Title: Widgets go missing
Last modified: August 21, 2016

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# Widgets go missing

 *  Resolved [PeterYpenburg](https://wordpress.org/support/users/peterypenburg/)
 * (@peterypenburg)
 * [12 years, 8 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/widgets-go-missing/)
 * I have read previous replies on the forum that relates to this question but could
   not find a satisfactory answer. I have a template site that I will need to copy
   once in a while and when I do the widgets disappear.
 * The problem started when we made the site in production and now we copied it 
   back to development. I followed a very simple approach after I could not find
   a plug-in that could assist with moving a site from one machine to another. The
   steps I followed are:
 * I made sure my development machine is a mirror of production when it comes to
   set up of LAMP and all configuration in Apache 2 … only difference is the Request
   Header values in Apache conf file …
 * Using MySQL Workbench 5.2 CE I made a backup of the database into a “single transaction–
   self contained file” …
 * Using a search and replace I replaced all references in the SQL dump file from
   the production URL to a development URL
 * I then imported the “single transaction – self contained file” into MySQL on 
   the development server using MySQL Workbench 5.2 CE, no errors.
 * Copy all the files from my production server from the web root folder (mostly/
   var/www/) to the development server, all files and folders are identical between
   two servers
 * Edit my wp-config file and make sure all connection and related setting are correct.
 * Log in to my development site and it works BUT my widget are gone … I have to
   recreate them by coping source from live site.
 * I use Reaction theme Version 2.0.6.1 with the following plugins:
    Dynamic Widgets
   Version 1.5.4 Iframe Embedder Version 1.3 Nav Menu Roles Version 1.2 User Role
   Editor Version 3.10 WordPress HTTPS Version 3.3.6
 * Very simple setup … Has anyone been able to fix this widgets thing disappearing…
   it seems to be a common problem when copying a site or I am doing something wrong.
   Any input is appreciated.
 * Thank you, Peter.

Viewing 3 replies - 1 through 3 (of 3 total)

 *  [esmi](https://wordpress.org/support/users/esmi/)
 * (@esmi)
 * [12 years, 8 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/widgets-go-missing/#post-4094404)
 * I suggest you review [Moving_WordPress](http://codex.wordpress.org/Moving_WordPress).
   And please do not bump your topic. That’s not allowed here.
 *  Thread Starter [PeterYpenburg](https://wordpress.org/support/users/peterypenburg/)
 * (@peterypenburg)
 * [12 years, 8 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/widgets-go-missing/#post-4094411)
 * Thank you Esmi for your reply, I will go through the codex for moving wordpress.
 * I do not understand what you meant by “bump your topic” as all I did was was 
   for help.
 * Thank you.
 *  Thread Starter [PeterYpenburg](https://wordpress.org/support/users/peterypenburg/)
 * (@peterypenburg)
 * [12 years, 8 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/widgets-go-missing/#post-4094412)
 * Thank you Esmi, you made my day … the important thing is not just to do a search
   and replace on an SQL dump file because you WILL cause “issues with data serialization,
   due to the fact that some themes and widgets store values with the length of 
   your URL marked” …
 * The use of script to prevent this like “[Search and Replace for WordPress Databases Script](http://interconnectit.com/124/search-and-replace-for-wordpress-databases/)”
   solved the issue and was very easy to use.
 * Cheers, Peter.

Viewing 3 replies - 1 through 3 (of 3 total)

The topic ‘Widgets go missing’ is closed to new replies.

## Tags

 * [disappear](https://wordpress.org/support/topic-tag/disappear/)
 * [site](https://wordpress.org/support/topic-tag/site/)
 * [widget](https://wordpress.org/support/topic-tag/widget/)

 * In: [Fixing WordPress](https://wordpress.org/support/forum/how-to-and-troubleshooting/)
 * 3 replies
 * 2 participants
 * Last reply from: [PeterYpenburg](https://wordpress.org/support/users/peterypenburg/)
 * Last activity: [12 years, 8 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/widgets-go-missing/#post-4094412)
 * Status: resolved

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