Migrating MemberMouse to a New Server

This article contains specific instructions for those already running a live site with MemberMouse and who are planning to move your site to a new server or hosting provider. If you are moving a staging site to live, the process would be different, and this article would not provide proper directions. Instead, the article Migrating from a Staging Site would contain the appropriate steps to move from a staging server to live.

Carefully read these MemberMouse-specific directions thoroughly, understand them, and have a clear plan before beginning your migration. Migrations can be problematic, such as unexpected billing times, out-of-sync emails, missing members, missing files, and file permission issues. It is crucial to have a solid understanding of how to do a migration before beginning or have someone who has the experience to help you through the process. If you would like to seek a developer with experience with MemberMouse, we have an active list of Implementation Partners here that may assist with a migration. 

Important Steps In Preparation For Migration

First, be sure to run a full server backup of your files and database to have a fallback in case of disaster recovery. It is essential that this backup is created from the server and not a plugin, which may not sufficiently backup all database tables or email accounts if used. A second backup will need to be done, which will be detailed in later steps.

If you migrate a database from one version of MemberMouse to another, there will be discrepancies as the database tables can differ between versions. With this in mind, we recommend that you upgrade the MemberMouse plugin on your live site to the latest version prior to your migration.  

Plan on taking your site offline before beginning the migration steps. This is essential because no changes are made within your database or files during the move. If any automation occurs during the move, your database can encounter consequences with reporting, inaccurate emails being sent, billing, and member signups. 

To take your site offline, you want to disable all plugins, plus you must disable and uninstall MemberMouse to fully prevent it from firing off any automation. All of your settings will remain in the database, and once you re-install the same version of MemberMouse, it will have all the same functionality and settings it had before its removal.

Additional steps should be considered with any automated emails or advertising that you may have, as not to direct users to your site during this process nor to send out 3rd party email marketing.

Migrate Your Live Site To A New Server Manually

When you're ready to go live on your new server, the following steps should be done swiftly, all at once, and at a time when you can take your live site offline until the migration is completed:

1. At this point, you have carefully read over all directions involved, MemberMouse is entirely up to date, disabled and uninstalled, your site should be offline, all of your plugins are disabled and no changes should be occurring within your database. With your site offline and all plugins disabled, this is the point at which you should take a second backup. This backup can be your fallback if anything goes wrong during the migration.

2. After copying your files over to the new server, do a database dump from your live site and move all tables over to the database of your new server. All database tables should be copied over in a migration to assure full functionality, accurate logs, and proper meta association. If you are unfamiliar with database work or using PHPMysql, it would be highly recommended to carefully learn more before beginning your migration or to use a professional who has the experience.

You do not want to activate MemberMouse until you have managed the DNS of your domain and your domain points properly to the new server. If your domain is not properly pointed to the new server, your MemberMouse plugin will not engage due to miscommunication with our license server.

Alternative Methods Of Migration

A membership site migration is unlike a normal website. It should be done manually and not reliably completed using a migration plugin. A migration plugin may accomplish these steps without problems, but a manual migration will ensure a more successful move. The above directions about disabling your site's plugins and shutting off access to the site are still required if you choose this migration method. If you prefer to use a migration plugin over the manual method, our support may be limited if a problem arises.

cPanel to cPanel migration is another reliable migration method that can provide a reliable move from one server to another. These types of migrations are often completed by a hosting company using specialized tools. They can mirror a site on the new server and copy all email accounts, logs, and the database in one move. To accomplish this type of move, your best resource would be your new hosting provider. The above directions about disabling your site's plugins and shutting off access to the site are still required if you choose this migration method.

Changing The Domain Or URL Of The Site?

If you keep the same domain and URL to your site during the server change, this section does not apply to you. If you are changing the domain or putting your MemberMouse site in a different folder path of your domain, there are important steps to take in addition to the steps of the migration itself.

• If needed, reconfigure any URLs you may have registered in third-party systems, such as Stripe, Mailchimp, iDevAffiliate, or any custom applications you may have connected to your site where a URL may be required to configure their settings. You will want to check with any 3rd party providers to see if any changes or adjustments would be needed. Aside from any URL changes you may need to do with these providers, no other changes are required on the MemberMouse administration side.
  
  
• Special attention needs to be paid to PayPal if you use it as a payment processor. It would be vital to read and understand this article to maintain any subscription reporting you may have with PayPal. Failure to do so will result in failure of communication between PayPal and your site. 
  
  
• Follow the directions in this article to update your URL with your MemberMouse license to maintain its functionality and subscription billing. Please note that you must use the same MemberMouse account to maintain recurring payments and customer billing.
  

Additional Information About Migrating MemberMouse

Watch this Office Hours discussion of migrating between hosts

For general information about moving a site from one server to another, see this documentation provided by WordPress:  https://wordpress.org/support/article/moving-wordpress/

If the migration process takes more than a short time, recurring billing cycles can be missed, so be sure to migrate swiftly and check on any recurring billing that should be occurring for that day.

Temporary URLs can be an excellent method to pre-check your site before the DNS has propagated. A small number of adjustments may be needed to acquire this functionality, so it is best to contact your host to see if they have them available and how to activate them. Please note that MemberMouse will not activate if you are using a temporary URL unless the URL has been added to a staging license you requested from us.

For those who need this technical information and may need to do database work: Prior to version 3.0, all MemberMouse data was stored in tables prefixed with mm_. In versions 3.0 and above, MemberMouse data is stored in a table with a different naming pattern than previous versions. Now: wp_mm_

Core pages are linked to WordPress pages, and WordPress content is stored in the wp_posts table. All MemberMouse members are tied to users in the wp_users and wp_usermeta tables and some MemberMouse configuration settings are stored in the wp_options table. All MemberMouse options are prefixed with mm-.