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MASSIVE wordpress problems Please help

by AnnaHamer
23 replies
Hi guys I have sold a site I have made with wordpress. Everything is moved over to the new owner, however nothing is working. All the wordpress files are in the guys account, but nothing is displayed at all. I tried to log into wordpress with the url I used when the site was mine, but I get a 404 message. I know wordpress is flexible enough to move back and forth like this, and I am hoping I haven't lost all the posts. Can anyone help me get it up and running just like it used to be?

Thanks
Anna
#press #problems #word
  • Profile picture of the author Ivan Wong
    How did you migrate the website?

    Some checks:

    Did you check that the siteurl and home have been updated to the new domain?

    In addition, the permalinks should be setup the same way as the old site (and updated in the .htaccess file).
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    • Profile picture of the author AnnaHamer
      Originally Posted by Ivan Wong View Post

      How did you migrate the website?

      Some checks:

      Did you check that the siteurl and home have been updated to the new domain?

      In addition, the permalinks should be setup the same way as the old site (and updated in the .htaccess file).

      The hosting company moved everything over.

      I have since deleted the site from his add on domains and moved it back over to mine, and I am still getting a 404 message. I don't understand that because everything is the same as it used to be.
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  • Profile picture of the author Joseph Michael
    The database. Have you exported it from the old one, and imported it into the new hosting.

    All content etc is stored in the database with wordpress. No content, settings or anything else is stored in the FTP, files or folders unless you manually go into the raw files and edit them.
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    • Profile picture of the author AnnaHamer
      Originally Posted by joewooweb View Post

      The database. Have you exported it from the old one, and imported it into the new hosting.

      Yes I think everything is exactly the same. I see they changed the user name in the wp_config.php, but everything else seems the same

      All content etc is stored in the database with wordpress. No content, settings or anything else is stored in the FTP, files or folders unless you manually go into the raw files and edit them.
      I have no idea how to do that. Also why is the site down? The guy is on the same hosting as me so it's the same server. Do you know hoe to edit the files I need to edit?
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  • Profile picture of the author Joseph Michael
    The database. Have you exported it from the old one, and imported it into the new hosting.

    All content etc is stored in the database with wordpress. No content, settings or anything else is stored in the FTP, files or folders unless you manually go into the raw files and edit them.
    Signature
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  • Profile picture of the author AnnaHamer
    If I can find a way to get back the way it used to be will all the content still be there?
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    • Profile picture of the author mojojuju
      Did you possibly forget to copy a .htaccess file?
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      :)

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      • Profile picture of the author AnnaHamer
        Originally Posted by mojojuju View Post

        Did you possibly forget to copy a .htaccess file?
        I have a copy of everything the way it was. I made a zip file of everything before it got transferred over, but I didn't transfer anything over myself everything was done by the hosting company. I will have a look at that file on my desk top and compare it to the file on the server.

        where do I find htaccess in the data base?
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      • Profile picture of the author rosetrees
        did you take a backup of the database from "tools" and then "export"? If you did - then that contains all your posts & pages.

        If you'd like to talk via Skype, PM me. I don't promise I can sort it out for you, but I'd be happy to try.
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  • Profile picture of the author AnnaHamer
    I could reload WP on the new owners account, I have made txt files of all the code, and the photos and headers are on the server. But, I can't get any of the articles back if I do that and I am freaking out....
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  • Profile picture of the author Chri5123
    This may be the hosting company making a balls up get in touch with them and see what they did?
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    • Profile picture of the author AnnaHamer
      Originally Posted by Chri5123 View Post

      This may be the hosting company making a balls up get in touch with them and see what they did?
      I tried that I got put on hold for 20 min and as soon as I got someone they hung up on me. I called back held for another 20min and got hung up as soon as they picked up the phone.
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  • Profile picture of the author Chri5123
    Hmm.. what hosting company is it? is there another number you can get from the operator?

    Have you still got all the files backed up?

    What is the url of the site the files have been moved too?
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  • Profile picture of the author VegasGreg
    It sounds like you just downloaded and reuploaded the actual files of the site and didn't do anything with the database.

    In addition to the actual files, you will need to backup/export the Wordpress database. The reinstall Wordpress on new site, upload files and import the database.
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  • Profile picture of the author VegasGreg
    Oh, and also, if you are also transferring the domain name to the new owner, you will have to go into the domain registrar and point the domain to the new server, This can take 24 hours to take effect and fully transfer over.
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    Greg Schueler - Wordpress Fanatic... Living The Offline Marketing Dream...

