I have a new server now, so I am in the process of transferring all of my sites and my customer’s sites from the old hosting account to the new server. The old Dreamweaver sites all went smoothly as expected. The newer WordPress sites on the other hand, have been a little more challenging.

What I learned is there is a proper order for transferring WordPress sites to a new hosting account. It goes like this:

- Clean up existing Blog
- Use EXPORT tool from old wordpress
- Apply for new hosting (transfer existing domain)
- Propagate DNS nameservers
- Fresh install of WordPress (via Fantastico/Simplescripts/Independent) on new hosting
- Adjust permalinks on new hosting
- Use IMPORT tool in new wordpress
- Transfer via FTP images from wp_content/uploads
- Upload/Transfer current theme to new hosting
- Install new plugins to new hosting
- If necessary, meddle with .htaccess on new hosting

Thanks to Pigduck over at wordpress.org for that information.

Even if you do everything right and in the correct order, sometimes the themes cannot transfer correctly. Notice Custom Design Tool’s new design? It’s not the only site that is looking a tad bare today. This is my own custom child theme based on the Hybrid Theme framework.

Another thing I learned is that if you and tech support are having communication problems of any sort, get off the line with tech support immediately. It is just not worth the headache to try to work through it. Actually a dental implant procedure would be less stressful than a difficult tech support call.