Site transfer

In this guide, you will learn how to transfer a Headless Platform site from one WP Engine account to another.

Overview

Transferring a Headless Platform site involves coordinating between the source and destination accounts to ensure a smooth migration. This process is useful when:

• Moving a site to a different organization or billing account
• Consolidating sites under a single account
• Transferring ownership of a project
• Transferring environments from sandbox accounts

Prerequisites

Before beginning the transfer process, ensure you have:

• Access to both the source and destination WP Engine accounts
• A clear understanding of which app and environments need to be transferred
• Documented all custom domain mappings and environment variables

Transfer process

Step 1: Contact WP Engine support to re-parent relevant WordPress installs

Site transfers between accounts must be initiated through WP Engine support. You cannot transfer sites directly through the User Portal.

1. Log in to the WP Engine User Portal from the destination account
2. Start a chat with our Technical Support team
3. Provide the following information:
   • Source account name
   • Source account Support Pin
   • Destination account name
   • Destination account Support Pin

You will need to have Owner or Full with billing access to both accounts.

Step 2: Prepare for the transfer

While waiting for support to process your request:

1. Document environment variables: Export all environment variables for each environment that will be transferred.
2. Note custom domain mappings: Record all custom domains and their configurations. See Domain mapping for details.

Step 3: Complete the transfer

WP Engine support will coordinate the re-parent process and notify you when it’s complete. After the WordPress installs are re-parented to the destination account:

1. Create App: Log in to the destination account and click ”+ Create App” at the top
2. Configure your app: Chose the Git provider, repository, app name, region, and hit “continue”
3. Link re-parented WordPress install: On this page, select “I already have my WordPress instance” and chose the relevant install
4. Reconfigure environment variables: On the bottom of this page, add any relevant environment variables.
5. Test deployment: Create the app and review the deployed site to ensure everything looks correct.
6. Repeat for any other apps: If more than 1 app needs to be transferred, follow the above steps again for each app
7. Update domain mappings: Lastly, move the domains over! This process requires manually removing the
   domain from the old app and connecting it to the new app. This does cause downtime so if it is
   in production, choose a time with minimal traffic.

Getting help

If you encounter issues during the transfer process, contact WP Engine support.