To get the data from your site, request a site backup by contacting Bitmash support. This backup file contains both your site’s files as well as a database dump. Together, these can be used to restore your site to any PHP hosting provider.

Note: This page can only provide general instructions; consult your new hosting provider for guidance on how to use their specific services. In particular, these instructions do not apply to managed hosting providers such as WordPress.com or Piwik PRO Cloud. These services may require you to export your site rather than being able to directly import a raw backup.

To restore a backup from Bitmash to a different PHP hosting provider:

  1. Download the same version of the software you were using on Bitmash. For example, if you were running WordPress 3.1.15, make sure you download that version from the WordPress.org download page. Downloading a different version of the software may cause confusion when attempting to restore your site.
  2. Unpack the downloaded software and upload it to the hosting server.
  3. Unpack your backup from Bitmash and upload all of the files from public_html/ to the same directory where you uploaded the base software, overwriting any files if necessary.
  4. Upload any additional relevant files from the backup. For example, some files in data/ may be necessary for your site.
  5. Depending on your hosting provider, you may need to change the permissions on the files you have uploaded to allow the web server to access them. Consult your hosting provider’s documentation for details.
  6. Unpack the sql.gz file from the backup and import it into the new database. If you have direct access to the database, you can use the mysql command to import the data; your hosting provider may also provide access to the database via phpMyAdmin, in which case you can import the SQL file from the phpMyAdmin dashboard.
  7. Update the application configuration. At the very least, you will need to change the database credentials; you may also need to modify other settings such as file paths as well.
  8. Test your site. Ideally, everything should now work, but you may find that you need to make changes such as adjusting permissions, modifying paths or changing .htaccess rules.