Is there a tutorial showing how to Export and Import a WP Local website with the correct domain name?
I changed the site name in Local and it made a mess of everything. I changed the site name to the actual domain name I wanted to import the website to and spent a couple hours fighting with the browser, my website on my server and the local website.
There is nothing obvious or straightforward about this. I spent several hours yesterday trying to export from Local and import to my WP site on my server and just made a mess of everything. Had to reinstall the WP site on my server about ten times. All In One WP Migration does not work. I tried to import to my WP site on my server about twenty times. Every time it locked up about 96% or 100% and never completed the process. I tried other backup and restore plugins like Updraft and could not get a successful installation, trying to restore a backup made from my Local WP site to my server WP site.
Seems the big issue is how to export from Local Flywheel with the correct domain name and import to the actual domain on the server.
What steps can be taken to replicate the issue? Feel free to include screenshots, videos, etc
Security Reminder
Local does a pretty good job of scrubbing private info from the logs and the errors it produces, however there’s always the possibility that something private can come through. Because these are public forums, always review the screenshots you are sharing to make sure there isn’t private info like passwords being displayed.
Generally speaking, there are automatic Search and Replaces that happen when you import into Local and also when you move a site to your host. The URL in your Local app shouldn’t match the domain exactly because it could cause lots of issues as you’ve noticed with propagation, caching, etc down the road.
When you’re importing a site into Local you likely don’t need to do anything but just get it imported and let it assign everything to it’s designated .local domain. When you’re ready to take the site elsewhere you can export it or use a migration plugin. Depending on your process there should be some kind of automatic S/R that happens when you update domains on your hosted site. However, you can always use a plugin like Better Search Replace or CLI to run manual S/Rs to fix up any stragglers. If you’re using our Local Connect feature with WP Engine or Flywheel then this should all be fairly straightforward and automatic.
I did find a solution. Using WPvivid Backup Plugin I was able to successfully export a backup from my WP Local FlyWheel site and import it to my Wordpress website on my server without changing the site name in Local FlyWheel.
We’re glad you found something that fits your workflow! If the native Local export doesn’t work to your liking you can also use the free plugin WP Migrate Lite to create a full site export as well if you find the need in the future. This works in Local and also on any WordPress hosted site.
I think I had a problem because I changed the site name to the actual domain name I wanted to import the site to.
Did have success using WPVivid Migration plugin. Exported from Local and Imported to my WP site on my server with no probs.
Very happy this is working as I am planning to create Wordpress themes for my own domains and as a web dev freelancer. So Local Flywheel will be my main tool.
