Multisite Migration

Overview

SafeGuard supports all 5 WordPress Multisite migration scenarios out of the box. There is no extra add-on or tier required — every license includes full multisite support. Competitors charge $319+ for a separate multisite add-on.

Whether you need to move an entire network, extract a single sub-site into a standalone install, or import a standalone site into an existing network, SafeGuard handles the complex table rewriting, user merging, and upload relocation automatically.

The 5 Scenarios

Scenario 1: Full Network Migration

Migrate an entire multisite network — all sub-sites, users, uploads, and configuration — to a new server or host.

Scenario 2: Extract a Sub-site

Pull a single sub-site out of a multisite network and migrate it to a standalone WordPress installation.

SafeGuard automatically handles all the complexity of sub-site extraction:

• Renames tables — converts wp_2_posts → wp_posts, wp_2_options → wp_options, etc.
• Filters users — only migrates users who belong to the selected sub-site
• Relocates uploads — moves files from /uploads/sites/2/ → /uploads/
• Replaces URLs — rewrites all internal URLs from the sub-site domain to the destination domain

Scenario 3: Import into Multisite

Migrate a standalone WordPress site into a multisite network as a new sub-site.

SafeGuard automatically handles the import:

• Rewrites table prefixes in real-time — transforms wp_posts → wp_2_posts during the SQL import stream, so data is written directly to the correct sub-site tables
• Merges users — matches existing network users by email address and resolves login collisions by appending a numeric suffix

Scenario 4: Network Dissolution

Convert a multisite network back to a single standalone WordPress site. This is effectively the same as Scenario 2 — extract the main site (blog ID 1) to a standalone install.

Follow the steps in Scenario 2, selecting the main site from the sub-site dropdown on the source network.

Scenario 5: Sub-site Transfer

Move a sub-site from one multisite network to another. This combines extraction and import in a single step.

SafeGuard handles the table prefix translation between networks automatically (e.g., wp_3_posts on the source becomes wp_5_posts on the destination).

How It Works

For advanced users, here is what SafeGuard does under the hood during multisite migrations.

Table Prefix Handling

WordPress multisite uses numbered table prefixes for each sub-site (wp_2_, wp_3_, etc.). During migration, SafeGuard rewrites these prefixes in the SQL stream:

• Extraction (sub-site → standalone): wp_2_posts → wp_posts
• Import (standalone → sub-site): wp_posts → wp_2_posts
• Transfer (sub-site → sub-site): wp_3_posts → wp_5_posts

This rewriting happens during the SQL import stream, so data never needs to be staged in intermediate tables.

User Merge

Multisite networks share a single wp_users table across all sub-sites. When extracting or importing:

• Email matching — if a user with the same email already exists on the destination, SafeGuard maps the old user ID to the existing user
• Login collision resolution — if the username is taken by a different user, SafeGuard appends a numeric suffix (e.g., john → john2)
• Role preservation — user roles and capabilities are preserved during the merge

Uploads Path Mapping

Sub-sites store uploads in /wp-content/uploads/sites/{blog_id}/. SafeGuard remaps these paths automatically:

• Extraction: /uploads/sites/2/2025/01/photo.jpg → /uploads/2025/01/photo.jpg
• Import: /uploads/2025/01/photo.jpg → /uploads/sites/2/2025/01/photo.jpg

Network-Activated Plugins

Plugins that are network-activated on the source are handled based on the migration scenario:

• Full network migration — network-activated status is preserved
• Sub-site extraction — network-activated plugins are converted to regular activated plugins on the standalone destination
• Import into multisite — plugins remain site-level activated; network activation must be done separately by the network admin

Limitations