Knowledge Base

How to import a website

This article will explain how to perform the import of a website. First of all, if you are unsure how to access the digiocio account, simply follow the link below:

https://www.digiocio.com/info/como-acceder-a-mi-cuenta-panel

To explain how the import is done, the following steps need to be followed:

You may want to import the content from another one of your websites that is not hosted on Plesk. Use the Site Import extension to import specific applications, folders with files, and databases. You can import content from servers running both Linux and Windows, and even from servers where Plesk is not installed.

Initiating the website import: By default, website imports are performed in simple mode. In this mode, you only need to specify the domain name of the source site and the SSH or FTP user credentials with access to the source website files. Plesk attempts to detect and apply optimal settings for the import automatically.

Note: Importing via SSH is much faster than FTP. We recommend importing content via SSH whenever possible.

To initiate the import of content in simple mode:

1. Ensure that you have installed the Site Import extension.
2. Go to the "Websites & Domains" tab, select the domain you want to use as the destination for content migration, and click on "Website Import."
3. In the "Source Domain Name" field, specify the domain name of the website from which you want to import content.
4. Specify the credentials of an FTP or SSH user (only for Plesk on Linux) on the source server with access to the files of the source website.
5. Select the "Speed up file transfer using web streaming (beta) whenever possible" checkbox if you want to import a large number of small files or suspect that the import may be interrupted (e.g., due to an unstable internet connection or insufficient PHP maximum execution time). By selecting these checkboxes, Plesk can resume interrupted imports instead of starting them again.

Note: This feature is still in beta, so you should only select it if you are not concerned about the possibility of errors and prioritize the improvement of import speed.

6. Click "OK."

Plesk will attempt to connect to the source website and analyze its content. If the connection is successful, select one or more objects of the following types for import:

• Applications
• Folders
• Databases

If any issues occur with the connection, check the following requirements and try again:

• The domain name of the source website resolves to the correct IP address of the destination server.
• FTP or SSH credentials are correct. The FTP or SSH user has access to all files and directories of the source website.
• You can connect to the source server via FTP from the destination server.

If the connection is successful but there are issues analyzing the content, try performing the import in advanced mode. In this mode, you can explicitly select the type of connection, specify the document root, choose the data transfer protocol, and many more actions.

To initiate the import of content in advanced mode via SSH:

1. Ensure that you have installed the Site Import extension.

2. Go to the "Websites & Domains" tab, select the domain you want to use as the destination for content migration, and click on "Website Import."

3. Click on "Switch to advanced mode."

4. In the "Source Domain Name" field, specify the domain name of the website from which you want to import content.

5. Under "Connection Type," select "SSH."

6. Specify the credentials of an SSH user on the source server with access to the files of the source website in the respective fields.

7. If the source server is configured to use a different SSH port than the default port 22, enter the desired port number in the "SSH Port" field.

8. Select the desired method for content transfer under "File transfer method":

   • (Recommended) If you keep it as "Automatic," Plesk will first attempt to import content using rsync, the fastest method. If not possible, Plesk will use SCP.
   • To allow Plesk to use rsync or SCP, select the corresponding option.

9. You can also have Plesk use web streaming by selecting it from the list. Web streaming is ideal if you need to import a large number of small files or suspect that the import may be interrupted, although this option may cause issues with the import.

10. Specify where to find the website files in the "Source Document Root" and "Source File Root" fields:

    • If the source website's document root is in the main directory of the SSH user, specify the absolute path of the document root in the "Source Document Root" field and leave the "Source File Root" field empty.

    For example, if the website's document root is /var/www/vhosts/example.com/httpdocs and the main directory of the SSH user is /var/www/vhosts/example.com, you should specify /var/www/vhosts/example.com/httpdocs in the "Source Document Root" field and leave the "Source File Root" field empty.

    • If the SSH user is chrooted, the absolute path to the source website's document root that you should specify in the "Source Document Root" field is /httpdocs.

    • If the source website's main directory is not in the main directory of the SSH user, specify the absolute path to the document root in the "Source File Root" field and leave the "Source Document Root" field empty.

    For example, if the website's document root is /var/www/vhosts/example.com/httpdocs and the main directory of the SSH user is /root, specify var/www/vhosts/example.com/httpdocs in the "Source File Root" field and leave the "Source Document Root" field empty.

11. Specify the complete URL to the source website's document root in the "Source Website URL" field. For example, if the document root is /var/www/vhosts/example.com/httpdocs (or only /httpdocs if the SSH user is chrooted), specify https://example.com in the "Source Website URL" field. If the document root is var/www/vhosts/example.com/httpdocs/my/wordpress, specify https://example.com/my/wordpress in the "Source Website URL" field.

