Moving Your WordPress Blog to a New Host - Beginners Guide

Have you been putting off moving your WordPress blog to a better host because you find the idea of migrating servers so daunting? If so, you are not alone; this is a common concern. Fortunately, as long as you can follow directions, moving your WordPress blog to a new host can be as simple as running through a set of steps.This post will show you, step by step, how to move your WordPress blog without having to buy any expensive plugins. These instructions assume that you simply want to switch hosts and not change your domain name or the URL of your blog in any way.One last note before we begin: if the thought of moving your WordPress blog makes you nervous, consider asking your host if they offer migration services. Many hosts offer this for free or for a nominal fee (especially managed WordPress hosting solutions), and it can be worth the peace of mind knowing that your site is in the hands of someone who has done this before. If migration services arent an option, though, dont fear just keep reading.1. Install and activate the Duplicator plugin Duplicator WordPress Migration Plugin Author(s): Snap CreekCurrent Version: 1.3.22Last Updated: September 12, 2019duplicator.1.3.22.zip 98%Ratings 17,714,312Downloads WP 4.0+Requires Duplicator is a free WordPress plugin that really simplifies the process of moving your WordPress blog to a new location. This plugin will quickly and easily pack up your site on your old host and unpack it on your new one. While you can go through the steps of manually migrating your site without any plugins at all, Duplicator streamlines the process immensely.Install Duplicator on your old host by navigating to Plugins / Add New and typing duplicator into the search. It should be one of the first results. Click Install Now, and activate the plugin once installed.2. Create a packaged version of your sites files and databaseNow that youve activated Duplicator, you can use it to create a packaged version of your WordPress site and start the process of moving your WordPres blog to a new web host. Navigate to Duplicator / Packages and click the Create New button in the top right:On the next screen, Duplicator will ensure that your site is ready to pack. If your site does not pass the requirements, follow the advice on the plugins FAQ page. There are optional settings that you can work with, but they are not necessary to continue. Click Next to continue creating the package:On the next screen, Duplicator will run a scan of your site, which should only take a few seconds. At this point, the plugin will warn you if it finds any enormous files that you might not want to carry over with you when moving your WordPress blog to a new host. If it does find any errors, follow the suggestions to fix them, and then run the scan again.If everything looks good, click Build to create the installer package:It may take several minutes for Duplicator to build the package. When the build completes, the plugin will present you wi th two buttons, one to download the installer and the other to download the archive. Click each of them to download them both. These are your WordPress files and database, which you will need when moving your WordPress blog to your new host.3. Create a new MySQL database and user on your new hostDuplicator does not require us to install WordPress on the new host, but the one semi-technical thing we will need to do is create a new MySQL database and user. This will give us a place to put the database we exported from Duplicator in the previous step.The majority of popular web hosts use cPanel, which makes it easy to create new databases. I am moving my WordPress site to Bluehost, so I can show you what these steps look like on there, or you can get additional information from this help video:If you are using another host, I recommend searching their own documentation for instructions on how to create a new database, in case they are different.First, create a new database by entering a unique name and clicking Create Database:Next, add a new user (you can use the same name as your database) and create a strong password. I used the password generator. Be sure to record this password somewhere secure. Click Create A User:Next, you need to add the user you just created to your database. In the Add a User to a Database section of the page, choose the two that you just created, and click Add:Assign all privileges and click Make Changes:Thats it! Youve created your database and new user to use for your WordPress migration.4. Upload the installer and archive files to your new hostNext, you need to upload the two files you downloaded from Duplicator to the root location of your new WordPress site. There should be a .zip file (the archive) and a .php file (the installer).This needs to be a completely empty folder, which you will later point your domain name at. Here are the files Ive uploaded into mine:5. Run the Duplicator installerNext, you will want to navigate to the installer.php file and run the installer. It can be a little tricky to figure out what web address to visit if you are keeping the same domain name and dont want any downtime. However, there is a trick you can use to simulate switching your DNS on your local computer. WP Engine has a great tutorial for how to do this on Mac or PC here.When you make it to the installer, enter your database name, user, and password. The majority of the time, the host will just be localhost.Before you proceed, please be 100% sure that you are using the new database and user that you just created in step three and that you have uploaded the two Duplicator files into their own subdirectory! Then, click Test Connection to test your connection.Hopefully, the test will succeed, which looks like this:Assuming everything is working as planned, check off the box indicating that you have read the warnings and click Run Deployment.On the next screen, you will see the paths to the files and database. You should recognize your old domain name and the path to those files on your old host. Under those, you will see similar fields for your new host. You may need to change the URL under New Settings and Advanced Options to match your URL if it picks up the temporary IP. Once everything is set, click Run Update:If everything has gone according to plan, the next screen should have zero errors and give you a few suggestions for things to test on the new host:Congratulations the hard stuff is over!6. Check your filesAt this point, it is a good idea to compare the files on the old host to those on the new host. Assuming everything has migrated correctly, the new host should match the old, with the addition of a few extra files related to the migration.7. Change your nameserversIf everything checks out, its time to change your nameservers to point to the new host. This process is different on every domain registrar and host, so you may need to seek out their documentation if you are having trouble.O n your new host, follow the steps to assign the domain to your account. You will be asked to verify ownership of the domain, and the host will provide at least two nameservers for you to point the domain to. Log into your domain registrar, select your domain name, and edit the nameservers. Make sure you completely clear out the old ones.Once you update the nameservers, it may take as long as 48 hours for the change to take effect. Until you are sure this has occurred, you should not make any major changes to your website, as you may unintentionally be editing the site hosted on the old host without realizing it.8. Test your migrated site and delete installer filesIf you are not sure if the nameservers have taken effect, there is a simple way to test. Upload a file to your media library, then use the file manager on your new host to try and find the file you just uploaded. If you do not see it in your uploads folder, you are probably still being sent to the old host.Once you are sure that you are editing the WordPress install on the new host, navigate to Settings / Permalinks and click Save. This will refresh your permalink settings, which are often interrupted during a migration.After moving your WordPress blog, its important that you thoroughly test your website by visiting every page or as many pages as possible to look for redirection errors and other problems.Once you are sure everything is working as it should, click the link in the final step of the installer to perform the Security Cleanup, which will delete the installer files. This is very important, as these files pose a potential security risk.Finally, having successfully completed the migration, you can now cancel the old host.Final thoughts on moving your WordPress blogThats it! Though there are a lot of steps involved, the Duplicator plugin makes the process simple enough to help you with moving your WordPress blog to a new host. If you do run into trouble along the way, or the process looks too complicated, be sure to contact your new web host for assistance.Have you been successful at moving your WordPress blog before? Did you use a plugin, or migrate manually? Share your experiences in the comments below.* This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links and then purchase the product, well receive a small fee. No worries though, youll still pay the standard amount so theres no cost on your part.

