Prepare Staging and Backup Your Site

🎯 Goal: Create a safe staging copy and make complete backups before starting migration.

1. Use Autolauncher

   • Launch a staging site (identical to the production site) via your platform’s autolauncher.
   • Clone the staging Git repository to your local machine.

2. Request SRE Assistance (if applicable)

   Ask SRE to:

   • Clean the staging site:

     • Remove unknown/suspicious PHP files
     • Delete modified core files
     • Clear out deactivated plugin remnants
     • Remove malicious database entries

   • Duplicate the production site (files + database).

     • Ensure that the production site is duplicated in a separate staging area, maintaining the integrity of all files and the database.

3. Backup Everything (for SRE)

   • Ask SRE to create a downloadable ZIP file containing:
   • Full WordPress files (uploads, themes, etc.).
   • Database backup.
   • The ZIP file should contain everything needed to restore the site (files + database) in a safe and compressed format.