Migrate Guru

Migrate Guru is a free plugin available from WordPress.org. It is relatively easy to use, works well even with larger WordPress sites, and is compatible with Kinsta.

This guide is provided to help you perform your own migration. However, please note that Migrate Guru may not be fully compatible with some WordPress sites. Our Support team is always happy to help with basic migration questions, but cannot assist with failed migrations, as this falls outside of the scope of our support.

Kinsta migrations are free, if you’re at all worried about the integrity of your data, we highly recommend using our professional Migrations team.

Add a site in MyKinsta

Once you’ve signed up for a Kinsta hosting plan, to use Migrate Guru, you’ll need to add a site in MyKinsta.

When creating the site, be sure to select the Install WordPress option.

While your new site is being created, you can move on to the next steps.

Install Migrate Guru on both sites

1. While the site is being created in MyKinsta, go to your existing website (the one you want to migrate) and log in to the WordPress Admin area.
2. Navigate to Plugins > Add New, and then search for Migrate Guru.

   

3. Once you locate the plugin, click Install Now to install it and then Activate to activate the plugin.
4. In MyKinsta, go to your new site, click Log in to WP Admin, and repeat steps 2 and 3 to install and activate the Migrate Guru plugin on your new site.

Copy the migration key

In your new MyKinsta site, click Log in to WP Admin, select Migrate Guru, click Copy Key, and then Copy Key again.

Initiate the migration

1. Go back to your existing site that you want to migrate to MyKinsta, and within WP Admin, select Migrate Guru.
2. In step 1, click Yes, I’ve installed it.

   

3. In step 2, paste the key you copied from your new site, and click Validate Key.

   

4. In step 3, enter your email address, confirm the sites are correct for migrating from and to, and click Initiate Migration.

   

5. Migrate Guru will then redirect you to their BlogVault page, which shows you the migration progress.

   

6. Once the migration is complete you can test the migrated site and go live.

Test the migrated site and go live

To test and preview your site using the Site Preview tool:

1. Log in to MyKinsta, and go to WordPress sites > sitename > Tools.
2. On Site Preview, click Enable, enter your live domain, and select how long you’d like the preview enabled (1, 4, 8, or 24 hours).

You’ll then be able to access and test the site as if it were live.

Take time to verify your content, functionality, and any eCommerce or membership features (for example, stores using WooCommerce). Don’t update your DNS until you’ve fully tested everything.

Once you’re confident the site is working correctly, update your domain’s DNS records to point to Kinsta. Follow the Go Live Checklist to help ensure nothing is missed.

After DNS propagation is complete, visitors will be routed to your site on Kinsta. Only cancel your previous hosting once you’ve confirmed the site is loading correctly from Kinsta.