The Great Gatsby and the Lost Generation

The Great Gatsby and the Lost Generation Nick Carraway, the tale’s â€Å"honest† narrator, is a small-town, Midwest American boy who once spent some time in New York with the greatest man he has ever known, Jay Gatsby.  To Nick, Gatsby is the embodiment of the American Dream: rich, powerful, attractive, and elusive.  Gatsby is surrounded by an aura of mystery and illusion, not unlike L. Frank Baum’s Great and Powerful Oz.  And, like the Wizard of Oz, Gatsby and all that he stands for turn out to be nothing more than carefully crafted, delicate constructs.   Gatsby is the dream of a man who does not exist, living in a world where he does not belong.  Although Nick understands that Gatsby is far from being who he pretends to be, it does not take long for Nick to be charmed by the dream and to believe wholeheartedly in the ideals that Gatsby represents.  Ultimately, Nick falls in love with Gatsby, or at least with the fantasy world that Gatsby champions. Nick Carraway is perhaps the most interesting character in the novel.  He is simultaneously the one person who seems to see through Gatsby’s faà §ade, but also the person who most adores Gatsby and who cherishes the dream that this man represents.  Carraway must continually lie to and deceive himself while attempting to reassure the reader of his honest nature and unbiased intentions.  Gatsby, or James Gatz, is fascinating in that he represents all aspects of the American Dream, from the tireless pursuit of it to the actual embodiment of it, and also, tragically, the realization that it does not really exist. The other characters, Daisy Tom Buchanan, Mr. Gatz (Gatsby’s father), Jordan Baker, and others are all interesting and important in their relationship to Gatsby. We see Daisy as the typical Jazz Age â€Å"flapper† interested in beauty and riches; she returns Gatsby’s interest only because he is so materially advantaged.  Tom is the representative of â€Å"Old Money† and its condescension to but vehement dislike of the  nouveau-riche. He is racist, sexist, and wholly unconcerned for anyone but himself. Jordan Baker, the artists, and others represent the various unspoken but ever-present notions of sexual exploration, individualism, and self-gratification that are indicative of the period.   What typically draws readers to this book, whether or not they come away with the traditional understanding of the novel (a love story, a censure on the American Dream, etc.), is its strikingly beautiful prose.  There are moments of description in this narrative which nearly take one’s breath away, particularly as they often come unexpectedly. Fitzgerald’s brilliance lies in his ability to undercut his every thought, showing both the positive and negative arguments of a situation within the very same paragraph (or sentence, even).   This is perhaps best demonstrated in the final page of the novel, where the beauty of the dream that is Gatsby is contrasted with the disillusionment of those pursuing the dream.  Fitzgerald explores the power of the American Dream, the heart-pounding, soul-shaking evocation of those early American immigrants who looked upon the new shores with such hope and longing, with such pride and eager determination, only to be crushed by the never-ending struggle to achieve the unattainable; to be trapped in a timeless, ageless, persistent dream  that never amounts to anything but the dream. The Great Gatsby  by F. Scott Fitzgerald is quite possibly the most widely-read piece of American Literature.  For many, The Great Gatsby is a love story, and  Jay Gatsby and Daisy Buchanan are the 1920s American Romeo Juliet, two star-crossed lovers whose destinies are intertwined and whose fates are tragically sealed from the beginning; however, the love story is a faà §ade. Does Gatsby love Daisy?  Not as much as he loves the  idea  of Daisy. Does Daisy love Gatsby?  She loves the possibilities he represents.   Other readers find the novel to be a depressing critique of the so-called American Dream, one which, perhaps, can never truly be reached.  Similar to Theodore Dreiser’s  Sister Carrie, this story predicts a bleak fate for America.  No matter how hard one works or how much one achieves, the American Dreamer will always want more. This reading brings us closer to the true nature and purpose of  The Great Gatsby,  but not quite all.   This is not a love story, nor is it strictly about one man’s striving for the American Dream. Instead, it is a story about a restless nation. It is a story about wealth and the disparity between â€Å"Old Money† and â€Å"New Money.† Fitzgerald, through his narrator Nick Carraway, has created a dreamy, illusory vision of a society of dreamers; shallow, unfilled people who are rising too fast and consuming too much.  Their children are neglected, their relationships disrespected, and their spirits crushed beneath the weight of soulless riches. This is the story of The Lost Generation and the lies they must tell in order to continue living every day when they are  so sad, lonely, and disillusioned.