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Domain Migration Tool

Moving your website from one domain to another - like from a staging site to your live domain - is one of the most stressful parts of running a WordPress site. The Domain Migration Tool makes this process painless by ensuring all your Promptless WP content transfers smoothly without broken images or links.

What Is the Domain Migration Tool?​

The Domain Migration Tool is a built-in feature that helps you move your Promptless WP pages between domains without losing any of your content, images, or links.

The Problem It Solves​

When you move a WordPress site from one domain to another, URLs can break. Imagine you've built beautiful pages on staging.mysite.com and now you want to launch on www.mysite.com. Without proper handling, your images might still point to the old staging URL - and when you delete that staging site, all your images disappear!

How Promptless WP Handles This Differently​

Promptless WP uses a smart URL storage system that stores your media URLs as relative paths rather than full URLs. Here's what that means:

Traditional WordPress approach:

  • Stores: https://staging.mysite.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/hero-image.jpg
  • Problem: URL breaks when domain changes

Promptless WP approach:

  • Stores: /wp-content/uploads/2025/01/hero-image.jpg
  • Benefit: Works automatically on any domain

This means when you move your site, your images and links just work - no manual updates needed.

Benefits​

  • Zero broken images - All your section images display correctly on the new domain
  • No manual URL updates - No need to run search-and-replace tools
  • Staging-friendly - Build on staging, launch on production without headaches
  • Subdomain support - Works when moving between subdomains and root domains
  • Backup safety - Restore backups to different domains without issues

When to Use the Domain Migration Tool​

Perfect For​

Staging to Production Launch You've built your site on a staging environment (like staging.mysite.com or mysite.staging.com) and now you're ready to launch on your main domain (www.mysite.com). The migration tool ensures all your section content transfers perfectly.

Domain Changes You're rebranding and moving from oldcompany.com to newcompany.com. All your Promptless WP pages will work on the new domain without any broken content.

Local Development to Live You've been developing locally (like on mysite.local using Local by Flywheel or MAMP) and now you're pushing to your live server. Your content will work immediately.

Moving Between Hosting Providers Whether you're migrating to better hosting or consolidating sites, your Promptless WP content comes along smoothly.

Backup Restoration Restoring a backup to a different domain? Your section content will display correctly without needing to fix URLs.

When You Don't Need to Worry​

Most of the time, you don't need to do anything special - the smart URL storage handles things automatically. However, if you've added external links or embedded content from third-party services, you may need to update those separately.

How Domain Migration Works​

Automatic Handling​

When you create or edit pages in Promptless WP, the system automatically:

  1. Converts URLs on Save - When you add an image from your media library, the URL is converted to a relative path before saving
  2. Rebuilds URLs on Display - When your page loads, the relative paths are converted back to full URLs using your current domain
  3. Maintains Media Library Links - Your WordPress media library connections stay intact

What Gets Migrated​

Automatically Handled:

  • All section images (hero images, feature card images, team photos, etc.)
  • Video poster images
  • Background images
  • Internal page links (buttons linking to other pages on your site)
  • Media library attachments

Requires Manual Attention:

  • External links to other websites (these stay as-is, which is correct)
  • Embedded content from third-party services (YouTube, Vimeo, etc.)
  • Custom CSS with hardcoded URLs

Step-by-Step Migration Guide​

Step 1: Prepare Your Site for Migration​

Before migrating, make sure your Promptless WP pages are ready:

  1. Save all pages - Make sure all your changes are saved
  2. Check content - Review your sections to ensure everything looks correct
  3. Note external links - Make a list of any external links that might need updating

Step 2: Perform Your WordPress Migration​

Use your preferred migration method:

Using a Migration Plugin:

  • All-in-One WP Migration
  • Duplicator
  • UpdraftPlus
  • WPvivid

Using Hosting Tools:

  • cPanel backup and restore
  • Hosting provider's migration service
  • Manual file transfer + database export/import

Using Development Tools:

  • Local by Flywheel push/pull
  • WP-CLI search-replace

Step 3: Verify Your Promptless WP Content​

After migration, check your pages:

  1. Open each Promptless WP page on the new domain
  2. Check all images display correctly
  3. Test internal links (buttons linking to other pages)
  4. Verify video embeds play properly
  5. Review mobile display to ensure images load on all devices

Step 4: Handle Any Edge Cases​

Most content should work automatically. If you notice issues:

Missing Images:

  • Check if the image exists in your media library on the new site
  • Re-upload and re-select images if needed

Broken Internal Links:

  • Update button URLs if your page structure changed
  • Use the URL autocomplete feature to quickly find correct pages

External Embeds:

  • YouTube, Vimeo, and other embeds should work without changes
  • Re-check any custom embed codes

For Agencies & Development Teams​

This section provides the technical assurance agencies need when recommending Promptless WP to clients.

