The road ends, but the journey continues...

Staging Sites, Migration and The Sounds of Silence

Under Construction

Perhaps you’ve noticed. My site has been ‘under construction’ for quite some time. Silent for even longer than that.

It’s been awhile, I know. At first, partly due to lack of time to put together a ‘quality’ post, yes. But mostly, at first, in order to keep site-traffic at a minimum in prep for a full backup download and staging of the site.

That was a few weeks ago. At that time, I worked on the too-long-ignored WP/plugin updates and tidied up the website before proceeding with the scheduled migration to another hosting service.

Nothing quite jolts one out of techie-inertia like when one’s host service end date looms on the horizon. The very close horizon.

Those of us who are wordpress.org know that hosting servers offer fantastic prices as a first-time customer. Then, once the contract is over (in this case 3 years), the renewal cost increases by at least 3xs the initial rate.

This is common practice.

I knew going in, that I’d need to find a new host to park the website when the dreaded renewal date arrived. In my case, hubby found a great package for 4 years with another host server.

A little over 2 weeks ago, I initiated the move. There’s always a bit of trepidation during the change-over, migration, re-direct of dns to the new host and how well the new host service deals with customer help once the site is in their care.

And there are always problems. In the techie-realm, problems are normal. But, as they say, there are always solutions. If you know where to look for them…

Original image lady techie

Meanwhile, my newly migrated site went live. But without the ‘Under Construction Sign’ I’d painstakingly selected, put in place and made sure it worked while the migrated site was in ‘preview’ waiting to accept the re-direct and spring back into life. Why? Because the fixes I made in prep for the migration got messed up during the migration!

I’m no stranger to setting up staging sites and fixing/testing stuff on my website. But having my semi-broken site live & visible after I made sure it’d be invisible under the ‘Under Construction Sign’ was quite upsetting to me. More so than the loss of ‘likes’ and other weird data disappearances.

Turns out, Jetpack does not play well with migration. And, active Jetpack support on the WP Forums has all but disappeared. Just sayin’…

The good news?

If not for the excellent help from the live tech assistants at my new host service – this website might have remained ‘under construction’ forever. Yes, an exaggeration about the forever part. However, I reiterate: high accolades for the live tech assistants who walked me through the fixes!

Now for the leap of faith: pushing the staged site to live. Again.

If there are problems, so be it. Otherwise, it’s great to be back!


As per the title of this post: The Sounds of Silence phrase rounds out the content of this post – even if the lyrics of the beloved piece do not. I added it here for an aural respite from all things techie. 🙂

20 Comments

  1. Somehow I missed the post “Weekend Notes 3/2-3/2024”, I just read it but I think the Comments are closed as I could not comment. I just wanted to say that piece mounted on canvas is quiet elegance! Lovely!
    Okay now onto this post’s comments: Congratulations on getting your site migrated to a new host service and the issues resolved, and I love S&G’s Sound of Silence!

    • laura bruno lilly

      Oh I’m thrilled you viewed my ‘Homage’! Thanks for catching up on all my posts – May you never have to deal with Jetpack issues! HA!

      • I hope once all is resolved you never deal with this issues either again 🙂

        • laura bruno lilly

          Thank you! Let’s just say I’m not updating Jetpack anytime soon. Plus, I know I don’t have to migrate my site for a full 4 yrs so I’m safe on that account!
          😉

  2. Sharon

    I wondered where you’ve been. Best of luck getting switched over completely.

    • laura bruno lilly

      Thank you, Sharon! I’m glad you ‘found’ me amidst this techie WIP!

  3. Jennie

    I’m so glad you’re back, Laura. I’ve missed your blog posts. When it comes to technology, migration, or any other such thing, swallowing nails would be a much preferred!

    • laura bruno lilly

      Oh yeah, and then spitting them back at the guys who made it all so unnecessarily complicated! HA!

      • Jennie

        Well said!

  4. Marty

    Oh, jeez, WordPress and all those charges sometimes. I give you all the kudos in the world for doing that hard work. Well done!

    • laura bruno lilly

      Thanks Marty. Unfortunately, stuff is still messed up 🙁
      But I got it running enough to go live here for now, until Jetpack gets back to me…

  5. Andy

    Welcome back 🙂
    And a great song to close with.

    • laura bruno lilly

      Thanks, Manc Bud. I always appreciate the fact that you are of my generation in heart.
      😉

  6. Ally Bean

    I wouldn’t know the first thing about migrating a blog to a new host so kudos to you for making it happen. When it comes to blogs, if it isn’t one thing it’s another.

    • laura bruno lilly

      I know…and always comes with the question of “do I really want to keep this thing going?” But then, you’ve been around that mountain a few times, eh? Thanks for finding me and commenting! Enjoy your SpringFling & FunnerSummer Blog break!

      • Ally Bean

        Well I’m not going on a break actually, I’m reducing my posting schedule. A less is more approach to blogging, but I promise to enjoy it! 😎

  7. Laura

    I am almost totally non-tech knowledgeable, and I don’t envy you your tech issues, Laura! Hopefully, all things will work out soon! 🙂

    • laura bruno lilly

      Thank you, Laura! FYI: I emailed you.

  8. L. Marie

    I hope you see this comment. I’m glad you’re back. I’m sorry you’ve had site issues.

    • laura bruno lilly

      Yes, I can access this only via my website dashboard. Nothing is accessible via the WP Reader. I mention this so that others who might be trying to comment/like and read this exchange will be notified! As of now, I have a forum help request in to Jetpack…

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