Website Migration Guide: Characteristics and Selection Methods Revealed Through Migrating Websites Exceeding 25GB

During the New Year's holiday period of 2025, I migrated this website, kazubara.net, from Lolipop to XSERVER (the domain name remained the same, but the server was moved).

I struggled quite a bit with migrating the website, but I managed to get through the process, so I'll explain the specific steps while organizing the methods and common pitfalls (this will also serve as a personal memo).

Reasons for moving the website

For five years since the site was launched and fully operational, we used Lollipop as our server provider.

*The Lollipop image is an affiliate link.

Because of its low barrier to entry and affordable pricing, I also signed up with Lollipop when I started my website (I subscribed to the high-speed plan).

However, as the years passed and the site grew, there were several situations where Lollipop could no longer handle the demands.

Personally, the fatal blow wasThe main difficulty was implementing consent management (CMP) and setting up banners to obtain cookie consent.(These days, many advertising agencies require the installation of a CMP when monetizing a website, and legal frameworks are being developed in various countries.)

The reason was that Lollipop's overly robust security features were conflicting with the CMP and cookie consent system, causing them to be blocked.

The most problematic features were the robust WAF and the overseas access restriction function. If individual detailed settings were available, it might have been possible to avoid these issues, but this was not possible with Lollipop.
*This is not a criticism of Lollipop, but rather a case of deviating from the intended use of Lollipop.

I decided to switch to Xserver to address these issues.

*The image on Xserver is an affiliate link.

For these reasons, I decided to move the website (after the move, I successfully installed the consent management banner).

Overview of the website migration

Before we begin the site migration process,Why is it necessary to migrate database and FTP information? Why is a DNS switch necessary?Understanding the overall picture will make the work go more smoothly, so let's organize it.
*I didn't even understand the basics, so I had a lot of trouble troubleshooting during the moving process.

1. Website Components and Domain Assignment Mechanism

Basically, a website consists of a server, a database (SQL data), and FTP (file system).

These two elements, the database and FTP, are combined to create a website.

The completed website is stored as data on the contracted server and is assigned an address called an IP address (a series of numbers like 203.0.113.45).

Since a string of numbers is difficult for people to understand, a domain name is used to cover it (for this site, it's kazubara.net).

DNS (short for Domain Name System) manages the correspondence between IP addresses and domains. DNS associates kazubara.net with the server's IP address.

This covers the basic structure of a website.

2. The overall picture of the website migration.

As can be seen from the basic structure of a website, migrating a website requires the following tasks:

[Task 1] Data Transfer

We will transfer two sets of data that make up the WordPress site.

1. Database (MySQL) – Text data such as article body, configuration information, and comments.
2. FTP files – images, theme files, plugin files, etc.

These two items need to be transferred from the old server to the new server.

[Task 2] Combine the two transferred data sets.

Simply transferring the data will result in the two sets of data existing separately and not forming a coherent website, so a process of combining them is necessary (such as modifying configuration files).

[Task 3] DNS Switching

If you don't change your DNS settings, the association between your domain and IP address (server address) will remain the same. Therefore, once your website is complete on the new server, you will need to change the IP address in your DNS settings.

[Note] DNS switching time lag

Because DNS information is distributed across servers worldwide, it can take up to 24 to 72 hours for changes to fully propagate (in my experience, it takes about 36 hours).

During this period, some users will access the old server, while others will access the new server.Overlap the contract periods for the old server and the new server.This is important (at least one week, one month recommended; in my case, I had six months left on my annual contract).

The overall picture of the move is as follows:

This concludes the overall overview of the moving process.

An overview of the specific migration process (migrating to Xserver)

From here, we will explain the specific steps involved in migrating to Xserver as a concrete example.

I will briefly explain the content of each.

Use Xserver's easy WordPress migration feature.

Xserver provides an automatic website migration tool that automatically transfers your database and FTP files simply by entering information about your old server in the control panel.
*Similar functionality is also available on major servers such as Lollipop and CONOHA WING.

WordPress Easy Migration will automatically perform the following tasks.

After the easy WordPress migration, you'll need to manually check the migrated site and switch the DNS domain to complete the move.

It's a very convenient method that requires little knowledge, effort, or time (some prior preparation is necessary).

However, while it's convenient, be aware that it has many limitations.

I initially decided to migrate my site hoping for an easy WordPress migration, but my site was over 25GB in size, so it wasn't possible (I skipped reading the instructions and actually tried it, but failed three times).

*The file size is too large and it timed out. The progress bar stopped at 40% and then it was rejected.

