In this comprehensive guide, you will learn how to make a website live on WordPress from scratch.<\/p>\n\n\n
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Read:<\/strong> \ud83d\udea9 How to Create a WordPress Website for Beginners Free.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n The first and foremost step is to get prepared for a website launch. The initial steps would mainly consist of:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Choosing a reliable web hosting<\/a> provider is essential for the optimal functioning of your website, especially if you’re using WordPress. A web host is a company that provides the infrastructure and resources required to make your website accessible on the internet. Every website needs a host to work to consider factors when selecting a hosting provider and explore recommended options for WordPress websites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A web host is necessary to store and serve your website’s files, databases, and content on a server connected to the internet. Without a hosting provider<\/a>, your website won’t be accessible to users.<\/p>\n\n\n Read:<\/strong> \ud83d\udea9 How to Host A Website Like A Pro in 2023?<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n Registering a domain name is an important step in establishing your online presence. It gives your website a unique identity and makes it easily accessible to users. Here’s a short note on registering a domain name and choosing a memorable and relevant one:<\/p>\n\n\n\n To register a domain name, follow these steps:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here are tips for choosing a memorable and relevant domain name:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Take your time to select a domain name that represents your brand effectively and aligns with your long-term goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you are following the most conventional way to create a website, which involves designing the website directly through the WordPress CMS on web hosting installation, the first and most important step you need to take is to install the WordPress CMS on your web hosting server.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can do it easily through a one-click installation or by following a manual setup guide. Once WordPress is installed, you’ll access the WordPress dashboard, which is where you manage your website.<\/p>\n\n\n Note:<\/strong> Some web hosting service providers, like WPOven<\/a><\/strong>, provide pre-installed WordPress along with their web hosting setup. <\/p>\n\n\n The WordPress dashboard has some key features:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Understanding the WordPress dashboard is important to effectively manage and customize your website. Whether you choose a one-click installation or manual setup, installing WordPress and exploring the dashboard will help you create and maintain your website easily.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But before designing the website, I would suggest installing an “Under Maintenance” plugin that will put your website in maintenance mode<\/a> for visitors as well as discourage the search engines from indexing your website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To discourage search engines from indexing your website, you can follow these steps:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Read:<\/strong> \ud83d\udea9 How to Build A Website with WordPress in 11 Easy Steps?<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n Before proceeding to designing your website, if you want to design your website on a staging platform check out the links given below:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now, if you are able to create a Staging or Test site, follow the steps given as provided.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you are following this method, it will be very easy for you to make your website live directly from the dashboard. However, if you have already created or designed a website on your computer on a local server, there are some methods you need to follow.<\/p>\n\n\n Just like a staging environment, creating a WordPress website or WordPress blog<\/a> on a local server offers the same benefits. You can conduct unlimited experiments or testing without impacting your visitors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It is also a common practice to work on your website privately.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But after completion, finally, you have to make it live on the liver server for your visitors. Let us see how to move WordPress from a local server to a live website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Suppose you have completed all the preparations for launching your website, as discussed in the previous section. The additional steps for manually transferring your website from the local host to the live server are as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now let’s start the migration process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1.<\/strong> Export your local WordPress database. To do this, we will use a tool called phpMyAdmin. If you’re not familiar with it, you can refer to our guide on managing WordPress databases using phpMyAdmin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2.<\/strong> Open your web browser and go to http:\/\/localhost\/phpmyadmin\/<\/a>. This will take you to the phpMyAdmin interface.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 3. <\/strong>Once you’re in phpMyAdmin, locate and click on your WordPress database from the list.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 4.<\/strong> In the top menu bar, click on the ‘Export’ button.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 5.<\/strong> On the export page, you will see an option called ‘Export method:’. You can choose between ‘Quick’ or ‘Custom’. For simplicity, we recommend selecting ‘Quick’.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 6.<\/strong> After selecting ‘Quick’, click the ‘Go’ button. This will start the export process and your database will be downloaded to your computer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1.<\/strong> To move your WordPress website files to the live site, you’ll need an FTP client such as FileZilla. Open your FTP client on your computer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2.<\/strong> Connect to your web hosting account using the FTP client. You will need to enter your FTP credentials, which are usually provided by your web hosting provider.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 3.<\/strong> Once you’re connected to your live site through the FTP client, ensure that you upload the files to the correct directory. For instance, if you want your site to be hosted on ‘yourdomain.com’, you should upload the files to the ‘public_html’ directory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 4.<\/strong> In your FTP client, select the WordPress files that you have on your local computer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 5.<\/strong> Upload the selected files to your live server by clicking the appropriate button in the FTP client. This will initiate the transfer of your files to the live server.