How to Migrate Websites into ZipWP

If you’ve built a WordPress site on another host and want to move it to ZipWP, you don’t have to start over. 

ZipWP’s migration tool moves your existing site with content, plugins, themes, media, and users, directly into your ZipWP account.

The process runs entirely in the background. Your source site keeps working normally while the migration runs, and nothing on your original host is deleted or changed.

Why Migrate Your Existing Site Instead of Rebuilding?

Most real-world sites have years of content that can’t be recreated overnight: blog posts, product pages, customer accounts, uploaded media, plugin settings, and SEO history built up over time.

Migration preserves all of it:

• Posts, pages, custom post types, and categories
• User accounts and roles
• Plugins, themes, and their configuration
• Your entire wp-content directory including uploaded media
• Database tables created by WooCommerce and other plugins

What Are the Available Migration Methods?

ZipWP gives you three ways to connect your source site. All three produce the same result — a fully migrated site in your account,

Method 1: WordPress Credentials

This is the easiest method and works for most sites. You provide your WordPress admin username, password, and the URL of your source site. ZipWP logs into your WordPress dashboard, temporarily installs a private migrator plugin, uses it to export your database and files, then removes itself when the export is done.

You don’t need any server access or technical knowledge. Migration happens with just your WP admin login.

All you need to do is follow these steps:

• Click on migration
• Select credentials method

• Add your source site URL.

• Add your WordPress admin username/email and password. One thing to watch out for: if your WordPress login page has two-factor authentication, a CAPTCHA, or an aggressive security plugin blocking automated logins, this method may fail. In that case, temporarily disable those protections or switch to the SFTP method.

• Confirm the migration.

That’s all. Your site will be migrated to ZipWP in some time. The estimated time depends upon the size of the source website.

Method 2: SFTP / SSH

If you have SFTP or SSH access to your hosting account, this method connects directly to your server’s filesystem.

ZipWP locates your wp-config.php, runs a database export using mysqldump, and downloads your wp-content directory.

It’s the most reliable method for large sites.

It supports both password login and SSH private key authentication (PEM format).

What you’ll need:

• SFTP host and port
• SFTP username
• Password or SSH private key
• The path to your WordPress installation (optional — ZipWP will search for it if left blank)

All the FTP/SSH details can be found on your existing hosting platform.

Once you add details, test the connection and confirm, the site migration will begin.

Method 3: Upload a Backup File

If you can’t provide server credentials, you can export a backup using a plugin on your source site and upload it directly to ZipWP. No server access required.

ZipWP automatically detects the backup format and knows how to unpack each one. Supported formats:

• All-in-One WP Migration (.wpress files)
• Duplicator
• UpdraftPlus
• WPvivid
• Generic ZIP containing a .sql file and your wp-content folder

What Happens During the Migration?

Once you submit a migration, ZipWP runs it as a background job. You can watch the progress in real time from your dashboard. Here’s what each stage does:

• Setting up your ZipWP site — Prepares the destination site on ZipWP’s infrastructure.
• Pre-flight checks — Verifies the connection, reads wp-config.php, and confirms the WordPress version and site type.
• Exporting the database — Dumps your source database using the credentials found in wp-config.php.
• Exporting files — Archives your wp-content directory including themes, plugins, and uploads.
• Uploading artifacts — Transfers the database dump and file archive to secure storage.
• Transferring to destination — Moves the packaged files onto your ZipWP server.
• Importing the database — Restores your database on the destination site.
• Rewriting URLs — Runs a search-and-replace across the database to update every reference to your old domain.
• Deploying files — Extracts your files to the destination and restores directory permissions.
• Verifying the site — Makes a live request to confirm the migrated site is responding correctly.
• Finalizing — Cleans up temporary files and records the completed migration.

What Happens After Migration?

When the migration finishes, ZipWP sends you an email with a direct link to log into your new site. No password needed for that first visit.

Here’s what you’ll find when you arrive:

• All your content, users, plugins, and media are intact.
• Every internal URL has been rewritten to your new ZipWP domain.
• Page builder caches (Elementor, Bricks, and others) are flushed automatically so layouts reflect the new domain right away.

Your source site is untouched. Migration is non-destructive.

If you want to point your own domain at the migrated site, go to Sites → Your Site → Domains in your ZipWP dashboard and follow the DNS setup steps from there.

Conclusion

Migration handles the technical side of moving a WordPress site: the database dumps, file transfers, and URL rewrites, so you don’t have to.

You can complete it without any developer help. In case you get stuck, feel free to reach out to our team.

Frequently Asked Questions:

Does migration affect my live site?

No. Migration is completely non-destructive. ZipWP only reads from your source site. It never modifies, deletes, or takes your original site offline. Your visitors won’t notice anything during the process.

Which migration method should I use?

If you have your WordPress admin login handy and your site doesn’t have 2FA on the admin account, start with the Credentials method. It’s the simplest. If your site is large or you already have SFTP credentials from your host, use SFTP. If you’d rather not hand over any server credentials, export a backup using a plugin and upload it.

What type of site can be migrated?

Any standard WordPress site can be migrated. Blogs, business sites, portfolios, WooCommerce stores, membership sites, and more. As long as your source site runs WordPress 5.0 or later and is not a Multisite network, the migration tool supports it regardless of which plugins, themes, or page builders you use.

Does my domain automatically switch to ZipWP?

No. After migration your site runs on a temporary ZipWP subdomain. Your original domain keeps pointing to your old host until you update your DNS records. You can connect your own domain from Sites, then Your Site, then Domains whenever you’re ready.