{"id":1667,"date":"2026-09-03T17:20:28","date_gmt":"2026-09-03T11:50:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cpanelfree.com\/blog\/how-to-move-wordpress-from-localhost-to-live-server\/"},"modified":"2026-09-03T17:23:56","modified_gmt":"2026-09-03T11:53:56","slug":"how-to-move-wordpress-from-localhost-to-live-server","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cpanelfree.com\/blog\/how-to-move-wordpress-from-localhost-to-live-server\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Move WordPress from Localhost (XAMPP \/ LocalWP) to Live Web Server"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n Quick Answer:<\/strong> To move WordPress from localhost (XAMPP\/LocalWP) to a live web server: 1)<\/strong> Export your local database via phpMyAdmin (localhost\/phpmyadmin<\/code>), 2)<\/strong> Compress your local wp-content<\/code> folder and WordPress core files into a ZIP archive, 3)<\/strong> Upload and extract the ZIP file into your live hosting public_html<\/code> directory, 4)<\/strong> Create a MySQL database and user in cPanel and import your SQL dump, and 5)<\/strong> Replace all http:\/\/localhost\/site<\/code> URLs with your live https:\/\/yourdomain.com<\/code> URL.\n <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Step 1: Export Local Database from XAMPP or LocalWP<\/h2>\n

Open your local web browser and navigate to http:\/\/localhost\/phpmyadmin<\/code> (or click Open phpMyAdmin<\/em> inside LocalWP):<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Select your local WordPress database from the left menu.<\/li>\n
  2. Click the Export<\/strong> tab at the top.<\/li>\n
  3. Select the Quick<\/strong> export method and click Export<\/strong> to download database.sql<\/code>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Step 2: Compress and Upload Local Files to cPanel<\/h2>\n

    Navigate to your local WordPress installation directory (e.g. C:\\xampp\\htdocs\\mysite\\<\/code>):<\/p>\n

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    1. Select all files and folders, right-click, and select Send to > Compressed (zipped) folder<\/strong> (site_files.zip<\/code>).<\/li>\n
    2. Log in to your CpanelFree<\/a> dashboard and open File Manager<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
    3. Navigate to public_html<\/code>, click Upload<\/strong>, and upload site_files.zip<\/code>.<\/li>\n
    4. Right-click the uploaded ZIP file in cPanel and click Extract<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Step 3: Create Live MySQL Database and Import SQL Dump<\/h2>\n
        \n
      1. In cPanel, open MySQL Databases<\/strong> and create a new database (e.g. cpanelfree_wpdb<\/code>) and user with ALL PRIVILEGES<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
      2. Open phpMyAdmin<\/strong> in cPanel, select your newly created database, and click Import<\/strong> to upload database.sql<\/code>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        Step 4: Update wp-config.php on Live Server<\/h2>\n

        Edit wp-config.php<\/code> in cPanel File Manager and enter your live database credentials:<\/p>\n

        define( 'DB_NAME', 'username_wpdb' );\ndefine( 'DB_USER', 'username_wpuser' );\ndefine( 'DB_PASSWORD', 'YourLiveStrongPassword123!' );\ndefine( 'DB_HOST', 'localhost' );<\/pre>\n
        Step 5: Updating Localhost URLs to Live Domain Name<\/h2>\n
        WordPress stores URLs as serialized PHP objects. Changing them with raw SQL text replacement will corrupt widgets and theme options. Use the free Better Search Replace<\/strong> plugin or WP-CLI<\/strong>:<\/p>\n
        wp search-replace 'http:\/\/localhost\/mysite' 'https:\/\/yourdomain.com' --all-tables<\/pre>\n
        \n
        \n        \ud83d\udd17<\/span> Recommended Related Technical Guides:
        \n    <\/h3>\n