Wordpress Site Redesign

[jamestl2]

I just finished redesigning my site using wordpress, so I had a few more questions,

 

I want to delete some “inner folders” and move my wordpress documents to the front of cpanel. For example the URL is currently:

 

http://www.toptenlisted.com/wordpress-2.2/wordpress

 

But I want to move it to just http://www.toptenlisted.com/

 

1. So what would I need to do to transfer everything without disrupting any internal hyperlinks?

 

2. Also, with wordpress, just wanted to be sure if I change anything, like the theme, plugins, etc., if everything would remain safe? (As in my google rankings wont be affected, or setup of custom features don’t drastically change)

 

3. I’ve already submitted to tons of directories and posted in many forums, so would the directories automatically read my new site theme or

 

Lastly, I wanted to have a clean permalink chain, I wanted it to look something like:

http:/www.toptenlisted.com/advice/top-ten-reasons/

 

I’ve already tried posting this in the “custom structure” box:

http:/www.toptenlisted.com/%category%/%postname%/

 

Which turned out wrong, and this gave me something else different entirely. (I’ve also posted this in the .htaccess file, or whatever code they said was suppose to go there)

4. So just wondering what the correct structure technical terms to use would be to get:

http:/www.toptenlisted.com/advice/top-ten-reasons/

 

Thanks

[heyguy]

I just finished redesigning my site using wordpress, so I had a few more questions,

 

I want to delete some “inner folders” and move my wordpress documents to the front of cpanel. For example the URL is currently:

 

http://www.toptenlisted.com/wordpress-2.2/wordpress

 

But I want to move it to just http://www.toptenlisted.com/

 

1. So what would I need to do to transfer everything without disrupting any internal hyperlinks?

Just move it. Any internal links that WordPress generates are relative to the installation path that is set on the Options page. So you would need to change that to reflect the new location.

 

2. Also, with wordpress, just wanted to be sure if I change anything, like the theme, plugins, etc., if everything would remain safe? (As in my google rankings wont be affected, or setup of custom features don’t drastically change)

Changing the theme doesn't change the content or link structure, so Google won't care. If you added any custom plugins or hacks you'll want to make sure those are compatible, but looking at your site I don't see anything out of the ordinary.

 

3. I’ve already submitted to tons of directories and posted in many forums, so would the directories automatically read my new site theme or

As I said above, your content and links don't change.

 

Lastly, I wanted to have a clean permalink chain, I wanted it to look something like:

http:/www.toptenlisted.com/advice/top-ten-reasons/

 

I’ve already tried posting this in the “custom structure” box:

http:/www.toptenlisted.com/%category%/%postname%/

 

Which turned out wrong, and this gave me something else different entirely. (I’ve also posted this in the .htaccess file, or whatever code they said was suppose to go there)

4. So just wondering what the correct structure technical terms to use would be to get:

http:/www.toptenlisted.com/advice/top-ten-reasons/

You're close. Get rid of the http:/www.toptenlisted.com/ at the beginning. the %category%/%postname% is correct.

[jamestl2]

Thanks for the "vote fo confidence"

 

I suppose I should also ask "how" do I move the files?

After I delete all my old pages, which folder should I click on to move? Because I don't want "wordpress" in any of the pathnames, just have them removed.

I'm not exactly sure which folder contains all my wordpress information.

[TCH-Bruce]

Everything in the "wordpress" folder (it's the folder that contains all your wordpress info) should be moved to the "public_html" folder if you want to access your Wordpress site with your domain name.

 

It can also be accomplished my modifying your .htaccess file but I have never done it that way.

[jamestl2]

Everything in the "wordpress" folder (it's the folder that contains all your wordpress info) should be moved to the "public_html" folder if you want to access your Wordpress site with your domain name.

 

It can also be accomplished my modifying your .htaccess file but I have never done it that way.

 

I don't understand, because my wordpress 2.2 folder is already there, so how do I “get rid” of these folders? (which is already part of the hierarchy) (or do you mean a specific wordpress folder within this 2.2 one?)

