WordPress Migration from WP Engine to AWS – Part 2

Introduction

Welcome back to the second part of our comprehensive guide on migrating your WordPress website from WP Engine to Amazon Web Services (AWS). In this segment, we will delve deeper into the technical aspects of the migration process, focusing on extracting files from WP Engine backups and preparing them for deployment on AWS. Additionally, we’ll discuss the advantages of migrating to AWS and how it can benefit your website’s performance, scalability, security, and more.

Click here for Part 1.

Extracting Files from WP Engine Backup

After creating a production backup of your WordPress site on WP Engine, the next critical step is to extract the downloaded backup files. These files contain all the essential data for your website, including themes, plugins, media files, and the WordPress database.

Steps to extract the files

• Access WP Engine Account Dashboard: Log in to your WP Engine account and navigate to the backups section.
• Locate the Production Backup: Identify the production backup you created earlier, usually listed with the date and time of the backup.
• Download Backup Files: Click on the provided download link to save the backup files to your local machine. Depending on the size of your website, this process may take some time.
• Extract Backup Contents: Once the download is complete, use a file extraction tool like WinZip or 7-Zip to extract the backup file’s contents. This will create a folder containing all the files from your WordPress site, organized in a directory structure.

Steps to Change URLs for AWS Deployment

Before deploying your WordPress site on AWS, updating any references to the old domain or URLs to reflect the new AWS environment is crucial. This ensures your site functions correctly and all links and resources are properly directed.

To change URLs, follow these general steps:

Step 1: Open the extracted WordPress files.

Step 2: Search for the old domain or URLs within the files, including references in the WordPress database and hardcoded links in theme files, plugin files, and other configuration files.

Step 3: Replace all occurrences of the old domain or URLs with the new AWS domain or URLs. Ensure thoroughness in your search to update all references.

Step 4: Save the changes to the files.

Step 5: Optionally, if you’re comfortable with database management, you can also use SQL commands to update URLs directly in the WordPress database.

Issuing SSL Certificate and Configuring Load Balancer

Once your WordPress site is ready for deployment on AWS, ensuring secure communication with SSL certificates and optimizing performance using a load balancer is essential.

To issue an SSL certificate and configure a load balancer, follow these steps:

• Check Existing SSL Certificate: If you already have an SSL certificate, ensure it’s valid and matches your new AWS domain.
• Register SSL Certificate: If you don’t have an SSL certificate or need to register a new one, AWS Certificate Manager (ACM) provides an easy way to obtain and manage SSL/TLS certificates.
• Configure Load Balancer: Set up a load balancer in your AWS environment to distribute incoming traffic across multiple instances, improving reliability and scalability.
• Update DNS Settings: Once the SSL certificate is issued and the load balancer is configured, update your DNS settings to point to the load balancer’s endpoint.

Advantages

• Scalability: AWS provides unmatched scalability, allowing you to adjust resources based on your website’s traffic demands.
• Customization: With AWS, you have complete control over your server environment, enabling fine-tuning to meet your specific requirements.
• Cost Efficiency: AWS operates on a pay-as-you-go pricing model, resulting in significant cost savings compared to fixed-price plans.
• Global Reach: AWS’s global data centers allow you to host your website closer to your target audience, reducing latency and improving user experience.
• Security: AWS offers comprehensive security features and compliance certifications to protect your data and infrastructure.
• Reliability: AWS ensures industry-leading reliability and uptime, backed by redundant infrastructure.
• Performance: Leveraging AWS’s infrastructure and services enhances your website’s performance and responsiveness.

Conclusion

In this second part of our WordPress migration series, we’ve covered the essential steps for extracting files from WP Engine backups and updating URLs for deployment on AWS.

About CloudThat

CloudThat is a leading provider of Cloud Training and Consulting services with a global presence in India, the USA, Asia, Europe, and Africa. Specializing in AWS, Microsoft Azure, GCP, VMware, Databricks, and more, the company serves mid-market and enterprise clients, offering comprehensive expertise in Cloud Migration, Data Platforms, DevOps, IoT, AI/ML, and more.

CloudThat is recognized as a top-tier partner with AWS and Microsoft, including the prestigious ‘Think Big’ partner award from AWS and the Microsoft Superstars FY 2023 award in Asia & India. Having trained 650k+ professionals in 500+ cloud certifications and completed 300+ consulting projects globally, CloudThat is an official AWS Advanced Consulting Partner, Microsoft Gold Partner, AWS Training Partner, AWS Migration Partner, AWS Data and Analytics Partner, AWS DevOps Competency Partner, Amazon QuickSight Service Delivery Partner, Amazon EKS Service Delivery Partner, AWS Microsoft Workload Partners, Amazon EC2 Service Delivery Partner, and many more.

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