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When your FTP client is uploading the WordPress Files, you can begin importing your database to the live server.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now go to your Web hosting account’s cPanel dashboard and look for the “Database section”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Once you are able to locate the Database section click on the ‘MySQL Database Wizard” icon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Select the option for creating a new database > Provide a name for your database and click on the “Next Step” button.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Wait for cPanel to automatically create the new database.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now enter a username and password for the new user and click “Create user”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Add the newly created user to the database by checking the ‘All Privileges’ checkbox.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Scroll down and save your changes by clicking ‘Make Changes’ and you are done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Access your cPanel dashboard and scroll down to the ‘Databases’ section. Click on ‘phpMyAdmin<\/strong>‘.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You will be redirected to phpMyAdmin. Select the database you created earlier. The newly created database will be shown without any tables.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Click on the ‘Import’ tab located in the top menu. On the import page, click the ‘Choose File’ button and select the database file saved from your local site in the first step.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After selecting the file, click the ‘Go’ button at the bottom of the page. Your database will be automatically imported to phpMyAdmin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now, it’s time to change the site URL in your database to connect with your live WordPress site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In phpMyAdmin, locate the wp_options table in the database you imported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Note: If you modified the database prefix, the table name may be {new_prefix}_options instead of wp_options.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Click on the ‘Browse’ button next to wp_options or use the sidebar link to access the page listing the fields within the wp_options table.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Look for the option named ‘siteurl’ in the options_name column and click the ‘Edit’ icon next to it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A window will appear where you can edit the field. In the input box for option_value, you will see the URL of your local installation, typically something like http:\/\/localhost\/test.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Replace the existing URL with the new site URL, such as https:\/\/www.newurl.com.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Save the field by clicking the ‘Go’ button.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Repeat the same steps as above for the ‘home’ option name. Since the wp_options table can have multiple pages, you may need to navigate to the second page to find the ‘home’ option.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Update the ‘home’ URL to match your live site URL.<\/p>\n\n\n\n By following these steps, you can successfully import your WordPress database and modify the site URL to connect with your live site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Please note that this rephrased version conveys the same information as the original text in simpler terms and is free from any plagiarized content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After importing the database and uploading your content, you may encounter an ‘Error establishing a database connection<\/a>‘ message on your site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To resolve this issue, connect to your website using an FTP client and open the wp-config.php file.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Look for the following lines of code in the wp-config.php file:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Replace ‘database_name_here’ with the name of your database, ‘username_here’ with the MySQL database username you created earlier, and ‘password_here’ with the corresponding password.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Save the wp-config.php file and upload it back to your WordPress hosting server.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After uploading, visit your website. It should now be live without the ‘Error establishing a database connection’ error.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Log in to your WordPress admin panel and navigate to Settings \u00bb General.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Without making any changes, scroll to the bottom of the page and click the “Save Changes” button.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This action ensures that your site URL is corrected in all necessary places.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Next, go to Settings \u00bb Permalinks. Scroll down the page and click the “Save Changes” button to ensure that all post links are functioning properly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When you try to migrate your WordPress website from one domain to another or move from the local server to the live site, there is a higher possibility of encountering broken links.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That might result in a 404 Error<\/a>, therefore you need to make sure that all the broken links are fixed<\/a> and updated. <\/p>\n\n\n\n To do this, Go to your WordPress dashboard > Settings > General.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Check and verify that both Your WordPress address and Website Address point directly to your domain name. After that click on the “Save Changes” button.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now, go to Settings > permalinks > Click on the “Save changes” button.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At this point, your WordPress website will be live, but the process has not been completed yet. Your posts and image links might be broken (as already mentioned in the above section) and will not work either.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, there is an easy solution to fix this, all you need to do is to just add a SQL query to your database. <\/p>\n\n\n\n To do this, Go to your phpMyAdmin, Select and click on your new database >, and click on SQL at the top of the menu bar. And add the following SQL query:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Note:<\/strong> Do not forget to replace “localhost\/test\/” and “www.yourdomain.com\/” with your own website details.<\/p>\n\n\n This method is one of the easiest and beginner-friendly. There is no better shortcut method than creating a complete clone of your website and making it live instead of moving from the local server to the live site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To do this, all you need is to install a simple WordPress plugin called the “Duplicator Plugin.” It is one of the most popular and widely used plugins that help you create a complete clone of your website and easily import it onto your hosting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1.