<\/span><\/h3>\nTo avoid downtime and test the site on telaHosting without changing your domain\u2019s DNS, you\u2019ll modify your computer\u2019s hosts file. This tricks your computer into loading the site from telaHosting\u2019s server.<\/p>\n
Windows:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n- Press
Win + R<\/code>, type notepad c:\\Windows\\System32\\drivers\\etc\\hosts<\/code>, and press Enter. (Run Notepad as Administrator.)<\/li>\n- Add this line at the bottom:<\/li>\n
- YOUR_DOMAIN.com YOUR_TELAHOSTING_IP<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Replace YOUR_DOMAIN.com<\/code> with your actual domain (e.g., example.com) and YOUR_TELAHOSTING_IP<\/code> with the IP address of your telaHosting server (check with telaHosting support or your welcome email).<\/p>\nSave the file.<\/p>\n
Mac\/Linux:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n- Open Terminal and type:
sudo nano \/etc\/hosts<\/code>.<\/li>\n- Add the same line as above (
YOUR_DOMAIN.com YOUR_TELAHOSTING_IP<\/code>).<\/li>\n- Save and exit (Ctrl + X, then Y, then Enter).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
This change only affects your computer and allows you to test the migrated site without affecting other users.<\/p>\n
<\/span>6. Run the Installer on telaHosting<\/span><\/h3>\nIn your browser, visit your domain (e.g., example.com) from the computer where you modified the hosts file. You should see the migration plugin\u2019s installer page (e.g., Duplicator\u2019s installer).<\/p>\n
\n- Follow the on-screen instructions:<\/li>\n
- Select the backup archive you uploaded.<\/li>\n
- Enter the new database details (database name, username, password, and host\u2014usually
localhost<\/code>) from Step 3.<\/li>\n- Let the plugin import the files and database.<\/li>\n
- Once complete, the plugin will provide a link to log in to your WordPress dashboard.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
<\/span>7. Test Your Site<\/span><\/h3>\nLog in to the WordPress dashboard on telaHosting and ensure everything works (themes, plugins, pages, etc.).<\/p>\n
Visit your site in the browser (still using the modified hosts file) to check all functionality. Fix any issues (e.g., broken links, missing images) by adjusting file paths or settings if needed.<\/p>\n
<\/span>8. Finalize the Migration (Point DNS to telaHosting)<\/span><\/h3>\nOnce you\u2019re satisfied with the test, update your domain\u2019s DNS settings:<\/p>\n
\n- Log in to your domain registrar.<\/li>\n
- Change the nameservers to point to telaHosting\u2019s nameservers.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
DNS propagation can take 24-48 hours and can be less most times, but since you\u2019ve already tested the site, there should be no downtime for visitors (they\u2019ll see the old site until propagation completes).<\/p>\n
<\/span>9. Remove the Hosts File Modification<\/span><\/h3>\nAfter DNS propagation is complete and your site is live on telaHosting, remove or comment out the line you added to your hosts file (add a #<\/code> at the beginning of the line). This ensures your computer now loads the site from the live telaHosting server.<\/p>\n<\/span>Additional Tips:<\/span><\/h3>\n\n- If you encounter errors during installation, check the plugin documentation or telaHosting support. Common issues include incorrect database details or file permissions.<\/li>\n
- Ensure your telaHosting plan supports the resources your WordPress site needs (storage, bandwidth, etc.).<\/li>\n
- Back up everything before starting, just in case.<\/li>\n
- If the plugin method doesn\u2019t work, you can fall back to the manual method (as outlined in a previous response).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
This plugin-based method with hosts file modification is ideal for minimizing downtime and simplifying the process.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Moving a WordPress site is easier than it seems and can be done with no downtime. In this step-by-step tutorial, we describe two methods of moving your WordPress website from your former hosting provider to your account on telaHosting. You can either do it manually or by using a plugin. The main difference between these…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":2856,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[63,62],"class_list":["post-2835","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hosting","tag-migration","tag-wordpress"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/telahosting.com\/manual\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2835","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/telahosting.com\/manual\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/telahosting.com\/manual\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/telahosting.com\/manual\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/telahosting.com\/manual\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2835"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/telahosting.com\/manual\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2835\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2860,"href":"https:\/\/telahosting.com\/manual\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2835\/revisions\/2860"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/telahosting.com\/manual\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2856"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/telahosting.com\/manual\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2835"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/telahosting.com\/manual\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2835"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/telahosting.com\/manual\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2835"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"How](\"https:\/\/telahosting.com\/manual\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/How-to-MoveMigrate-a-WordPress-Site-From-One-Host-to-Another-711x400.avif\")
<\/p>\n