Advanced WordPress migration and backup
Prime Mover PRO extends the Prime Mover backup and migration workflow for single-site and multisite WordPress installations. It is designed for transferring sites between hosts, servers, domains, local environments, and live environments while working from the WordPress admin area.
The PRO edition adds scheduled backups, direct site-to-site package transfer, expanded multisite capabilities, encryption options, external storage integrations, package exclusions, and detailed migration controls. These features support routine backups, development-to-production moves, site cloning, multisite administration, and restoration work.
PRO capabilities
- Schedule automatic backups for single-site and multisite installations.
- Transfer packages directly from site to site.
- Move the backup location outside the WordPress public directory.
- Migrate or back up a multisite main site.
- Encrypt the WordPress database, media directory, plugin files, and theme files inside backups or packages.
- Export and restore packages from Dropbox.
- Save and restore packages from and to Google Drive.
- Exclude plugins, including network-activated plugins in multisite installations.
- Exclude upload-directory files to reduce package size.
- Exclude unused database tables created by inactive plugins.
- Create a new multisite subsite with a specific blog ID.
- Disable network maintenance so only the affected subsite is placed in maintenance mode.
- Configure migration parameters to optimize and adjust backup or migration packages.
- Migrate between non-UTF8 and standard UTF8 database charsets, including utf8mb4.
Practical workflows
Scheduled protection and selective packages
Use scheduled backups for recurring protection of single-site or multisite installations. Before creating a package, choose exclusions for plugins, uploads, or unused database tables when a smaller or more focused package is appropriate. The available configuration options can be adjusted for the migration or backup task.
Moving sites between environments
Prime Mover supports moving a single-site installation to another single-site server, moving a single site into an existing multisite subsite, migrating a multisite subsite to another multisite subsite, and migrating a multisite subsite to a single-site installation. PRO also supports exporting and restoring a multisite main site. Packages can be transferred directly between sites or managed through Dropbox and Google Drive.
Protected backup contents
Encryption can be applied to the database, media directory, plugins, and themes inside a backup or migration package. The backup location can also be moved outside the WordPress public directory. These controls let administrators choose how package contents and storage are handled.
Restoration and multisite controls
The plugin includes complete restoration options and access to the settings screen for basic and advanced configurations. A multisite administrator can create a new subsite with a chosen blog ID and limit maintenance mode to the affected subsite. Prime Mover also supports legacy multisites and database work involving non-UTF8 and UTF8 character sets.
Installation and use
Install and activate Prime Mover PRO in WordPress, then open its administration screens to create, manage, transfer, or restore packages. The plugin works across Nginx, Apache, LiteSpeed, Microsoft IIS, and localhost environments. The source lists PHP 5.6 to 8.5+ support, with the Google Drive feature requiring at least PHP 7.4.
