I wouldn’t start from scratch.
If you would like to make a copy of the site, one to keep live the other to work on, you can do that by simply making a copy of your database (which is where the content for your entire website lives). So now you have 2 copies of the database. Leave one alone and let it serve the WWW.
Take the other one and, if you have access to a local hosting environment, install it on your own system. If you do not have a ‘localhost’ then you just make a new installation of WP on the same server. Sounds complicated but it isn’t…
You’ll just make a new directory (folder) on your server where you want this testing environment. Call it whatever you want….”Testing” ???
Then install WordPress into this new folder – get the zip from WordPress.com or whatever you want to do (there’s plenty of information about how to install if you are unclear)
When WordPress in installing it will ask you which database to connect to. Now – just give it the NEW (The copied, the duplicated, however you want to say it) database’s name and UN and PW…
That should give you a second install of WordPress that is completely independent of the other live installation. Then from there you’ll recognize everything, you can install your new theme and play around until you like it.
Hope this helps!
-Chad
** I’ll follow the thread in case you have more questions – just post.
Oh, okay. That might work and may kill two birds with one stone. I have my current blog on a domain that I don’t use as much (spiritcaat.com) and was going to have my hosting service move it to my primary domain (pawstalk.net).
From what you are saying, I’m thinking that it might be best to create a new WP database on pawstalk.net and do all of the work there until I have the new one built. My only confusion is …
Step 1. I’m going to make a backup of my existing WP database through … my Hostgator Control Panel? And that will save the database to my desktop as a .zip file.
Step 2. I’m going to go into my HG Control Panel and set up a new WP database onto pawstalk.net through Quick install. (That’s really the only way I would know how to do this.)
Step 3. In doing it this way, I don’t know if it will ask me which database to connect it to. (http://support.hostgator.com/articles/specialized-help/technical/wordpress/how-to-install-wordpress) If I do this, once it’s installed as a clean install, can I still transfer my copied database into the new install? Or am I going to *have* to do it manually, as you described? Or … is it something I need to just call Hostgator and see if they will copy the whole thing over?
Thanks so much for your help. Just the idea of the new database helps tremendously. I don’t know why I didn’t think of it before.
Caat
Hi Caat –
Yeah – so, going question by question:
1) The database can be backed up via phpMyAdmin via cPanel (usually) – that is where your data lives. The file type should be a .SQL (i did caps for clarity – the real file will be lower case). That is what you want to copy. It may even be called ‘wordpress’ – it depends how you set that up originally. Then you take that file to your new host and install via phpMyAdmin on THAT site.
2) Pretty much answered in #1 (i hope…lol)
3) I would think they would transfer for you – but I am uncertain.
## Looks like that document is what I was talking about, correct!
You’ll do great! Have fun and be careful with those databases! 🙂
-Chad
Post back if I didn’t cover something well enough for you. I’m not a writer – just a metal fabricator with a hobby. 🙂
Cheers!
