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[migration wordpress lessons-learned failure]
Created 2026-06-21

WordPress Migration Post-Mortem

WordPress Migration Post-Mortem

Site: seedvault.market
Date: May 22, 2026
Status: Content lost due to migration error
Impact: Complete loss of WordPress.com site content (posts, pages, products, media)

What Went Wrong

The Critical Error

DNS was changed to the new NUC server BEFORE backing up the old WordPress.com site.

This is backwards. The correct migration order is:
1. ✅ Backup old site
2. ✅ Set up new environment
3. ✅ Migrate content
4. ✅ Verify on new server
5. ✅ THEN change DNS

Timeline

  1. NUC Setup Completed — Docker containers running (WordPress + MySQL), Nginx reverse proxy configured, SSL obtained
  2. DNS Changed Prematurely — WordPress.com detected external hosting and auto-disconnected the site
  3. No Backup Existed — Site disappeared from WordPress.com dashboard
  4. Content Lost — All posts, pages, products, media inaccessible

Lessons Learned

Migration Order (Correct)

1. BACKUP FIRST - Export WordPress.com site (XML or All-in-One WP Migration)
2. Set up new environment (NUC, Docker, Nginx, SSL)
3. Test new environment locally (internal IP, not public domain)
4. Migrate content to new environment
5. THEN change DNS - Point domain to new server
6. Verify everything works on new server
7. Keep old site running until confirmed migration success

Critical Rules

  • ✅ Always backup before any DNS change
  • ✅ Test new environment on internal IP first
  • ✅ Keep old site running until migration verified
  • ✅ Have rollback plan before making changes

Prevention

  • Never change DNS before verifying backup exists
  • Test on internal IP (http://192.168.1.100:8081) before going live
  • Document rollback procedures
  • Verify hosting provider behavior before migration (WordPress.com auto-disconnects on DNS change)

Recovery Attempts

  1. WordPress.com Support — Not yet attempted
  2. DNS Reversion — Pointing DNS back to WordPress.com (192.0.78.24) to attempt auto-reconnect
  3. Rebuild from Scratch — Install WooCommerce on NUC WordPress, rebuild ~32 products manually or via CSV (last resort)

Current Status

  • NUC WordPress: Working, empty, accessible at https://seedvault.market
  • WordPress.com Site: Disconnected, inaccessible, possibly deleted
  • Content: Lost (no backup existed)
  • DNS: Being reverted to WordPress.com to attempt recovery
Source: /home/vincent/wordpress-migration-failure.md