 

Also, what should I set my redirect up as for my homepage? Because my new homepage’s current URL is:

http://www.toptenlisted.com/wordpress-2.2/wordpress/

 

Or once I move it, will it automatically be my new homepage? (since the folders won't be there)

[TCH-Bruce]

The content within the "wordpress" folder is your Wordpress installation. If you move the contents of that folder to your root folder "public_html" it can be accessed by going to your domain link.

[jamestl2]

I tried moving this folder

“public-html” > wordpress2.2 > wordpress

 

to under “public-html” and got nothing from my domain, then I moved

“public-html” > wordpress2.2 > wordpress > wp-content

 

to under “public-html” and still got nothing, so I’m still not sure which folder I’m suppose to move?

[TCH-Bruce]

You cannot move the folder you have to move the contents of the folder. I would suggest that you use an FTP program and download everything in the "wordpress" folder to your computer. And then upload it all to your public_html folder.

[jamestl2]

I think it would be easier if there was a way I could just "hide" the wordpress folders in the URL, is this at all possible, so I don't risk losing information trying to FTP the website?

[TCH-Bruce]

Your posts into Wordpress are stored in a database. That database is not in any folder within your web space. It is stored in a system folder elsewhere. That is why you have to preface your database with your cpanel-ID so that it is a unique file name.

 

You can hide the the paths if you can figure out the .htaccess rewrite statements to do so. Someone else will have to help with this because I suck at it.

[jamestl2]

Your posts into Wordpress are stored in a database. That database is not in any folder within your web space. It is stored in a system folder elsewhere.

So where would I go to retrieve it from the "system folder elsewhere"? Is it in cPanel?

 

That is why you have to preface your database with your cpanel-ID so that it is a unique file name.

 

Is this a "one-time process" or do I have to reconfigure everything everytime I add a page, modify the theme, etc?

[TCH-Bruce]

I am really sorry I am not being clear.

 

Databases are stored in a central location on the server. You cannot retrieve the database. You do not have to retrieve the database to change what you want to change.

 

All you need to do is move the contents of the "wordpress" folder to your root folder and everything will work. Your config file (wp-config.php) contains all the information it needs to access the database.

[heyguy]

So where would I go to retrieve it from the "system folder elsewhere"? Is it in cPanel?

All of your posts, pages, settings, etc. live in a MySQL database. You don't need to touch this at all in regards to moving your WP installation to a different folder, and it is not in danger of being damaged simply by downloading and uploading files via FTP. If you want to create a backup of your database, just for giggles, log in to cPanel, go to Backups, and Download a MySQL Database Backup. Again, not necessary for this particular task, but good to do every now and then just in case.

 

As for the rest of your move, I think you are thinking too hard. Just follow these simple steps and you'll be all set up in five minutes or less:

 

1. Log in to WordPress. Go to Options. Look at the third and fourth options down: WordPress address and Blog address. Change both of these to http://toptenlisted.com. Click update options. Close your browser.

2. Fire up your FTP client and download the WordPress folder to your PC. This should have some folders called wp-admin, wp-content, and wp-includes, as well as another two dozen or so files.

3. Delete whatever you are going to delete out of your public_html folder in terms of old files or whatever.

4. Upload the contents of the WordPress folder you just downloaded to /public_html. Do not upload the WordPress folder itself - the files in that folder go in /public_html, so you would end up with /public_html/wp-admin, /public_html/wp-content, /public_html/wp-includes, /public_html/wp-config.php, and so on and so forth.

5. Delete your old WordPress folders (the /public_html/wordpress-2.2/wordpress thing)

5. Log in to WordPress at http://toptenlisted.com/wp-admin and start writing.

 

That should be it. Also, I guess I should throw in a disclaimer that you might want to take a full backup of your site (In cPanel, on that Backups page I talked about earlier), just in case.

[jamestl2]

I think whenever I try to "put" files (like wp-admin, wp-content, etc.) onto the server, it is just recopying over them (inside the wordpress 2.2 folder), even though I tell it to copy onto the "public-html" page.

 

My FTP program I'm using (Dreamweaver, which is what I have also used for my old site) has also been acting screwy(operations timing out, cancelling FTP processes, etc.).

