What you’ll need
- phpMyAdmin access on the source
- DirectAdmin access on Traxio
Whether you’re migrating a site or making a copy for testing, the process is the same: export cleanly, prepare an empty target, import, and update the application.
Steps
Step 1: Export from the source
In the source phpMyAdmin, select the database, Export → Custom, format SQL, compression gzipped. How to export a database (backup with phpMyAdmin)
Step 2: Check the export
Confirm the file isn’t tiny. Decompress a copy and look for
CREATE TABLElines.Step 3: Remove database-specific lines if present
If the file contains
CREATE DATABASEorUSE \oldname\``, delete those lines — they point to the old database name.Step 4: Create the target database
On Traxio, create a new database and user. How to create a MySQL database in DirectAdmin
Step 5: Import
Open Extra Features then phpMyAdmin, select the new database first, then Import your file. How to import a database with phpMyAdmin
Step 6: Compare
Check the table list matches the source, and compare row counts for two or three important tables.
Step 7: Update the application
Change the database name, user and password in the application’s config file. Host is
localhost.
Check it worked
The table count and key row counts match the source, and the application loads data from the new database.
If something goes wrong
| What happens | What to do |
|---|---|
| Unknown collation utf8mb4_0900_ai_ci | Replace with utf8mb4_unicode_ci in the file. MySQL vs MariaDB: what’s the difference? |
| #1044 access denied to database | The file references the old database name; remove CREATE DATABASE/USE lines. |
| Timeout or file too large | Importing a database that’s too large for phpMyAdmin |
This works on any Traxio account. If you’re still choosing a host, PHP and MySQL hosting is free for 30 days, then £0.99 a month.