WordPress on App Service, a managed offering by Microsoft, is designed to elevate your WordPress hosting experience. This innovative solution leverages the robust capabilities of Azure App Service and Azure Database for MySQL to provide an unparalleled hosting environment for your WordPress sites. Additionally, we offer:

Managed but Flexible Offering: We handle all upgrades behind the scenes, so you don’t have to worry about the underlying technology. This allows you to focus on building your best WordPress site. We also avoid forcing major upgrades on you, minimizing the risk of your site breaking. You have the time and flexibility to test your application and switch to an upgraded stack when you’re ready. Similarly, with WordPress core, security patches are automatic, but you decide how to manage major upgrades.

Unmatched Security: The built-in security features of Azure App Service and Azure Database for MySQL ensure your data and applications are protected with the highest standards of security. Additionally, Azure VNET and Azure Entra ID managed identities enhance your security posture.

Superior Performance: Benefit from numerous performance enhancements such as built-in Redis cache and local storage caching. Seamless integration with Azure CDN or Azure Front Door and Azure Blob Storage ensures your WordPress site operates with optimal speed and efficiency.

Effortless Setup and Management: The easy creation wizard simplifies the setup process, while the Azure portal provides a user-friendly interface for managing your site. Customization is straightforward with the use of ARM templates and Azure CLI, allowing you to tailor the offering to your specific requirements.

Authentic WordPress Experience: We maintain the integrity of the WordPress core, providing authentic WordPress experience. You have the flexibility to use plugins like W3 Total Cache for integration with Azure CDN or Azure Front Door and storage or select your preferred plugins to meet your needs.

Comprehensive Integration: This offering harnesses the power of Azure App Service and Azure Database for MySQL to host your WordPress web app and database, respectively. The entire setup is configured with an Azure VNET for added security, ensuring seamless and secure integration. Plus, you can choose to integrate with various other Azure services out of the box, making it easy to use additional services without manual configuration.

We invite you to make the switch to WordPress on App Service and experience the power, security, and performance of Azure. Transform your WordPress hosting experience and delight your customers!

In the next section, I will provide you with a step-by-step guide on how to migrate your WordPress sites from WP Engine to WordPress on App Service.

Note: For the migration, we will use the All-in-One WP Migration and Backup plugin, which we highly recommend. Our example covers a single site to single site migration. If you’re dealing with WP multisites, you’ll need the Multisite extension for the All-in-One Migration plugin. We will export the site as a zip file and download it to our local machine. If you prefer using FTP or exporting to services like Dropbox, Azure Storage, Amazon S3, etc., there are extensions available for those as well. You can find all the extensions here: https://servmask.com/products.

Additionally, the plugin offers advanced functionalities. You can search and replace strings in your database or exclude specific items from the export, such as comments or plugins. These features are intended for advanced users, and we recommend using them only if you are confident in what you’re doing. In this tutorial, we have not utilized any advanced features. To learn more about these features, you can find many helpful videos on their YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Servmask/videos

PART 1: ON WP ENGINE

I will be using a demo website hosted on WP Engine in this tutorial. https://wpcontoso.wpenginepowered.com/

Step 1: Go to wp-admin of your WordPress site and install and activate the plugin ‘All-in-One WP Migration and Backup” https://wordpress.org/plugins/all-in-one-wp-migration/

Step 2: Go to All-in-One WP migration tab on the left-hand pane. Click on ‘EXPORT TO’ > FILE.

This will start the backup process.

Step 3: Once the backup is ready click on the DOWNLOAD dialog button.

The entire website content will be downloaded to you local machine.

PART 2. ON AZURE

Step 1: Create a new WordPress site on App Service. Follow the steps here: https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/apps-on-azure-blog/how-to-set-up-a-new-wordpress-website-on-azure-app-service/ba-p/3729150

I have created this site for demo: https://wpcontoso.azurewebsites.net/

Step 2: Go to wp-admin of your WordPress site on Azure. Install and activate All-in-One Migration and Backup plugin.

Step 3: Go to the ‘All-in-One Migration’ tab > ‘Import’ Option on the left-hand pane. Click on IMPORT FROM > FILE. Note: You might need to increase upload size limits. Refer: https://github.com/Azure/wordpress-linux-appservice/blob/main/WordPress/wordpress_application_settings.md

Then select the file from your local machine. This will start the upload process.

Do not close the window until the Import process is completed.

Step 4: Now you will see that the site has been imported.

PART 3. ADDITIONAL STEPS

Step 1: To take advantage of caching and email, please make sure that you re-activate the W3 Total Cache and App Service Email plugins. They were deactivated because they were not installed in the WP Engine environment. You might also need to purge the cache. 

Step 2: Remove WP engine files that you do not need in the App Service environment. Remove the following files and folders.

wp-content/advanced-cache.php

wp-content/object-cache.php

wp-content/mu-plugins/mu-plugin.php

wp-content/mu-plugins/wpengine-common/

wp-content/mu-plugins/slt-force-strong-passwords.php

wp-content/mu-plugins/force-strong-passwords/

wp-content/mu-plugins/stop-long-comments.php

wp-content/mu-plugins/wpe-wp-sign-on-plugin/

wp-content/mu-plugins/wpe-wp-sign-on-plugin.php

wp-content/mu-plugins/wpengine-security-auditor.php

Try out this migration process today and let us know how it went!

Support and Feedback

Did you like this article? Please click on like if you do. Also, leave your comments, and help us to make this article better.

If you need any assistance, feel free to open a support request through the Microsoft Azure portal.

You can also report an issue on our GitHub repository Issues

For more details about our offering, check out the announcement on the General Availability of WordPress on Azure App Service.

Also, you can find here additional documentation related to WordPress on App Service.

You can share your thoughts and suggestions on our community page.

Would love to know about your experience & issues you are facing, and you can start a conversation with us by emailing to wordpressonazure@microsoft.com

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