In this tutorial we will show you how to migrate a Joomla site from one server to another. But we will complicate things a bit more because we will do it manually and without using third-party extensions.
The steps we will perform are: first, back up the database; second, install Joomla from scratch; third, import the old database into the new site; and fourth, install all the extensions from the old site and copy the 'images' folder.
Of course, if on your site you can install components like 'Akeeba Kickstart' to do the migration, we recommend that you use this service, which is much simpler and almost as effective. But if for many factors you cannot install 'Akeeba Kickstart' because the component is corrupted, you cannot access the Joomla administrator, or the website is so heavy that you cannot create the '.jpa' file, then this tutorial will come in handy.
Backing Up the Database
The first thing we have to do is log into the server control panel and go to the phpMyAdmin option, then enter the site's database and click Export. (We also recommend backing up all Joomla folders and files on your computer.)
If you don't know which database your site uses, you can open the configuration.php file and get the database information.
Installing Joomla and Importing the Old Database
Now we have to install the version of Joomla we had on the new server (1.5, 1.7, 2.5, or 3). Here we have to do a normal Joomla installation with a new database and user (created on the new server), but in the "Table prefix" option you will have to enter the table prefix of the original site's database, in this case "kwy6a".
Once the new Joomla is installed, we have to go to the Control Panel of the other hosting (the new server) and go to the phpMyAdmin option. Here we will have to delete the tables of the recent database and import the database exported from the other server.
Installing Extensions and Copying the Images Folder
At this point we already have all the data from the old site and a fully functional Joomla, but we still have two more steps to do: install all the extensions and templates on the new Joomla. So we have to install, for example, K2, Phoca Gallery and the AceSearch search engine, and all the components, modules, and plugins that were installed on the old site.
You just need to download the 'images' folder from the old server and copy it to the new server, what we are doing here is copying all the images we had on the old site with the same name, format, and size.
All that remains is to install the new template and set it as default, so that the page looks identical in terms of design. As you can see, the work is not that complex. Of course, if your website had many extensions installed, you will spend much more time rebuilding the entire site.
We should always remember that all CMSs have their engine, in this case Joomla, its database, and the extensions installed in the administrator.
We hope that this traditional way of migrating a Joomla site to a new server or to a new folder will be of great help to you.