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    • Profile picture of the author AnnaHamer
      Originally Posted by VegasGreg View Post

      Oh, and also, if you are also transferring the domain name to the new owner, you will have to go into the domain registrar and point the domain to the new server, This can take 24 hours to take effect and fully transfer over.
      so will the blog access url start working again? I didn't think this would be a problem because we are both on the same host, therefore the DNS is set the same.
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  • Profile picture of the author AnnaHamer
    If this information helps, the hosting company just copied the cpanel files and moved it over to the new guys account. The did nothing with wordpress. And I can't get into the original blog by using the www.yoursite/wp_admin. so I can't get in there to change anything.
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    • Profile picture of the author VegasGreg
      Originally Posted by AnnaHamer View Post

      so will the blog access url start working again? I didn't think this would be a problem because we are both on the same host, therefore the DNS is set the same.
      If the hosting DNS is the same for both of you, then this will not be an issue. Most hosting accounts have different DNS for each user (sort of).

      Originally Posted by AnnaHamer View Post

      If this information helps, the hosting company just copied the cpanel files and moved it over to the new guys account. The did nothing with wordpress. And I can't get into the original blog by using the www.yoursite/wp_admin. so I can't get in there to change anything.
      Without installing Wordpress on the new site, then nothing will work. You can't have a Wordpress site without Wordpress.
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      Greg Schueler - Wordpress Fanatic... Living The Offline Marketing Dream...

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  • Profile picture of the author AnnaHamer
    Yes , VagasGreg you are right. After speaking with rosetrees, I think I have everything sorted. We managed to get back into the old blog and export the data base. I have done a new installation on the clients account. I am just waiting for the servers to update so I can log into the new admin area.

    Crisis averted for now. Thank you all so much for your help, especially you rose! ! I am fairly confident it will all go to plan, but I will keep my fingers crossed just in case.
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    • Profile picture of the author TSDMike
      I don't know about your hosting provider, but mine (Hostgator) will for a small fee revert my site back to the way it was at the time of their last backup, which happens every Sunday evening. Yours probably offers a similar service. Worst case scenario you could 'go back in time' and start over, without losing any data (or only the data you've added since the last backup).

      Good luck.
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      Web Marketing, SEO & Wordpress Site Development in Grand Rapids, MI
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      • Profile picture of the author koolphoto
        When transferring a Wordpress blog, I have found it best to disable all plugins before backing up the database. I have occasionally had trouble with the database and certain plugins when moving the blog. I find it less trouble just to turn off the plugins and then turn them back on in the Admin panel once everything is moved.

        Backup the files on your server - download the files to your computer via ftp.
        Backup the Wordpress database - this can be done in cpanel or if you go to Wordpress.org, read the codex for backing up a Wordpress database via phpMyAdmin. I myself prefer to use phpMyAdmin.

        If the name of the site that you are moving the Wordpress blog to is different from yours or the one you backed it up from, you must go into the database that you backed up and change all instances of the old domain url to the new domain url. Warning: Always work on a copy of the original database. If you make a mistake you can render the database useless. That is why I always work on a copy of the database.

        Have the client point the domain to his server in his domain hosting admin panel. ie. dns

        You then need to transfer your orignal files to the new owners hosting via ftp.
        You also need to install the Wordpress database either via cpanel or via phpMyAdmin by following the instructions in the Wordpress Codex.

        If all the steps are done properly, the site should be visible. Once you figure out the steps it only takes a few minutes to transfer a Wordpress blog. The most important and crucial part is the transfer of the database.
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  • Profile picture of the author mobear410
    Just my 2 cents worth. If you can access the database through Cpanel then you should be able to download a copy and import it into the new site or even the old site. A lot of people have suggested the database but I didn't read anything about how to access it. You do this through the Cpanel. If the original database is not on your server or his then it is gone and the best thing to do is to build a new site.
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    • Profile picture of the author Jeff Henshaw
      I tried that I got put on hold for 20 min and as soon as I got someone they hung up on me. I called back held for another 20min and got hung up as soon as they picked up the phone.
      Now the emergency situation has been sorted, I would strongly recommend that you change your hosting company.

      Just my thoughts,

      Jeff.
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