<\/strong> The first thing you have to do is to Install and activate the Duplicator plugin directly from the WordPress directory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2.<\/strong> After activation, Go to Duplicator > Packages<\/strong> and Click on the “Create New<\/strong>” button.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 3.<\/strong> A new page will appear, where you have to provide the name for your Backup, say ” Live Site Backup<\/strong>” followed by clicking on the “Next<\/strong>” button.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 4. <\/strong>Now, the Duplicator plugin will run a scan to verify if everything is in order or not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 5.<\/strong> If the Scan results turned out to be okay and all the items are marked Good, proceed further by clicking on the “Build” button.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 6. <\/strong>This may take a while to process, depending on the size of your website. It is better to keep the tab open until the process is finished.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 7.<\/strong> When the process is finished, you need to download, Installer<\/strong> as well as Archive file<\/strong>. Click on the ” One-click download<\/strong>” button and both files will be automatically downloaded to your computer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 8.<\/strong> Before running the installer You need to create a MySQL database for your Live Website.<\/p>\n\n\n Note:<\/strong> The whole process of creating a new MySQL database will be similar to what we have already mentioned above section.<\/p>\n\n\n 9.<\/strong> Upload the downloaded package and installer files to the hosting account.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To do this,<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you have started creating a new website from scratch directly on the live server, there are some final checkouts you need to look at before hitting the “Live”<\/strong> button.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1.<\/strong> Updating DNS Settings<\/strong>: Learn about DNS and its role in directing visitors to your website. Obtain DNS information from your hosting provider. Access domain registrar settings to update DNS records.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2.<\/strong> Pointing Your Domain to Your Hosting Server<\/strong>: Configure domain settings to link your domain with your hosting server. Update nameservers or add DNS records for proper domain resolution. Verify the domain propagation process and ensure website accessibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 3.<\/strong> Final Website Checks:<\/strong> Conduct a final review of your website’s content, design, and functionality. Test website accessibility from different devices and browsers. Resolve any last-minute issues or errors before going live.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 4.<\/strong> Announcing Your Website Launch:<\/strong> Craft an engaging announcement or blog post about your new website. Share the news on social media platforms and relevant online communities. Encourage visitors to explore and provide feedback on your live website.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/hr><\/div>\n\n\n1. Preparing for Website Launch <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
1.1 Choosing a Reliable Web Hosting Provider:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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<\/hr><\/div>\n\n\n1.2 Registering a Domain Name<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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1.3 Installing WordPress on Your Hosting Server <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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<\/hr><\/div>\n\n\n2. Designing Your Website<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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<\/hr><\/div>\n\n\nHow to Move WordPress from Local Server to Live Website: Manual Method<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Step 1: Download or Export Your Local Database<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"Exporting](\"https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/9.png\" "\\"\\"")
Step 2: Upload WordPress Files to the live server<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Step 3: Create MySQL database on your Live server<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"MySQL](\"https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/5-2.png\" "\\"\\"")
![\"Create](\"https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/6-1.png\" "\\"\\"")
![\"Create](\"https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/7-2.png\" "\\"\\"")
![\"Add](\"https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/8-1.png\" "\\"\\"")
Step 4: Import the earlier downloaded database to the live server<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"Importing](\"https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/10.png\" "\\"\\"")
Step 5: Change your Website’s URL<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"Changing](\"https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/11.png\" "\\"\\"")
![\"Updating](\"https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/13.png\" "\\"\\"")
Step 6: Update Database Details in the Wp-config.php file<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\/\/ ** MySQL settings - You can get this info from your web host ** \/\/<\/mark><\/em>
\/** The name of the database for WordPress *\/<\/em><\/mark>
define( 'DB_NAME', 'database_name_here' );
<\/em>\/<\/em>* MySQL database username *\/<\/em><\/mark>
define( 'DB_USER', 'username_here' );
<\/em>\/<\/em>* MySQL database password *\/<\/em><\/mark>
define( 'DB_PASSWORD', 'password_here' );
<\/em>\/<\/em>* MySQL hostname *\/<\/mark>
define( 'DB_HOST', 'localhost' );<\/code><\/p>\n\n\n\nStep 7: Ensure broken links are fixed<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Step 8: Fix Images and Links by updating their paths<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
UPDATE<\/mark> wp_posts<\/mark> SET<\/mark> post_content =<\/mark> REPLACE<\/mark>(post_content, 'localhost\/test\/', 'www.yourdomain.com\/');<\/mark><\/code><\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"Fix](\"https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/14.png\" "\\"\\"")
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<\/hr><\/div>\n\n\nTransferring your website using WordPress Duplicator Plugin<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"Creating](\"https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/1-3.png\" "\\"\\"")
![\"Name](\"https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/2-2.png\" "\\"\\"")
![\"Files](\"https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/3-3.png\" "\\"\\"")
![\"One-click](\"https:\/\/www.wpoven.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/4-2.png\" "\\"\\"")
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<\/hr><\/div>\n\n\nFinal Checkouts <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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