Many times a client has an existing website and would like to cut ties with their “webmaster” in order to take control of their website content. We generally will create or modify a template and install it to one of our test domains so the client can work on the site as if it were live. After the content has been added we need do a few things so the public can see the clients new site. The following is how we do it.

1. Create a sub-domain and install WordPress. We recycle several test domains.
2. Apply theme, customizations, activate plug-ins, etc.
3. Document files that we changed and/or added to meet the client’s requirements.
4. Train the client on WordPress and allow them to start adding content. We hold face-to-face training sessions on how to use their site and provide custom documentation as well as email support.

After the content has been added and the client is ready to swap out their old website with the new one, we perform the following steps:

1. Create a new domain and install WordPress.
2. Copy the theme, plug-ins, and any other files that we changed from wp-content to the new domain installation directory.
3. Copy any other files that were changed (these are usually very few).
4. Log in to the new WordPress installation and activate the theme.
   • At this point, the website should have the basic look and feel.
5. Back up the WordPress database that was used in the sub-domain.
   • You will end up with a .sql file containing scripts to recreate this database.
6. Using phpMyAdmin, connect to the new WordPress database, open a query window, and run the scripts from your backup file. This will import all of the content the client has entered as well as any user accounts.
7. Browse the wp-options table in the database and update the value for “site url”.
8. Log in to the new WordPress  site using the username/password that was used in the sub-domain.
9. In Settings, go to General and update the blog url address.
10. If you have any hard-coded links in the content, those will have to be manually updated. But, other perma-links should be updated automatically.
11. Update DNS. Of course this may take a few hours to a couple of days to change.

This might not be the most-efficient  way to accomplish moving a WordPress site but, it works for us. If you have a better way or have any questions feel free to tell us.

For over a year we have managed a public forum for The Association of Bloomington-Normal Brewers. Hosting with Freeforums.org has been without issue save the annoyance of sometimes intrusive and offensive advertising. We understand the need for advertising revenue to support the mission of organizations that host free web applications for the public but we also recognize that some organizations are better served by adding low cost solutions that eliminate the need for advertising on their website, blog, or forum.

We continue to manage the ABNB forum but we now host the forum as well. 

This brings several advantages to our client. No more adds!  Not only can we remove the need for intrusive ads that may lead to diminished participation of a client’s target audience we can now more easily integrate a forum into a client website with a greater degree of site continuity and greater control of forum functionality. Besides the greater degree of control over the form and function of the client’s forum we are now able to provide our clients with regular backups of our client’s forum databases. 

We have continued our dedication to expanding our knowledge of the functionality and security of the applications we deploy for our  clients with the introduction of support for advanced features in PHP BB and proudly offer this increased functionality and support to our current and future clients. Please contact us for more information.

We are excited about our opportunities and challenges for 2009! As you can see, Aspbury Consulting & Solutions has moved to a new website design and platform. This website is built on an installation of WordPress, a fantastic content management system built on MySQL and php. It is used by many popular blogs and websites.

We have several initiatives planned for this year including:

• Build on existing relationships with our clients.
• Develop new relationships in the small business and not-for-profit sector.
• Deploy new technologies to enable our clients to better meet the needs of their stakeholders and/or customers.
• Contribute to the local not-for-profit community by continuing to donate time and solutions to them.