So that you’ve found WordPress and also you’re able to migrate your drained outdated static HTML website to your shiny new CMS of alternative. However wait – how do you do that with out dropping your outdated website whilst you’re constructing the brand new one? And the way do you be certain folks don’t discover your new website on Google whilst you’re nonetheless setting it up?
On this put up, I’ll present you precisely how one can get round that downside. I’ll present you how one can work in your new website behind closed doorways whereas maintaining your outdated website in place so that you don’t lose any guests whereas the event work is happening.
It’s a lot easier than you would possibly count on, so learn on!
What You’ll Want
The place to Develop Your New Web site?
Step #1: Set up WordPress in a Subdirectory
Step #2: Conceal Your Web site
Step #3: Arrange Your New Web site
Step #4: Put together for Reside
Again up and Delete Your Outdated Web site
Copying and Enhancing Two Recordsdata
Step #5: Edit Your Web site Settings
Enhancing URL Settings
Permitting Search Engine Entry
Issues?
You Needn’t Take away Your Outdated Web site Whereas Establishing WordPress
What You’ll Want
To observe this information, you’ll want:
An current static website the place you need your new website to go.
The power to put in WordPress in your server, both manually or utilizing a script.
FTP or cPanel entry to your server.
In the event you aren’t certain about any of this, ask your internet hosting supplier. Inform them you’ll must edit and transfer a few recordsdata. They need to provide the entry you want for this – in the event that they don’t, discover a higher supplier!
The place to Develop Your New Web site?
In the event you’re a seasoned WordPress developer, likelihood is this isn’t a problem for you. You’re in all probability doing all of your growth work on a neighborhood machine or a staging server, after which solely pushing it to the reside website as soon as it’s prepared.
However if you happen to’re new to WordPress, this can all really feel a bit daunting. How do you put in WordPress domestically? Even scarier, how do you copy your website to your reside server as soon as it’s prepared? And what the heck is a staging server?
The excellent news is that you simply don’t want to fret about all this. You’ll be able to set up WordPress in your reside server and work on it with out folks figuring out, whereas your outdated static website stays precisely the place it’s. As soon as your new website is up and working, you don’t have to maneuver it, migrate it, or copy it – you simply copy and edit a file or two and tweak a few settings.
Phew! That feels like one thing you may do as a beginner to WordPress, proper? Nice!
Step #1: Set up WordPress in a Subdirectory
Your first step is to put in WordPress. As a substitute of putting in it within the root listing of your website, set up it in a subdirectory, or folder. So in case your website is at http://mysite.com, you’ll set up it in a folder referred to as http://mysite.com/wordpress.
However first, a warning: I wouldn’t truly set up it in a folder referred to as WordPress. Give your folder a extra obscure title, so that folks (guests and hackers) don’t bump into it. Your folder title could possibly be something you need – full nonsense if you happen to like. The important factor is that the folder mustn’t have the identical title as any file or folder in your current static website. In any other case, when folks go to that URL in your outdated website, they’ll be taken to the brand new website.
So whenever you set up WordPress, do it in your new folder. In the event you’re utilizing an set up script offered by your internet hosting supplier (equivalent to Softaculous or Fantastico) you need to be capable to do this whenever you set up it. Or if you happen to’re utilizing the ‘well-known five-minute set up’, simply set up WordPress manually in your subfolder.
Notice: In case your website will likely be working a Multisite community, you’ll be able to nonetheless do that however you received’t be capable to use subdomains because the construction to your community – simply subdirectories.
Step #2: Conceal Your Web site
Whilst you’re establishing your new website, you don’t need folks discovering it in search outcomes, so that you’ll want to cover it from engines like google.
WordPress makes this very simple. Merely go to Settings > Studying within the admin screens of your new website, and also you’ll discover a checkbox for hiding your website from engines like google:
Examine the Discourage engines like google from indexing this website field after which click on the Save Adjustments button. This can create a robots.txt file in your website that tells engines like google to not index this new website. Don’t fear about that file – WordPress takes care of it for you.
Step #3: Arrange Your New Web site
Now for the enjoyable half! Spend a while getting your new WordPress website prepared. Choose a theme, add some plugins, create some content material, add photographs, and different media and make it fabulous.
Step #4: Put together for Reside
When your new website is able to go, it’s time to organize it to go reside. You’ll want to repeat a few recordsdata, edit one in all them, and tweak some settings. Let’s take issues step-by-step.
Again up and Delete Your Outdated Web site
First, take a backup of your outdated website’s recordsdata by copying them to your native machine. Your FTP shopper will allow you to do that, or you need to use File Supervisor in cPanel.
As soon as all the pieces has been downloaded, delete the outdated website’s recordsdata.
Copying and Enhancing Two Recordsdata
Utilizing FTP or cPanel File Supervisor, copy (don’t transfer) two recordsdata from the subdirectory the place you may have WordPress put in to the basis listing (i.e. the public_html listing):
index.php
.htaccess
In the event you can’t see your .htaccess file, you’ll must allow hidden recordsdata in cPanel or your FTP shopper. In cPanel, you do that by returning to the cPanel Dwelling display, clicking on File Supervisor and ticking the ‘Present Hidden Recordsdata’ field when opening File Supervisor. Completely different FTP purchasers will work in another way – look in your program’s assist part.
Now open the index.php file that’s within the root listing – the one you simply created whenever you made that duplicate. Discover this line:
Edit it so it reads like this:
Exchange subdirectory in my code with the title of your subdirectory. So in my website which I put in at http://rachelmccollin.co.uk/new-site/, my code would learn:
Now save that file and shut it.
Step #5: Edit Your Web site Settings
There are two stuff you now should do to make your website reside – inform WordPress your new website deal with, and let engines like google index your website.
Enhancing URL Settings
Go to the Settings > Normal display within the admin. You’ll see that there are two fields with URLs in – one for the WordPress deal with and one for the location deal with. The WordPress deal with is the place WordPress is put in, whereas the location deal with is the place folks will discover your website.
Right here’s mine earlier than modifying:
Edit the Web site Tackle area, eradicating the subdirectory. So as a substitute of studying http://rachelmccollin.co.uk/new-site, mine will learn http://rachelmccollin.co.uk.
Save your modifications by clicking the Save Adjustments button.
Permitting Search Engine Entry
Bear in mind how earlier than you arrange your new website, you hid it from engines like google? You mustn’t overlook to undo that.
Go to Settings > Studying. Unheck the Discourage engines like google from indexing this website field after which click on the Save Adjustments button. Search engines like google and yahoo will now begin crawling your website.
Notice: to hurry this up, it’s a good suggestion to register with Google webmaster instruments, and inform Google about your website. Right here you’ll be able to see how usually Google is crawling your website and select to cover components of it.
Issues?
Generally after doing this you attempt to go to the location and it doesn’t work – you could get too many redirects, or it’d go to a 404 web page. If that occurs, clear your browser cache. Your browser could also be remembering the outdated location of your website and utilizing that in error. When you’ve carried out that, issues ought to work. Attempt checking with one other browser and/or gadget too.
You Needn’t Take away Your Outdated Web site Whereas Establishing WordPress
You will have assumed that with a purpose to arrange your pretty new WordPress website, you’ll must delete your outdated static website and don’t have anything whilst you’re creating the brand new website. However you now know that isn’t the case. In the event you observe this information you’ll be able to preserve your outdated website working whilst you develop the brand new website within the background, and solely make it seen to engines like google as soon as it’s prepared.
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