Migrate a WordPress Site to a New Host (No FTP Needed)

Changing hosts usually means exporting a database, dragging gigabytes over FTP, re-uploading, importing, and then hunting down every old URL. BackupEase Pro replaces all of that with a pull migration that the new server drives itself.

What you'll have when you finish

Your entire site, running on the new host: files and database pulled directly over HTTPS, the database imported for you, every old URL rewritten, and wp-config.php updated automatically, with no FTP to the old server at any point.

Prerequisites: BackupEase Pro on the new (destination) site, and the free BackupEase plugin active on the old (source) site.
You'll need access to: a WordPress admin account on both sites. Optional SSH or SFTP credentials speed up large transfers.
Time: 15 to 60 minutes depending on site size and connection speed.

The walkthrough

Prepare the destination site
Generate a key on the old site
Connect and run from the new site
Verify the new site

This uses BackupEase Pro Migration runs on the new site with BackupEase Pro. New to the plugin? Start with Installing BackupEase.

1. Prepare the destination site

Fresh WordPress: on the new host, set up a clean WordPress install at the domain (or a temporary URL) you will migrate into.

Activate Pro: install the free BackupEase plugin, then BackupEase Pro, and activate both.

2. Generate a key on the old site

Open migration: on the old site, go to BackupEase › Migration.

Generate the key: click Generate Migration Key to create a single-use key valid for 24 hours, then copy the key and note the source site URL.

3. Connect and run from the new site

Everything else happens on the destination, in a three-step wizard: Source Site, Destination Site, Run Migration.

Open the wizard: on the new site, go to BackupEase › Migration.

Connect and test: paste the source URL and migration key, then click Test connection. On success it reports the source's file count, database size, and WordPress version.

Optional, add SSH/SFTP: for large sites, supply SSH or SFTP credentials for a faster direct file transfer, and test that connection too.

Run it: start the migration and confirm the warning that the destination will be overwritten. Watch the stages as it pulls files, imports the database, runs the search-replace, and rewrites wp-config.php. Keep the page open.

Interrupted? It resumes Progress is saved as it runs, so if the connection drops or the browser closes, reopen the Migration page and start again to continue from where it stopped. Full detail is in One-Click Site Migration.

4. Verify the new site

When it reports success, the page reloads to refresh your session. Then run through this checklist:

Log in with the old site's username and password.
Re-save Settings › Permalinks.
Click through key pages, images, and forms to confirm the URL rewrite caught everything.
Confirm SSL is active on the new domain, then clear any cache or CDN.

Point DNS last Migrate and verify before switching DNS, so visitors only ever see the finished, working site on the new host. The migration key is single-use, so generate a fresh one on the source if you need to run it again.

Where to go from here

A host move that used to take an afternoon of FTP and find-and-replace is now a guided wizard the new server runs on its own. Once you have arrived, set up automated backups on the new home so you are protected from day one.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need FTP access to the old host?

No. The new site pulls everything over HTTPS using the migration key. FTP or SFTP is only an optional speed-up for very large sites.

Does the migration change my login details?

No. After migrating, you log in to the new site with the same username and password you used on the old site.

How big a site can it handle?

Files and the database are streamed in chunks and never loaded fully into memory, so the practical limit is disk space on the destination server.

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