12. Click "OK."

To initiate the import of content in advanced mode via FTP:

1. Ensure that you have installed the Site Import extension.

2. Go to the "Websites & Domains" tab, select the domain you want to use as the destination for content migration, and click on "Website Import."

3. Click on "Switch to advanced mode."

4. In the "Source Domain Name" field, specify the domain name of the website from which you want to import content.

5. Under "Connection Type," select "FTP."

6. Specify the credentials of an FTP user on the source server with access to the files of the source website in the respective fields.

7. Select the desired method for content transfer under "File transfer method":

   • (Recommended) If you choose to keep it as "Automatic," Plesk will use FTP to import content.
   • You can also have Plesk use web streaming by selecting it from the list. Web streaming is ideal if you need to import a large number of small files or suspect that the import may be interrupted, although this option may cause issues with the import.

8. In the "Source Document Root" field, specify the document root of the source website starting from the main directory of the FTP user. For example, if the document root of the source website is /var/www/vhosts/example.com/httpdocs and the main directory of the FTP user is /httpdocs, specify /httpdocs in the "Source Document Root" field and leave the "Source File Root" field empty.

9. Specify the complete URL to the source website's document root in the "Source Website URL" field. For example, if the document root is /var/www/vhosts/example.com/httpdocs, specify https://example.com in the "Source Website URL" field. If the document root is var/www/vhosts/example.com/httpdocs/my/wordpress, specify https://example.com/my/wordpress in the "Source Website URL" field.

10. You can specify a different FTP server charset than the default "UTF-8" to avoid potential encoding issues when importing from an older source server. To do this, select the desired charset from the "FTP Server Charset" list or perform a search.

11. Leave the "Use the same IP for FTP data connection as for FTP control connection" checkbox selected. Only deselect this checkbox if the FTP server is configured such that data and control commands use different public IP addresses.

12. Click "OK."

Importing Applications: When initiating the import of a website, Plesk analyzes the source website to check for the existence of specific applications and create a list of them. At this point, you can import the following applications to the destination server:

• WordPress
• Joomla
• Drupal
• PrestaShop

Plesk can import an application from the source website to the destination, including all its files and the database.

Warning: When importing an application, if it has already been installed on the destination domain, its files may be replaced. Before starting the application import, we strongly recommend creating a backup of the destination domain.

When importing an application, consider the following limitations:

• The application must use a MySQL database.

• The MySQL database server must use the default port.

• There may be other specific requirements for the application you want to import. If you want to know them, refer to the documentation of the specific application:

  • WordPress
  • Joomla
  • Drupal
  • PrestaShop

Note: Plesk automatically checks that the application you want to import meets the requirements. Before starting the import, check that the application meets both general and specific requirements.

To import an application, do the following:

1. Select the checkboxes next to the applications you want to import.
2. By default, application files are in the same relative location to the document root as they were in the source. If desired, you can change the location of the files on the destination server. To do this, click the link under "Destination Path" and specify the path to the destination folder (relative to the document root).
3. Click "Start Import."

The installation status will change from "Ready to Import" to "In Queue" and then to "In Progress." Once the status is "Imported," the application import is complete.

Synchronization of Imported Applications: After importing an application, you can re-import it by selecting the corresponding checkbox and clicking the "Resynchronize" button. Keep in mind that, as a result, any changes you made to the installation on the destination server will be overwritten.

Importing Folders: You can use the Site Import extension to import individual folders that include all subfolders and files from the source website to the destination.

To import a folder, do the following:

1. Under "Files," click "Add Folder to Import" and navigate to the folder you want to import. Optionally, you can specify the desired location for the folder on the destination server, relative to the document root of the destination website.
2. Click "OK."

All subfolders of that folder, as well as all files in those folders, will also be imported.

Synchronization of Folders: Once a folder is imported, you can re-import it by selecting the corresponding checkbox and clicking the "Resynchronize" button. Keep in mind that, as a result, any changes you made to the folder or its content on the destination server will be overwritten.

Importing Databases: You can use the Site Import extension to import individual databases from the source website to the destination.

Note: Currently, only MySQL databases can be imported.

To import a database, do the following:

1. Under "Databases," click "Add Database to Import."
2. Specify the database connection information on the source server and click "OK."

Synchronization of Databases: After importing a database, you can re-import it by selecting the corresponding checkbox and clicking the "Resynchronize" button.

Keep in mind that, as a result, any changes you made to the database or its content on the destination server will be overwritten.