All-in-One WP Migration: Complete Guide

Plugins

November 4, 2025

All-in-One WP Migration is one of the most popular and beginner-friendly WordPress plugins for creating full site backups, migrations, and restorations — without any technical setup. It packages your entire site (files, database, plugins, themes, and uploads) into a single export file that can be easily imported to a new server or domain. In this guide, you’ll learn how to use it step by step for backup, restore, and migration.

Why Use All-in-One WP Migration?

✅ Full backup in one file (database + files + themes + plugins)
✅ Easy import/export via drag and drop
✅ No need for FTP or phpMyAdmin
✅ Compatible with all major hosting providers
✅ Available in both free and premium versions

Step 1: Install and Activate the Plugin

Go to your WordPress dashboard.
Navigate to Plugins → Add New.
Search for All-in-One WP Migration.
Click Install Now → Activate.

After activation, you’ll see a new menu item called All-in-One WP Migration in your admin sidebar.

Step 2: Export Your WordPress Site

This process creates a complete backup that you can store locally or upload to another site.

Go to All-in-One WP Migration → Export.
Click the green Export To button and choose your preferred method:
- File (recommended)
- FTP / SFTP
- Google Drive / Dropbox / OneDrive (requires extension)
Wait while the plugin prepares your backup (this may take several minutes for large sites).
Once done, click Download to save the .wpress file to your computer.

Tip: Keep this backup file safe — it contains your full WordPress installation.

Step 3: Import (Restore or Migrate) Your Site

To move or restore your website, install WordPress and All-in-One WP Migration on the destination site, then import your backup.

Log in to the new or target WordPress site.
Go to All-in-One WP Migration → Import.
Drag and drop your .wpress file into the upload area or click Import From → File.
Wait while the plugin uploads and processes your backup file.
When prompted, click Proceed to overwrite the existing site data.

Once the process completes, you’ll see a confirmation message like:

Your data has been imported successfully. Please save your permalinks structure.

Click Permalinks Settings.
Click Save Changes (no need to modify anything).

That’s it — your entire site (content, media, plugins, settings) is now fully restored or migrated!

Step 4: Update URLs After Migration

If your domain or site URL has changed (e.g., from staging.example.com to example.com), All-in-One WP Migration automatically updates URLs in your database. However, double-check:

Go to Settings → General.
Verify that the WordPress Address (URL) and Site Address (URL) are correct.
Clear your cache or CDN if enabled.

If any images or links still point to the old domain, use the built-in Find & Replace feature in the Export screen before creating your next backup.

Step 5: Handle File Size Limits

By default, the free version of All-in-One WP Migration limits uploads to 512 MB. If your site is larger, you have three options:

Option 1: Purchase the Unlimited Extension

Removes upload size limits entirely.
Supports large sites, WooCommerce, and multisite setups.

Option 2: Increase Upload Limit Manually

Add this line to your wp-config.php file before /* That's all, stop editing! */:

define( 'AI1WM_MAX_FILE_SIZE', 2 * 1024 * 1024 * 1024 ); // 2GB limit

Option 3: Split Export Files (Premium)

Premium extensions allow you to split exports into smaller parts that can be uploaded separately.

Step 6: Use Cloud Storage (Optional)

All-in-One WP Migration supports multiple cloud storage options via extensions:

☁️ Google Drive
📦 Dropbox
💾 Amazon S3
📁 OneDrive
🔄 pCloud or WebDAV

To connect:

Purchase and install the corresponding extension from the ServMask website.
Go to All-in-One WP Migration → Settings.
Authenticate your cloud service and click Save.
Choose that service when exporting or importing backups.

Step 7: Migrate to a New Domain or Host (Example)

Here’s an example of a full migration using All-in-One WP Migration:

On your old site:
- Go to All-in-One WP Migration → Export.
- Choose Export to File → Download the .wpress file.
On your new site:
- Install WordPress and the All-in-One WP Migration plugin.
- Go to All-in-One WP Migration → Import.
- Upload your .wpress file → Click Proceed.
- When complete, Save Permalinks and verify your URLs.

Your entire WordPress site — including design, media, plugins, and settings — will now be live on the new host.

Step 8: Backup Best Practices

🗓 Schedule regular backups before updates or new deployments.
💾 Store backups both locally and on cloud storage.
🧪 Test restores in a staging environment before using on production.
🚀 Clean up old backups to save server space.

Troubleshooting Common Issues

1) “Upload size limit exceeded”

Increase upload limits via wp-config.php or purchase the Unlimited Extension.

2) “Import failed” or timeout

Temporarily deactivate caching and security plugins.

Increase PHP limits in php.ini:

max_execution_time = 300
memory_limit = 512M
upload_max_filesize = 1024M
post_max_size = 1024M

3) “File not found” after import

Check file permissions on wp-content/ai1wm-backups/ and ensure uploads are complete.

Premium Features Worth Considering

🔹 Unlimited Extension (remove upload limits)
🔹 Multisite Extension (for network setups)
🔹 Cloud Storage Extensions (Drive, Dropbox, S3, etc.)
🔹 CLI (Command Line Interface) Extension for developers

Premium extensions are available on the official ServMask website.

Conclusion

All-in-One WP Migration simplifies the backup and migration process to just a few clicks. Whether you’re moving to a new host, cloning a staging site, or creating secure off-site backups, this plugin handles everything smoothly — no FTP or technical setup required.

Summary: Install plugin → Export → Download backup → Import to new site → Save permalinks → Done. Perfect for anyone who wants fast, reliable WordPress migrations.

🔌 Looking for more? Check out our WordPress Plugins Hub to discover recommended tools and how to use them.