As a general guideline for storage capacity, the recommended size is 2GB or less for most websites, so we strongly recommend checking your own website's capacity before deciding whether to use this service.

I think you can follow the instructions on Xserver's website to actually do it, so please refer to it if you're interested.

Link: XSERVER WordPress Easy Migration

When using WordPress plugins

This method involves exporting and importing an entire website using plugins such as All-in-One WP Migration, Duplicator, or BackWPup.

The key feature of this pattern is that a new, empty WordPress site is launched on the destination server, and the data from the original site is restored on the destination server using data stored via a plugin.

Procedureimage for interaction(For All-in-One WP Migration)

[Old server side]

1. Install and activate the plugin.
2. Execute export
3. Download the .wpress file

[New Server Side]

1. Install WordPress (empty state)
2. Install and activate the plugin.
3. Import .wpress files
4. Done

The migration is complete once you check the migrated site and switch the DNS domain yourself.

It seems easy and offers many advantages, but it has the following limitations:

I also considered using a plugin for the migration, but I gave up on that idea because most plugins only support sites up to about 500MB in their free versions (Migrate Guru apparently supports up to 200GB for free).

Another major reason for avoiding this approach was that if errors occurred during data migration, relying on plugins would likely make analysis and correction difficult, leaving me unable to intervene (I lack the knowledge to tinker with plugins).

I'll hire a website relocation company.

This method is exactly as it sounds: you leave everything to the professionals.

With Xserver, the migration costs 33000 yen per site and takes 5 business days. You can place the order from the server management screen, making it very convenient (no need for troublesome meetings or communication).
*Business plan subscribers can get up to 10 websites added for free the first time only.

However, you will need to check the site after the migration and switch the DNS yourself.

Basically, there are virtually no disadvantages other than money and time.

However, if you're considering moving your website during the Obon or New Year holidays when website traffic typically decreases, you'll need to carefully consider the timing and the costs involved, especially for large websites (although some websites see a surge in traffic during these periods, so it's not a universal rule).

In my case, my website migration was scheduled for the end of the year and the beginning of the new year, so the companies were closed and I couldn't use their services (I think I would have used them if I had failed to migrate the website myself).

If you're considering moving your website during the Obon or New Year's holiday period, when website traffic typically decreases, you may need to be careful with scheduling.

Fully manual

This method, as the name suggests, is a way of doing everything completely yourself. You will be doing each of the tasks 1-3 described in the overall website migration overview, one by one, entirely by yourself.

It's quite a complicated process that requires knowledge and patience, but it allows you to fully understand the details of the move and can handle it regardless of the size of the site (you can acquire the necessary knowledge as you go).

In my case, I started with almost no knowledge, and the site was over 25GB in size, but I managed to overcome the challenges, albeit with difficulty. However, because I had to learn the necessary knowledge and skills and learn from my mistakes along the way, it took me about three days in total.

While this moving method is generally considered suitable for people with knowledge and skills, I believe anyone can do it if they have enough patience, and it's surprisingly reliable.

If it fails, you can simply ask a professional to do it for you, so I think you should feel free to give it a try (the data should still be on the old server, so there shouldn't be any problems).

I will explain the details of a completely manual move based on my experience in a future post, so I will omit it here.

Summary

My experience migrating my website has clarified how to choose the right method for each migration process.

If you're unsure which method to choose, please refer to the following criteria.

• For those who want a site with a capacity of 2GB or less and want a quick and easy solution.
  → You can use the easy WordPress migration feature provided by each server company.

• For those who want to complete operations within WordPress without relying on a server.　
  Plugins like All-in-One WP Migration are convenient, but be aware that the free tier is limited to around 500MB.

• Those who have a budget and want to eliminate risk.
  → Hire a professional company. However, they may not be able to provide service during long holidays, and there will be a corresponding cost.

• For those whose websites are over 20GB in size and cannot be handled by any tools.
  → The only remaining option is a completely manual process. It requires considerable patience, but it's a reliable way to migrate your site, regardless of its size.

In my case, the 25GB capacity and the timing coinciding with the New Year's holiday period meant that I was ultimately forced to choose a completely manual approach.

To reiterate, if you are determined and committed, you can definitely migrate your website even without any prior knowledge (at the cost of 3 days and significant fatigue).

The data on the original server should remain intact unless you've tampered with the FTP, so you can try it with peace of mind knowing that you can always rely on a professional company if things go wrong (you generally don't tamper with the data on the original server during the migration process).

I hope this information will be helpful for your website migration process.

Next time, I'll give a thorough explanation of how I managed to transfer over 25GB of data manually over three days, starting from absolutely no prior knowledge.