Follow this step-by-step guide to migrate your local WordPress website to a live server using the Vito Web Panel.
1. Add Your SSH Key to the Vito Server
First, generate an SSH key on your device and add it to the SSH Settings section inside the Vito server panel.
2. Create a WordPress Site in Vito
Create a new WordPress site from the Vito Web Panel.
For example, assume your live domain is:
wp-site.com
3. Connect to the Vito Server via SSH
Open your terminal and log in to your server using the following command:
ssh vito@{your.server.ip}
Once logged in, you will be at the server’s root directory.
To list your created websites, run:
ls or ls -la
4. Navigate to Your Website Directory
Enter your WordPress site directory:
cd wp-site.com
5. Remove the Existing wp-content Folder
Delete the default wp-content directory:
rm -rf wp-content
6. Prepare Your Local wp-content for Upload
Create a ZIP file of your local site’s wp-content folder.
Before uploading, open the folder in a code editor and perform a search & replace:
-
Replace all instances of:
local-wp-site.testwithwp-site.com -
Then replace:
http://wp-site.comwithhttps://wp-site.com
7. Upload the wp-content ZIP to the Server
Use SCP to upload the zipped folder to your server:
scp ~/Herd/local-wp-site/wp-content.zip vito@ {your.server.ip}:/home/vito/wp-site.com/
8. Unzip the Uploaded File
From your project root directory, unzip the file:
unzip wp-content.zip
Now your site files are ready.
9. Export Your Local Database
Run the following command to export your local database:
mysqldump -u root -p local_site_db > local_site_db.sql
10. Upload the Database to the Server
Upload the exported SQL file:
scp ~/Herd/local-wp-site/local_site_db.sql vito@ {your.server.ip}:/home/vito/
11. Import the Database Into the Live Server
Run the following command to import your SQL file into the live database:
mysql -u db_user_name -p wp_site_db < /home/vito/local_site_db.sql
You will be prompted for the database password. Enter it, and the import will proceed.
12. Update URLs Using WP-CLI
Navigate back to your project’s root directory and run the following WP-CLI commands:
wp search-replace 'local-wp-site.test' 'wp-test.com'
wp search-replace 'http://wp-test.com' 'https://wp-test.com'
This ensures all old local URLs are correctly replaced with the live domain URLs.
Your migration is now complete!