A comment about WordPress: it is an easy program to set up a new website - that is a plus. The biggest limitation of WordPress relates to getting high search engine rankings on the Internet. WordPress doesn't allow the flexability a HTML website has with creating and manipulating Meta tags and Microdata - two huge elements in securing high search engine rankings. Another important issue is security. WordPress sites are more easily hacked. You must stay current with the WordPress software releases and all WordPress plugin releases.

The way WordPress works is all of your content that you have written for your website is stored in your database. phpMyAdmin is a hosting industry standard for managing MySQL databases, and many hosts provide this tool for their users to use. Since this tool is widely available, we will show you how to use phpMyAdmin to downlaod a backup of your existing database.

1. At your previous host, access phpMyAdmin.
2. Load your WordPress database by clicking the database name in the left hand menu pane.
3. Click the "export" tab at the top right.
4. Under "export, highlight all the tables and select "SQL". These are the default settings.
5. Under "options" make sure that "add DROP TABLE/ VIEW/ PROCEDURE/ FUNCTION" is selected.
6. Ensure that "Save as File" towards the bottom of the page is selected.
7. Click Go

This is prompt you to download the backup file.

Creating a NEW MySQL Database

To be able to import the database you just exported from your previous host, you will first need to create a blank database.

Log into your cPanel account

Click the "MySQL Database Wizard" link.

In Step 1 of the Wizard, enter a name for your new databse. You can name your database whatever you would like, just be sure to write this down somewhere for futurereference.

In Step 2 of the Wizard, enter a database username and password. You canenter anything you would like as the user, please make a note of the username and password for future reference.

In Step 3 of the Wizard, select "ALL PRIVILEGES" and click "Next Step"

Importing the Backup you Created

1. Log into your cPanel account.
2. Click on the "PHPMyAdmin" icon.
3. Select the database you just created.
4. Click "Import" in the top right.
5. Click the "Browse" button and select the database backup file on your computer that you created earlier.
6. Click "Go"

During the migration process to migrate your existing WordPress site from a previous host to LPH Internet Hosting, the next step is to copy or migrate all of the WordPress application files. To do this we will be using FTP. If you do not have your FTP credentials from your previous host, please be sure to contact them to retrieve this information prior to completing the following steps.

Since we will be using an FTP client, please be sure to obtain one. while there are many free FTP clients available we recommend downloading and using FileZilla. FileZilla is free and can be foundhere.

Downloading a Backup of your WordPress site

1. Create a folder on your desktp where you can download and store the files we will be working with. For this tutorial, we will be creating a folder called "wp-files"

2. Open FileZilla.

3. In the Quickconnect feature located in the top bar of the application, enter your Host, Username, and Password from your previous host. Click "Quickconnect"

4. 

   After connecting, you will see a list of your folders and files in the lower right hand pane. Navigate to the folder that contains all of your WordPress files. If you are unsure of the correct directory, you should be able to contact your previous host and retreive that information. If you notice other folder such as "wp-admin" and "wp-content", you are likely in the correct place.

5. Next, in the lower left window pane within FileZilla, you will need to open the "wp-files" folder on your desktop that you created earlier. If you do not see it, click on the "Desktop"link in the upper left window pane.

6. 

   Download all of the files on the right window of FileZilla to the "wp-files" folder you opened in the left window pane. The easiest way to do this is to click anywhere on the bottom right window pane. press Crtl + A, then drage and drop all the files to the lower left window pane.

7. This can take a fairly long time, depending on the size of the files you are downloading. Don't be surprised if it takes 15 minutes or more. Once this completes you now have a copy of WordPress on your desktop. You can confirm by simply opening your "wp-files" folder on your desktop and checking to see if the files and other folders are located in there.

Uploading your WordPress Backup Files

At this point you now have a copy of your WordPress application files downloaded. Next, you will need to upload them to your LPH Internet Hosting account by following the steps below.

1. Open FileZilla

2. In the lower left window pane within FileZilla, open the "wp-files" folder that you created earlier in this tutorial. If you dont see in, click "Desktop" link in the uppoer left window pane.

3. Towards the top of FileZilla, you should see right below the File | Edit | View menus the Quickconnect boxes. You would simply want to fill these out like so:

   Host	Username	Password
   example.com	userna5	tpfC$mBDn0

4. After you have established a connection to the server, in the lower right window pane navigate to the folder where your WordPress site will be located. If WordPress is the primary domain on your account, you will want to navigate to the public_html folder.
5. Upload all the files from your "wp-files" located on your computer. This can take some time depending on the number and the size of the files you are uploading.
6. Congratulations! You have successfully migrated your WordPress files.