 

I don't know if I should remove my wordpress 2.2 folder "before" trying to upload the files, because that might do the trick, but deleting it would also mean I would lose all information I built using wordpress.

[heyguy]

You should use a real FTP program, like FileZilla. It does what it's told. Get it here.

[TCH-Dick]

I think whenever I try to "put" files (like wp-admin, wp-content, etc.) onto the server, it is just recopying over them (inside the wordpress 2.2 folder), even though I tell it to copy onto the "public-html" page.

 

My FTP program I'm using (Dreamweaver, which is what I have also used for my old site) has also been acting screwy(operations timing out, cancelling FTP processes, etc.).

 

I don't know if I should remove my wordpress 2.2 folder "before" trying to upload the files, because that might do the trick, but deleting it would also mean I would lose all information I built using wordpress.

 

 

Dreamweaver will only upload the files to the location they are stored in your local copy or "Site". Let's take /wordpress-2.2/index.php in your local site, if you make changes to this page and then "put" it to your site it will stay in /wordpress-2.2 unlesss you select "Save As" and select a new option. This is most likely what you are seeing occur.

 

If you want to do this via Dreamweaver, you should first copy all the files from the directory wordpress-2.2 to the root of your local Site then upload via Dreamweaver.

 

The only other option would be to do as heyguy said and grab a full-blown FTP client.

[jamestl2]

Well, I was able to FTP all my files ono the "public-html" folder, so there is no problem with that, but...

 

Now none of my pages are accessible except my homepage, all the others get 404 bad requests.

[GvilleRick]

Did you follow Heyguy's suggestions in post #13 of this thread? You will need to edit the WordPress configuration options so that pages are published correctly.

[jamestl2]

Did you follow Heyguy's suggestions in post #13 of this thread? You will need to edit the WordPress configuration options so that pages are published correctly.

 

I did everything heyguy said except for deleting the wordpress 2.2 folder, just to be on the safe side and get it up and running first.

[heyguy]

Did you move that custom .htaccess too? The link in the title is redirecting to http://www.toptenlisted.com/wordpress-2.2/wordpress/, which tells me something is amiss.

Edited May 20, 2007 by heyguy

[jamestl2]

Did you move that custom .htaccess too? The link in the title is redirecting to http://www.toptenlisted.com/wordpress-2.2/wordpress/, which tells me something is amiss.

 

Thought I had copied everything over from cpanel, guess not.

 

But when i try to "get" the file it won't let me, I'll have to find some other way to put it in my FTP file.

[heyguy]

Thought I had copied everything over from cpanel, guess not.

 

But when i try to "get" the file it won't let me, I'll have to find some other way to put it in my FTP file.

I would suggest an FTP client like FileZilla (make sure you check Show Hidden Files in the View menu) or the cPanel file manager.

[TCH-Bruce]

Or you can just update the .htaccess file in the public_html folder to include the contents of the .htaccess file in your wordpress folder.

[jamestl2]

Now everything's working fine!

 

I appreciate all the help everyone

 

I would suggest an FTP client like FileZilla (make sure you check Show Hidden Files in the View menu) or the cPanel file manager.

 

Is this sort of client free? and how fast does FTP work with it?

(I'm not familiar with all the FTP programs, etc. out there, Dreamweaver's came with the software package so I just used it because it was there.)

 

I also visited the site and do I download all five files? If so , the is there a particular place required to download them to?

[heyguy]

Now everything's working fine!

Almost. When I visit http://www.toptenlisted.com/ it is trying to load http://www.toptenlisted.com/Index.html and I get a 404. The link in the title is still redirecting to http://www.toptenlisted.com/wordpress-2.2/wordpress/.

 

Your pages seem to be working, you just need to get the root figured out.

 

Is this sort of client free?

Of course.

and how fast does FTP work with it?

It's an FTP client, so it handles FTP really well.

 

I also visited the site and do I download all five files? If so , the is there a particular place required to download them to?

You want the third one down: FileZilla_2_2_32_setup.exe

[jamestl2]

Fixed the redirect problem

 

FileZilla works like a charm, much better than Dreamweaver's FTP program.

[heyguy]

Much better. And it only took 27 posts!