Migrate with Migrate Guru

Migrate Guru is a fast and easy way to migrate WordPress sites. It is simple to use, works well even with larger WordPress sites, and is compatible with Templ.

This guide helps you perform your own migration. If you would rather not do it yourself, we can handle the whole thing for you with our free migration service.

Migrate Guru offers two ways to migrate. The recommended method uses a migration key: you install Migrate Guru on both sites and paste a key from your Templ site into the source site. The older method instead asks for the SFTP details of the destination site, and is covered further down as an alternative.

Get the migration key from your Templ website

With the key method, your Templ website is the destination - the site you migrate to. If you haven't already, create the website in the Templ Panel first. WordPress comes preinstalled, so it is ready to receive the migration.

If your Templ website has password protection (HTTP authentication) enabled, disable it before migrating. Migrate Guru cannot reach the site through HTTP authentication when using the key method. You can re-enable it once the migration is complete.

On your Templ website, open WP Admin and navigate to Plugins → Add New, search for Migrate Guru, then install and activate the plugin.

Migrate Guru in the WordPress Add Plugins search results

Open Migrate Guru and click Copy Key to copy the migration key it shows.

The Your Migration Key dialog in Migrate Guru with the Copy Key button

The migration key is copied from the destination site (your Templ website), not the source site - this is a common mix-up. The key is valid for 24 hours, so generate it shortly before you start the migration.

Start the migration from your source site

Now go to the site you are migrating from. Install and activate Migrate Guru there as well, then open the plugin.

Under Validate Migration Key, paste the key you copied from your Templ website and click Validate Key.

Pasting the migration key into the Validate Migration Key step on the source site

Once the key is validated, enter your email address under Initiate Migration (you will be notified by email when the migration finishes), then start the migration.

Monitor the migration

Migrate Guru runs the migration on its own servers and shows a page you can use to monitor the progress.

Migrate Guru migration progress screen

Migrate Guru will let you know as soon as the migration is complete, and you will also receive an email at that point. Larger sites can take a while to migrate. If your site is very large, you may also need to add more disk space to your Templ website.

Migrate Guru allows up to 5 site migrations per user per month. Each of those sites can be re-migrated as many times as you need.

Migrate with SFTP details (alternative)

If the key method doesn't work for you, Migrate Guru can migrate using the SFTP details of your Templ website instead. On the source site, choose the option to enter the destination host details manually rather than a migration key.

Enter the following, all of which are available on your website's Overview page in the Templ Panel:

Destination Site URL
FTP Type: choose SFTP
Destination Server IP
SFTP Port (always required - Templ does not use the default port)
SFTP Username
SFTP Password (or use an SSH key if you are familiar with those)
Directory Path

The directory path is /home/user_xxxx/app_xxxx - change it to match the username and webroot shown on your website's Overview page. If your SFTP password isn't enabled yet, enable it first.

Migrate Guru SFTP details form for the Templ server

Unlike the key method, this form has dedicated HTTP authentication fields, so you can leave password protection enabled on the Templ site and enter its credentials here.

Scroll down to Add Folders and add any folders of yours that are not wp-content, wp-includes, or wp-admin. Once everything is filled in, click Migrate.

Migrate Guru will test the SFTP credentials you provided. If there are any problems, it returns to the SFTP details screen and highlights the fields to review. If you don't enter the correct directory path or destination address, you'll see this error:

Unable to access wpconfig file. Please check if WordPress is installed on the destination address. Also, check if you have permission to access the folder.

If Migrate Guru repeatedly reports issues with the SFTP details, contact our support team for help before retrying. Multiple failed SFTP connection attempts can trigger an IP ban.

Test the migrated site

Once the migration is complete you should take a few minutes to inspect the migrated site.

If your site is using a Templ domain, use that address to have a look around. While reviewing your migrated site be sure to navigate to several front-end pages as well as to log into your site and navigate to several pages of the admin area. If your site has a lot of data make sure all of your data is showing up properly.

Go live

Once you've verified the migrated site, connect your domain: add your domain to the Templ Panel, assign it to the website, and update your name servers to point to Templ. If you want to keep email and other DNS services where they are, change only the A-record instead.