This guide builds on Webhosting – Basic Automatic Data Migration and assumes knowledge of the basic procedures described there.
In this article, you will learn:
- When to use expert automatic migration
- How to perform automatic migration in expert mode
- Common problems
- Frequently asked questions
Expert mode of automatic migration
You will most often use expert automatic migration for these reasons:
- You are migrating a custom website solution with PHP and MySQL/MariaDB databases, or another content management system besides WordPress.
- You want to run the website in a specific folder, subdomain, or as an alias.
- The original web hosting is located in a specific directory.
- The data entered in basic mode are not sufficient to complete the migration correctly.
A detailed guide to migrating a website as a web hosting alias can be found in the article Webhosting – Separate Websites for Aliases.
Performing migration in expert mode
Switch to expert mode using the Expert mode toggle in the web hosting automatic migration interface.
Expert mode gives you access to the following detailed settings:
Target folder (type) of migration
In expert mode, you can choose whether to migrate to the website root directory (the www folder) or to a subfolder for the given domain (www/domains/domena.tld, where domena.tld is the domain name of the migrated website).
If you want to migrate the website as a web hosting alias, choose the second option.
FTP and MySQL
Always enter the FTP credentials. In addition to the mandatory details required also in basic automatic migration, here you can change the port (if you use SFTP) and enter an alternative path to the files you want to migrate.
If your website uses a database, enter the access credentials for the corresponding MySQL/MariaDB database as well. As with FTP access, your current provider can supply them, or you can also find them in the website configuration files.
For websites using the WordPress content management system, you do not need to enter the database details; the script will load them automatically from the configuration file.
Location on WEDOS Webhosting
You will use this option when enabling Migration to a subfolder for the specified domain. Here you can set a specific subdomain, domain (alias), and any folder on the domain or subdomain where the website should be migrated.
Common problems
The following problems may occur during expert migration:
Database connection error
Problem: After the website migration, the database is not connected.
Cause: The migration script does not modify the configuration files of content management systems or other applications, except for WordPress.
Solution: Find the configuration file of the content management system and update the database login details. You can get them from the e-mail about its setup, or change them according to the guide Webhosting – Databases. Instructions for accessing the database configuration of common content management systems can be found in this community article ⧉.
Migration failure
Problem: Migration in both normal and expert mode ends with an error.
Solution: Send a description of your problem via the form ⧉. Include the website name and ideally attach screenshots ⧉ showing the error messages, or the non-functioning website.
Do not send login credentials until customer support requests them.
Frequently asked questions
Can I migrate a website with an MS-SQL database?
No, Webhosting supports only MariaDB and MySQL database solutions. If you encounter a compatibility problem with these database systems (too high/too low MySQL/MariaDB version), contact customer support ⧉. Specify the name of the web hosting and the required specific database version that your website needs for a successful migration.