Wordpress Migration 101

I have recently migrated my wordpress site to a new webhost and although my web-host provided me with a quick start guide, it will still be beneficial for me and other Wordpress users if there is specific set of instructions for Wordpress migration. As an IT geek, we call this “Documentation” and this is something we detest the most.

As I have completed most of the migration, I will jump straight  into those I have not completed yet. Watch this space as I will write about the earlier steps in due time.

Setup Email Accounts

1. Log into the cpanel of your web-host

2. Click on the Mail -> Email Accounts

3. Add a New Email Account. Enter the email address and a password for the account you would like to create. In the Quota field make sure to enter a suitable quota limit for your account.

4. Once your email account is created, you will have the option to manage it. i.e delete, change quota, change password or configure mail client.

5. The are 2 options to access to you email.

Option 1: Webmail

By far the easier option and one which I use.

• Your web-host will usually provide you with the URL for your webmail.  Most will usually use http://yourwebhost.com/webmail
• Your username is always usually the full email address created i.e. myname@mydomain.com. and password will be the one created earlier in step 3.
• Once you have logged in, select your mail program (Horde, SquirreMail or RoundCube). You can always click on help for more information.

*Hint:  Do check out the personal settings or user preferences in your webmail. That’s where I set up my local time zone and also ensure that all my mails are composed in html format which is fairly important for me.

Option 2:  Configure a POP3 Mail Client

You may use virtually any POP3 client such as Outlook 2003, Outlook Express, or Thunderbird to access your email.

The process of setting up an account in each of these applications will vary, but regardless you will need four pieces of information:

• Your full email address, (myname@mydomain.com).
• Your email username, (myname@mydomain.com). (Important!)
• The password you entered in Step 3 of the mail setup.
• Your POP3 and SMTP server name. This information should come from your web-host.

6. Migrating your emails over

Very little has been touched on this. A search on the internet also yield little info. One suggestion is to send all your emails from the old web host to a temporary web host and then forward it back to your new web host. It will probably work for those will a small number of mails but those with a huge mailbox will have a problem.

I have asked my web host support for answers. Hopefully they will be able to get back to me with a better solution.

7. SPAM protrection

I would believe most web host will provide some level of SPAM protection. Think of it as a value added service. My web host provides SpamAssassin and BoxTrapper, two tools which can help reduce the amount of SPAM. I have not activated it yet because I’m not facing a SPAM problem but for those who are, it might be worthwhile to explore the SPAM protection tools offered by your web host.