Data Safety During Migration​

Relative URL Storage: All internal URLs are stored as relative paths in the database. This means:

  • No risk of URLs pointing to wrong domain after migration
  • Backup restores work regardless of target domain
  • Staging sites can be cloned repeatedly without URL issues

No Data Loss Risk:

  • Section content is stored in WordPress post meta using standard WordPress functions
  • Migration plugins handle this data correctly
  • No proprietary formats that could corrupt during transfer

Tested Migration Scenarios:

  • Staging to production (various hosting providers)
  • Local development to remote server
  • Subdomain to root domain
  • Root domain to subdomain
  • Cross-host migrations (e.g., GoDaddy to WP Engine)
  • Backup restoration to different domains

Automatic URL Handling​

On Content Save:

  • Images uploaded via media library are converted to relative paths
  • Existing full URLs are converted during edit sessions
  • WordPress attachment IDs are preserved for media library integrity

On Content Display:

  • Relative paths are reconstructed with current site URL
  • Proper protocol handling (HTTP/HTTPS)
  • Works with WordPress Multisite URL structures

Edge Cases Handled​

Protocol Differences (HTTP/HTTPS):

  • URLs work correctly regardless of SSL status
  • Automatic protocol matching with current site configuration

Subdirectory Installations:

  • Works with WordPress installed in subdirectories (e.g., mysite.com/blog/)
  • Relative paths maintain correct structure

CDN Compatibility:

  • If using a CDN, WordPress filters apply normally
  • Compatible with CDN plugins that rewrite URLs

Multisite Support:

  • Works correctly across different sites in a network
  • Each site's content stays properly separated

What Clients Can Trust​

  1. No manual URL updates needed - Content just works on the new domain
  2. Standard WordPress data storage - Uses reliable WordPress APIs
  3. Reversible process - Can migrate back if needed without data loss
  4. Proven approach - Same relative URL technique used by major page builders
  5. No external dependencies - All data stays in your WordPress database

Common Migration Scenarios​

Scenario 1: Staging to Production​

Setup: You've built a client site on staging.clientsite.com and you're ready to launch on www.clientsite.com.

Steps:

  1. Export/migrate your staging site database and files
  2. Import to production environment
  3. Update WordPress URLs in Settings → General (or via wp-config.php)
  4. Visit your Promptless WP pages - images will display correctly
  5. Clear any caching plugins

What happens automatically: All section images now load from www.clientsite.com instead of the staging URL.

Scenario 2: Local Development to Live Server​

Setup: You've been building on mysite.local using Local by Flywheel and want to push to www.mysite.com.

Steps:

  1. Use Local's "Push" feature or export manually
  2. Import to your live hosting
  3. Run WordPress URL updates
  4. Check Promptless WP pages

What happens automatically: Relative image paths adapt to your live domain without any additional work.

Scenario 3: Complete Domain Rebrand​

Setup: Company is rebranding from oldname.com to newname.com.

Steps:

  1. Set up new domain on hosting
  2. Migrate all WordPress files and database
  3. Update WordPress site URLs
  4. Point DNS to new domain
  5. Verify Promptless WP pages

What happens automatically: All section content displays correctly on the new domain name.

Scenario 4: Restoring a Backup to Different Domain​

Setup: You need to restore a backup of production.com to testsite.com for testing.

Steps:

  1. Restore backup files and database to test environment
  2. Update WordPress URLs for the test domain
  3. Browse Promptless WP pages

What happens automatically: Images load from testsite.com, not the original production domain.

Troubleshooting​

Images Not Displaying After Migration​

Check media library:

  1. Go to Media → Library on the new site
  2. Verify images are present and accessible
  3. If images are missing, re-upload them

Check file permissions:

  1. Ensure /wp-content/uploads/ folder has correct permissions
  2. Standard permissions: 755 for directories, 644 for files

Check uploads path:

  1. Go to Settings → Media
  2. Verify uploads path is correct for your hosting

Page structure changed:

  1. Open the page in Promptless WP editor
  2. Update button URLs using the URL autocomplete
  3. Search for the correct page name to get the right URL

Permalinks need refresh:

  1. Go to Settings → Permalinks
  2. Click "Save Changes" (no need to change anything)
  3. Test your links again

Some URLs Still Point to Old Domain​

External content:

  • YouTube embeds, external links, etc. should point to external sites
  • Only internal media and links are automatically handled

Custom CSS:

  • If you added custom CSS with hardcoded URLs, update those manually
  • Find CSS in Appearance → Customize → Additional CSS

Third-party integrations:

  • Check any connected services for hardcoded URLs
  • Update API endpoints or webhook URLs as needed

Migration Failed Completely​

If your whole migration failed:

  1. Restore from backup
  2. Check migration plugin compatibility
  3. Try a different migration method
  4. Contact your hosting provider's support

Best Practices​

Before Migration​

  • Full backup - Always backup before any migration
  • Test migration first - If possible, test on a staging environment first
  • Document external links - Know what external services you're using
  • Check file sizes - Large media libraries may need special handling

During Migration​

  • Don't skip steps - Follow your migration tool's complete process
  • Update WordPress URLs - Make sure both Site URL and Home URL are correct
  • Clear caches - Clear all caching after migration

After Migration​

  • Test thoroughly - Check every page, not just the homepage
  • Check mobile view - Ensure images load on mobile devices
  • Verify forms - Test any contact forms or interactive elements
  • Monitor for 24-48 hours - Watch for any delayed issues

Next Steps​

Now that you understand domain migration:

  1. Review Plugin Settings for other administrative tasks
  2. Learn about Backup & Security best practices
  3. Check Troubleshooting for other common issues

Need More Help?​

Remember: The smart URL storage system in Promptless WP means most migrations "just work" - but it's always worth double-checking your pages after any major site change!