I have created a simple Moodle training site by downloading the software to my computer and building it from there. I'd like to transfer the site I created and saved on my computer to our company website so it can be accessed by employees and tracked by managers. I know what I'm doing inside my account on my computer (creating the trainings), but have no idea where to go from here. Any recommendations on resources I can utilize that show me (a non-coder - don't know much about servers) step-by-step instructions how to transfer the files/site stored on my computer to the web so it can actually be used as intended?
In reply to Brandon Stoddard
Re: Migrating Moodle site from computer to live website
by Howard Miller -
There's a whole list of questions we would need to ask. I assume your employer has servers that you can run Moodle on? If you don't know about servers will you be helped by existing IT staff in some way?
Assuming you (or somebody) can create a Moodle site on these servers, how many courses did you create? If it's only a few, using backup and restore will be the easiest solution.
In reply to Howard Miller
Re: Migrating Moodle site from computer to live website
by Brandon Stoddard -
Yes, we use Hosting24 and should be able to host it there.
I created 30+ courses. They are all pretty simple. Are there step-by-step instructions that you are aware of that walk me through the process?
In reply to Brandon Stoddard
Re: Migrating Moodle site from computer to live website
by Howard Miller -
There are - Moodle_migration
In reply to Howard Miller
Re: Migrating Moodle site from computer to live website
by Brandon Stoddard -
Thank you! I'll check it out.
I can suggest that the first place that I would start is to see if I could install a brand new copy of Moodle on your company website. This will allow you to see if your company's server can run Moodle.
Later, worry about the move.
Yes, I can. We have it already on there, but it's old. I decided to create a new one to learn the program and make sure it's done correctly. At this point, it's ready to move over.
This next step can be a little tricky.
Does your new server have all of the same plugins installed that your old moodle has? If not, you should install the same plugins. Do you have many?
Also, what version is your old moodle, and what version is your new?
This is the old one:
Moodle version 2012120301.05
Moodle release 2.4.1+ (Build: 20130131)
I'm probably using different plugins. I created the new site from scratch.
(Maybe other folks will guide you differently, but I will do my best.)
Let's review. You have your OLD 2.4.1, and you want to migrate it to a different server, and upgrade it to the latest version. Your OLD has various plugins, maybe even themes. Your NEW moodle seems to run fine on your server (I assume your NEW Moodle is the latest, which means you have php 7 running on your NEW server.)
Here is what I would really do.
1) Always make sure to do backups of your OLD moodle. This includes a dump of the database, a "zip" of your moodledata folder, and I would also do a "zip" of your current (OLD) moodle.
2) Replicate the OLD somewhere, maybe on you OLD server, maybe in WAMP or MAMP. You probably can't install a copy of your OLD moodle on your NEW server because your OLD moodle is running under php 5, and your new server is running php7. Use this copy for experimenting and practice, don't use your production OLD version.
3) There are some version steps that are recommended when one wants to make a big jump. I don't have these precisely memorized, but I think it is 2.4 to 2.7 to 3.2 to current. So, I would try doing these upgrades on my replicated experimental moodle. Along the way, there will be some "significant" changes (of course, these are improvements) that you might not recognize. Also along the way, you might be able to see which plugins crash because they are no longer needed. You could also decide which plugins you no longer want, and then remove them. Sometimes removing plugins can be challenging.
4) When I finally get my OLD experimental moodle up to the current version, this is when I would do backups, and migrate to the new server.
When I wanted to move from 2.9 to 3.0, I decided to start my 3.0 moodle from scratch, recreating all of my courses (about a half-dozen). It really wasn't that hard, and I was able to rethink each course and improve them. The question banks can be moved, and this a major component. The structural elements of a course can often be quickly created, and duplicated to save time.
So you have parallel paths: Experiment with updating your OLD moodle, and also experiment with what it would take to create courses from scratch on your NEW moodle. Experimenting with your NEW moodle might lead you to using, and learning, what the NEW moodle has to offer.
I should mention to you that moving to the latest moodle, in my opinion, will be well worth the effort. I am running 3.4.2+ Build 20180418, and I would never want to go backwards. Each upgrade always brings along some surprise improvements.
Well, I have outlined the general procedures that I would take. Others here might offer some tweaks to this process.
Thank you, Rick. I really appreciate your feedback and direction.
Brandon
Great! Keep us informed about your progress and success.