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy if you agree and wish to continue.
- Click the Migrate button when finished.
- Migration Key: Enter your Migration token.
- The four options are optional and should only be filled out if needed.
- Source Website Password Protected: Is your source website password protected currently to simply view the homepage? - Generally, this is not password protected
- Destination Website Password Protected: Is your destination website password protected currently to simply view the homepage? - Generally, this is not password protected
- Advanced Options: This generally does not need to be filled out.
- Add folders: This option allows you to select non-WordPress core-specific files, in the event you have a custom setup.
- Bookmark the URL to check your migration's progress and close the browser tab or window while it is running.
Most migrations take under an hour to complete, but if your site is larger than a couple of GBs of data, it could take more than an hour. Once it completes, you will receive a notification email to the address you entered during the step above.
Checking your migrated site and making it live on DreamHost
If your domain is the same at DreamHost and the old host
You can view your migrated site on the DreamHost server by editing your hosts file. See the following article for more information:
Once you are satisfied with the migrated site, change your domain's DNS to point to DreamHost.
For more information on how to change your nameservers at your current host, see the following article:
If you chose a different domain name at DreamHost from the old host
You can use a different domain name to view your site at DreamHost while the current site remains live. Make sure any new domain name you chose is already using DreamHost DNS records.
If you are using a temporary subdomain name ending in .dreamhosters.com or .dream.press
You can use the temporary subdomain name to immediately view the migrated site.
- DreamPress domains: when you are ready to make your site live at DreamHost using your real domain, follow these instructions to rename your domain.
- All other hosting plans: when you are ready to make your site live on DreamHost using your real domain name, follow these instructions to rename your domain.
Migrating with FTP, SFTP, or SSH credentials
The following steps describe how to migrate your site using FTP, SFTP, or SSH credentials.
Step 1 — Locate your DreamHost credentials
Locate the following information about your DreamHost account:
- FTP/SFTP/SSH User: Navigate to the Hosted Domains page. Make a note of your user to the right of your domain (shown as 'User: name').
- Host/Server Address: Click the user name to open the 'Editing User' page. Your server name is shown in parentheses next to your user name at the top (e.g., 'on servername'). Use the following server-address format depending on the type of hosting plan you have:
- Shared Hosting plan — servername.dreamhost.com
- DreamPress or VPS plan — servername.dreamhostps.com
- Dedicated Server plan — servername.dreamservers.com
- Destination Server FTP IP: View the Viewing your DreamHost DNS records article for steps on how to view your website's IP address.
- FTP, SFTP, or SSH: Make a note of the type of user assigned to your domain.
- FTP/SFTP/SSH Password: Set a password for this user and click Save Changes. Keep this information ready to enter in the next step.
Step 2 — Enter your DreamHost credentials at your old host
- Visit the DreamHost Automated Migration plugin’s page at your old host’s WordPress site.
- The Migrate Your Sites to DreamHost settings page opens:
- Enter an email address where you would like to receive notifications about migration status and completion.
- Check the box to agree to the terms of service.
- Click the Migrate button when finished.
- On the top right, click the link titled Manually Input Host Details.
- The following page appears
- Enter the following:
- Destination Site URL — The web address for your site. Usually, this is the same address as your site on your current host. If you are using a DreamHost temporary subdomain (dream.press or dreamhosters.com) or if you will be changing your domain for your site, use that address instead. Make sure to enter https:// at the beginning of the web address if you plan to use an SSL certificate.
- Destination Server FTP IP — The server address. See above for further details.
- FTP Type — Select FTP for FTP users. Select SFTP for SFTP/SSH users.
- FTP Username — The user name. See above for further details.
- FTP Password — The password. See above for further details.
- The four options are optional and should only be filled out if needed.
- Source Website Password Protected: Is your source website password protected currently to simply view the homepage? - Generally, this is not password protected
- Destination Website Password Protected: Is your destination website password protected currently to simply view the homepage? - Generally, this is not password protected
- Advanced Options: This generally does not need to be filled out.
- Add folders: This option allows you to select non-WordPress core-specific files, in the event you have a custom setup.
- Bookmark the URL to check your migration's progress and close the browser tab or window while it is running.
FAQs
Can I use this plugin to migrate a WordPress multisite?
Yes, the Migrate to DreamHost plugin allows the migration of a WordPress network or Multisite install. After installing the plugin, make sure to 'Network Activate' it to ensure it can run from the Network Admin dashboard. However, please note the following considerations:
- The migration must move the whole network to DreamHost. It does not allow the migration of individual subsites, or the import of a subsite into a different network.
- The recommended hosting plans for WordPress Multisite are a DreamHost VPS, Dedicated, or DreamCompute. Multisite installs on Shared and DreamPress plans are not recommended or supported.
- DreamHost Support does not offer technical assistance with Multisite installs.
Are there any restrictions or limitations?
The plugin will work with the vast majority of WordPress sites, themes, plugins, and configurations. However, please note that you cannot migrate the following types of sites using this plugin:
- WordPress sites set up at WordPress.com
- Sites built using Wix, Weebly, SquareSpace, Joomla, or other site builders
- WordPress sites developed in local environments (e.g., ServerPress)
WordPress sites set up at WordPress.com cannot be migrated using this or any other plugin as an exact copy of the original site to any other host. You can, however, import the content of your pages, posts, and embedded images using the instructions found on this page.
Your site must already be a WordPress site in order to migrate an exact copy of your site using this or any other plugin. This means that the Migrate to DreamHost plugin cannot be used to migrate other types of sites, such as those built using Wix, Weebly, SquareSpace, Joomla, or other site builders.
At this time, you can migrate a WordPress site of any size using this plugin. Please note the time to complete the migration increases for larger sites.
