In this quick tutorial we will use a Free WordPress plugin called Backup Bliss, I have used it a few times and I like its speed and the user interface, as well as how the free version is quite generous , compared with similar plugins.
Moving a WordPress website used to mean one of three things: a long afternoon in your host’s control panel, a set of manual database steps, or paying someone to do it for you. I wanted to see whether a plugin could take most of that work off your plate.
Disclosure: the company behind the plugin sent me a Pro license key to test the pro version in 2024. I’m saying so up front, and I’ll cover what worked and what didn’t.
You can get it at https://backupbliss.com/
- If you opt for the premium version you get a special -20% discount code use: AMRTHEINTERNETGUY20
The test site
The site was an online store of about 4 GB, with plugins, themes, and years of uploaded images. That’s a realistic job, not a toy site.
The steps
1. Install the plugin on the current site and create a backup. The plugin leaves out the core WordPress files, since the new server already has them. It also skips other backup files it finds in your folders, so you don’t carry old copies along.
2. Choose where the backup goes. You can save it on the same server or send it to Google Drive.
3. Get the backup to the new site. The plugin can create a link, so you don’t have to download several gigabytes and upload them again.
You can also download the file and upload it there yourself.
4. Install the plugin on the new site and restore. The plugin moves the database and files for you, so you don’t have to create a database by hand.
In my test, the backup automatically shrank the site from about 4 GB to 2.97 GB.
What I’d check first
Your server limits how large a file you can upload through the WordPress admin page, often 64 MB to 128 MB. A backup of several gigabytes won’t get through that route. Upload it with FTP or SFTP (a file transfer tool) instead.
Keep a second copy of the backup somewhere you control.
5. Before you restore, confirm the file is complete. A checksum, which is a short fingerprint of a file, lets you check that it matches the original.
The plugin does most of the heavy lifting. The checks are still yours to make. Here's the Step by Step tutorial and review video that I did back in 2024:
If you’ve tried this on your own site, tell me where it got stuck.
Have a great day!
