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🚀 WordPress Migration Guide: Server to Raspberry Pi

Written by

Gemini Gemini

in

Developed by Gemini

Phase 1: Packing Up (Old Server)

1. Zip the Files Navigate to your WordPress root and compress all files:

Bash

tar -czvf site_backup.tar.gz .

2. Export the Database Create a snapshot of your current database:

Bash

mysqldump -u [old_db_user] -p [old_db_name] > database_backup.sql

Transfer both site_backup.tar.gz and database_backup.sql to your Raspberry Pi.

Phase 2: Preparing the New Home (Raspberry Pi)

3. Create the Database and User Log into MariaDB on your Pi:

Bash

sudo mariadb -u root -p

Run these commands (replace placeholders with your choices):

SQL

CREATE DATABASE dummy_db;
CREATE USER 'dummy_user'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'STRONG_PASSWORD';
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON dummy_db.* TO 'dummy_user'@'localhost';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
EXIT;

4. Deploy Files & Adjust Permissions Create the folder structure and extract your backup:

Bash

sudo mkdir -p /var/www/yourdomain.com/public_html
sudo tar -xzvf site_backup.tar.gz -C /var/www/yourdomain.com/public_html

Now, fix the ownership so the Apache web server (www-data) can manage the files:

Bash

sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/yourdomain.com
sudo find /var/www/yourdomain.com -type d -exec chmod 755 {} \;
sudo find /var/www/yourdomain.com -type f -exec chmod 644 {} \;

5. Update wp-config.php Edit the configuration to match your new database credentials:

Bash

sudo nano /var/www/yourdomain.com/public_html/wp-config.php

Update DB_NAME (dummy_db), DB_USER (dummy_user), and DB_PASSWORD.

Phase 3: Web Server & Security

6. Apache Configuration Create a new Virtual Host file:

Bash

sudo nano /etc/apache2/sites-available/yourdomain.conf

Paste this configuration:

Apache

<VirtualHost *:80>
    ServerName yourdomain.com
    DocumentRoot /var/www/yourdomain.com/public_html

    <Directory /var/www/yourdomain.com/public_html>
        AllowOverride All
        Require all granted
    </Directory>

    ErrorLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/mysite_error.log
    CustomLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/mysite_access.log combined
</VirtualHost>

Enable the site and reload Apache:

Bash

sudo a2ensite yourdomain.conf
sudo systemctl reload apache2

7. Secure with Let’s Encrypt Request your SSL certificate:

Bash

sudo apt install certbot python3-certbot-apache -y
sudo certbot --apache -d yourdomain.com

Phase 4: Path & URL Synchronization

8. Import the Database Import your SQL file into the new database:

Bash

mysql -u dummy_user -p dummy_db < database_backup.sql

9. Update File Paths and URLs This step is critical. WordPress stores absolute file paths (e.g., /home/olduser/public_html) and URLs in the database. If these aren’t updated to your Pi’s path (/var/www/yourdomain.com/public_html), your site will crash.

Using WP-CLI (The most reliable way):

Bash

cd /var/www/yourdomain.com/public_html

# Update the Domain URL
wp search-replace 'https://old-domain.com' 'https://yourdomain.com' --allow-root

# Update the System File Path
# Replace '/old/path/to/site' with the path from your old server
wp search-replace '/old/path/to/site' '/var/www/yourdomain.com/public_html' --allow-root

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