There’s no doubt that WordPress is the go-to platform when it comes to building websites and blogs—according to BuiltWith, it powers almost 60% of all the sites on the internet. And once you’ve chosen WordPress, you’ll need to choose what type of hosting plan works best for your needs. However, there are two types of managed WordPress hosting plans that can be easily confused with each other if you don’t know what you’re looking at. Read on to find out how to convert your WordPress site from one managed hosting plan to another in just three easy steps!
Intro
Not all hosting providers are made the same. The hard part is, it’s hard to know what you’re getting until you try them out. To make your decision easier, here’s a guide on how to convert your WordPress site over from one host to another. It may seem daunting at first, but I’ll make it easy for you with these tips. The best place to start is by asking yourself: Why do I want new hosting?
Read up on your current provider
Before making any major changes, it’s always a good idea to review your current provider’s guidelines for making an account transfer. In most cases, transferring your site will be as simple as finding your send my data to another hosting company option in their control panel or support area.
Choose the right provider
If you’re in need of help managing your website, you have two primary options: self-hosted and managed hosting. The biggest difference between them is that managed hosting providers take care of everything for you (including security and backups), while self-hosted solutions require regular maintenance on your part. Which route you go depends on your expertise with WordPress, as well as what kind of support structure exists around you.
Transfer the files
If you currently have your site hosted on a shared server, transferring your files over to our managed hosting platform is easy—but it’s not an automatic process. Here’s how to do it
Check out your new site
Before making any sweeping changes, take some time to test your site out on your new host. If you notice anything that looks off or doesn’t work like it used to, open up an account with support and let them know. They’ll be able to help you fix any errors you encounter.
Update any plugins
For security reasons, make sure you are running up-to-date versions of all your plugins. Older plugins and themes can be problematic because they haven’t been tested for newer versions of WordPress. If your site is hosted on an older version of WordPress, it’s likely that you need to update some or all of your plugins and themes. As with anything tech-related, be sure to back up your site before making any changes or upgrades.
Update SEO settings (if applicable)
If you were managing your site’s SEO from within your WP dashboard, you’ll now need to make sure it’s all up-to-date. Things like title tags and meta descriptions have an impact on your SEO rankings, so be sure these are being managed correctly by your host. If not, update them using Yoast SEO or another plugin. Then visit Google Search Console and verify that everything is in order there as well. At that point, you should be good to go!
Change nameservers (if applicable)
Before you convert your site, make sure your domain name’s nameservers are pointed at Bluehost. This can be done by logging into your domain account and looking for nameserver options. If you don’t see any and if someone else set up your domain, contact them for assistance.
Add emails (if applicable)
One of the most important elements of your email marketing strategy is building an opt-in list. This allows you to market directly to your users, getting them invested in your product or service before they’ve even had a chance to sign up for it. And with managed hosting plans, adding emails is easy. Just choose your plan and enter your domain name.
Enjoy!
Once you’ve successfully switched your site over to a managed host, there are still many reasons you should consider staying. If you’re currently hosting your site on a VPS (virtual private server) or shared server, you may have had difficulty when trying to optimize and tweak certain features of your website.
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