Migrate GF site from Staging to Live (2022-03-26)

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Introduction

The Procedure described in this article shall form the basis for future go-live operations.

This operation used another plugin called ‘WPvivid Backup” from WPvivid Team, instead of the usual AIO WP Migration plugin.

The use of AIO plugin to migrate GF site from Staging to Live server had encountered some major issues:

  • Import of exported image to Live site was not started.
  • Import of exported image to Live site stopped at 100% or less.
  • The use of ftp/file manager to upload the image to the Live site did not work because the free version plugin does not support local restore!

Procedure

The migration steps taken on 2022-03-26 (Sat) is outline here:

  • Installed WPVivid on both Staging and Live servers.
  • Created a backup image on Staging using WPvivid.
  • Uploaded the Staging Image to Live server using WPvivid.
  • Clicked the Restore button on Live server. The button is located at the end of the image file record.
  • The restore status was displayed in the WPvivid log window.
  • After completion of the restoration, completed the following steps:
    • Open a new window and saved the permalink twice (just to play safe by following the AIO practice).
    • Updated the Elementor Pro license.
    • Under Elementor > Tools > General > Regenerate CSS & Data, press the button “Regenerates Files & Data“.
      • Styles set in Elementor are saved in CSS files in the uploads folder and in the site’s database. The button will recreate those files and settings, according to the most recent settings.
      • This step fixed the CORS errors after restoration which was due to custom font files were still pointing to the Staging site in Elementor generated CSS files under the /wp-content/upload/elementor folder.
    • Tested all pages on the front end.
    • Updated these fields in all Contact Forms accordingly:
      • To,
      • From,
      • Subject,
      • Additional Header.
    • Installed FB pixel and GA code in the <head> section by using Elementor Custom Code.
    • Removed unnecessary plugins left behind from the old site.
    • Updated site admin email address and inform the Client to accept the change in their mailbox.
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