Identify Hosting Server
Use Website IP Chrome Extension to easily find the IP address of the existing site. This extension displays the IP address of the current website in the bottom right corner of your browser. Determine the IP address of the existing site to find out which server currently hosts it.
to LastPass and search for the last octet of the server IP address to find the corresponding entry linked to the hosting server.
Backup the Website in Plesk
Log into Plesk > Domain > Dashboard > Back Up and Restore > Backup.
Select the following options:
- User Files
- Databases
- Type: Full
- Exclude Log Files
Click OK.
Create a Site Archive in PLESK
Navigate to Dashboard > Files (httpdocs is the default).
Clicking the domain name will bring up the domain Dashboard in PLESK.
Select all files except the blog and select Add to Archive from the Archive dropdown.
Save the archive with the current date:
Backup the Blog
Navigate to WordPress > Backup and Restore > Backup
Wait for blog to complete the backup process
Clear Existing Files
Navigate to Dashboard > Files.
Remove all files except the following:
.well-known(if present)blog- The previously created archive list
- Remove
This step ensures that all current assets are deleted, except for the blog. Remember, the blog has its own image library, so your posts and images will remain intact during the transition.
Once you Remove the Existing Files the site is down. Make sure you are prepared to load the new site immediately afterwards. That means you have completed 301s, you have an updated .htaccess file, robots.txt and you have switched the staging site with the current site, so you are ready to push the new site live.