Troubleshooting

Although ServMask is proud of its reputation as a dependable method of backing up and migrating websites, customers may occasionally encounter problems. This guide aims to help you resolve those issues.

Installing the plugin

All extensions require the free WordPress plugin. Please ensure that you have the plugin installed.

If you need instructions on how to install the base plugin, please see wordpress and for extensions, please see help.servmask.

Taking a backup or export of your site

A backup and an export are the same process. Exporting the contents of your WordPress site with the plugin creates a .wpress file. This archive serves as a backup that you can keep in case you need it, as well as a file that you can import to a new site to migrate to. The plugin’s backups page will display any backups that you have on your server. When you create a backup on the server, you will be taken to the export page, where you can choose where you want to back up to.

Issues with backups

If you have any issues with your backups, you should ensure that you:

• Have enough space on your server to store the backup file, which means that you need to have more free space than the size of the backup file that will be created.
• Have permission on wp-content that will allow you to write the backup to the folder. We recommend that you have 775 recursively on wp-content.
• If you have a site that is larger than 2GB, you need to have 64 bit PHP due to the limitation of 32 bit PHP file size. Please also check the list of unsupported hosting providers for those with limitations.
• Have sufficient memory limit on your server to process the backup. The minimum recommendation is to have your memory limit set to 256MB (although small sites can manage with less).
• If you have used other backup plugins, you might find that your backups are creating huge files. If your file seems larger than it should be, check that you have removed all previous backups from your hosting server.
• Transients, large database tables and incompatible plugins can cause issues. If this is the case, please contact support for assistance.

With issues on export or import, it can be useful to look at the error log that can be found at wp-content/plugins/all-in-one-wp-migration/storage/error.log.

Downloading a backup

In some cases, poor internet connections, server restrictions or browser issues can mean that the download from the download button on the plugin can fail. You can try a different browser, but if this happens again, we recommend downloading through your hosting site’s file manager or using an FTP client. You will find the backups in wp-content/ai1wm-backups.

Migrating your website or restoring a backup

Issues with restoring a backup

The file that you import must be a .wpress file that was created by a ServMask plugin. Use a new WordPress install to ensure that the install is clean, although this is not essential.

• If your import page on the plugin doesn’t look correct, there might be an issue with your site and home URL.
• While the All-in-One WP migration plugin is fully compatible with both older and newer PHP versions, your website’s content (themes, plugins, and so on) may not be. Check that the PHP version of your exporting and importing sites are not in conflict. Please see more information here.
• If you would like to check the integrity before import, use the Traktor tool to check the integrity of your backup and look at the contents.
• It is important to have enough space on your server to store the backup file and recreate the website on your site. You should have enough space to store your site by 2.5 times.
• You need to have permissions on wp-content that will allow you to write to the wp-content folder. We recommend that you have 775 recursively on wp-content.
• You need to have a sufficient memory limit on your server to process the restore. The minimum recommended is to have the memory limit set to 256M (although small sites can get away with less and larger sites may need more).
• If the restore process stalls or is taking too long, follow this guide.
• Sometimes plugins can conflict during import. You can check for details at /wp-content/plugins/all-in-one-wp-migration/storage/error.log to see if there are any issues.
• If your website is not working after import, you can see this guide.

You can also look at the common issues on the support site or contact the support team if these recommendations don’t help.