Website Backup for Free WordPress
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I have a free WordPress site, but I want to migrate it to Cloudways hosting on my own domain. Cloudways stated that they need the backups to my site to migrate it, but they get an upgrade paywall when they try to get the backups. Is there a way to create a backup to migrate my site without paying for the business plan? I don’t want to pay for something I won’t be using. Thanks for any answers you have!
WP.com: Yes
Correct account: YesThe blog I need help with is: (visible only to logged in users)
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The only way to move your site to a selfhosted site is through a XML-file. You find all instructions at https://move.wordpress.com/.
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Cloudways employees tried going to that link and following the instructions. They said it did not work. They told me to contact WordPress to have them send me a backup of my site, but all I can do is post to the forum. Is there a way to contact WordPress for this? Does anyone know how to get a full backup? Am I just going to have to subscribe to an upgraded plan that I won’t use in order to get a backup of my own content? I’m at a loss right now.
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Without a paid upgrade, your only support option is the free support forums. Since @staartmees flagged this for Staff attention, we’ll be able to answer your questions here.
Regarding the “it didn’t work” I find that highly unlikely unless they did not have login access to your WordPress.com account. The WordPress export/import feature is built into the software itself and is not something that needs a special setup in order to work.
Since they seem to have trouble, you’ll need to get the WordPress export file for them. Follow the steps here to get the export of your site:
https://move.wordpress.com/exportimport-content/
Once you provide them with the XML file, their employees should be able to do a regular WordPress import to move all your content. Or, you could do this yourself.
NOTE: This does not transfer your theme. You would need to recreate your design on your new site.
If you’re looking for a “full backup” of your site, you would need to upgrade to the Business Plan in order to access Jetpack Backup (our backup service) that would allow you to backup your site. Jetpack Backup is only available on Business and eCommerce plans as we have to convert your site to the new site architecture to allow plugins and backups to work.
However, the vast majority of people just use the WordPress export tool to move their site to a new host without needing to upgrade. It’s also something that you could do yourself without needing to pay Cloudways to do it for you.
If you have any questions, let us know!
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Thank you so much for your help! If I do it this way, will my followers still transfer, or would I need to do a backup for that?
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To transfer your followers after your site content, please follow the steps at https://jetpack.com/support/subscription-migration-tool/
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