Review before anything moves
See every file and table that will change. Three-way change detection flags anything that changed on production since your pull, and the database is unticked by default when it did.
Feature · Push to live
Push local WordPress to live, after you review every change
To move a local WordPress site live you copy the files, move the database and rewrite the URLs. The BuildPress app does all of it in one push, after showing you every change, with health checks after and Undo if you need it.
Your download has started. Next: open it, connect Claude Code or Codex, and start your first site. See the 3 setup steps
Pushing live comes with every paid plan. Building locally is free.
The manual way
How to move a local site live by hand
This works on any host and needs no special tools. It is also where most broken launches come from.
- Export the database. Dump the local database with phpMyAdmin, Adminer or wp db export.
- Replace the URLs. Swap the local address for the live one. Use a serialization-aware tool such as wp search-replace, never a plain find and replace on the SQL file.
- Upload the files. Copy wp-content (themes, plugins, uploads) to the server over SFTP or SSH.
- Import the database. Back up the live database first, then import yours over it.
- Fix the details. Check wp-config, resave permalinks, clear every cache layer and test logins, forms and checkout.
Where it goes wrong
- Importing your database wipes WooCommerce orders, form entries and comments made on the live site since you copied it.
- A plain find and replace breaks serialized data, so widgets and builder layouts quietly disappear.
- A forgotten cache layer keeps showing the old site, and there is no quick way back if something breaks.
The BuildPress way
Connect your host once. Push whenever you are ready.
Your AI builds on a local copy in the app. When you like what you see, these four steps take it live.
- Step 01
Connect your host
Add Cloudways, Hostinger or InstaWP with an API token, or any server over SSH. On Cloudways the app creates its own SSH user, and Hostinger needs one manual step in hPanel.
Paid plans - Step 02
Pull the live site (optional)
Improving an existing site? Pull it into the app. A local restore point is taken first, files are checked by checksum, the database swap is atomic and URLs are rewritten.
Paid plans - Step 03
Build and review
Let Claude Code or Codex work on the copy. When you push, the review shows every file and table that will move, with conflicts flagged.
- Step 04
Push it live
The new version is staged, switched in seconds, caches are cleared and health checks run. Then you choose Keep or Undo.
Paid plans
Safety net
Built so a bad push is undone in seconds
Every step of the manual method that tends to go wrong has a guard rail in the app.
Guard rails on the database
Pushing a database asks you to type the domain first, and warns you when WooCommerce orders would be replaced.
Staged, then switched
Everything is uploaded beside production first. The switch itself takes seconds under maintenance mode, and a failure rolls back on its own.
Caches cleared for you
Object cache and rewrite rules, Breeze, LiteSpeed, W3 Total Cache, WP Super Cache and Elementor CSS, plus the Cloudways cache and Varnish and the InstaWP CDN.
Health checks after the push
The home page, the login page and a WordPress boot are compared with how they were before. Any regression shows up right next to Undo.
Keep or Undo
Whatever a push replaces is kept. Happy with the result? Keep it. Not happy? Undo in one click and the previous version is back.
Never overwritten on production
Some things stay exactly as they are live
A push moves your site, not the server's configuration or its security.
- Security plugin settings and 2FA secrets
- .htaccess and other server rules
- wp-config.php
- A host backup first on Cloudways and InstaWP
| Manual | BuildPress | |
|---|---|---|
| See changes before they go live | ||
| Conflict check against production | ||
| Serialization-safe URL rewrite | If you remember | |
| Cache clearing | By hand | |
| Health checks | By hand | |
| Undo the push |
Any SSH server
Not on Cloudways, Hostinger or InstaWP?
Any host works over SSH if the server has the tools below. That covers most VPS and many managed hosts; check with your host if you are unsure. Multisite and SFTP-only hosting are not supported yet.
WP-CLIPHPbashtargzipsha256sum
No. The free app covers building on one local site. Connecting your hosts, pulling and pushing come with any paid plan: Solo, Team, Agency or Lifetime.
Cloudways, Hostinger and InstaWP connect with an API key, and any other server works over SSH if it has WP-CLI, PHP, bash, tar, gzip and sha256sum. WP Engine, Kinsta, Pressable and Rocket.net are on the way. Multisite and SFTP-only hosts are not supported.
Only if you push the database. When production changed since your pull, the database is unticked by default, the review flags the conflict, and the app warns you before WooCommerce orders would be replaced. Pushing files alone leaves the live database as it is.
On Cloudways (on by default) and InstaWP the app takes a host backup before pushing. On every host, whatever the push replaces is kept so you can Undo, and every pull takes a local restore point first (on by default).
Everything is staged beside the live site before the switch, and a failure during the switch rolls back automatically, so visitors are not left with half a site.
In your system keychain on macOS, encrypted with Windows data protection on Windows, and in your system keyring (libsecret) on Linux. On Cloudways the app creates its own SSH user, so your master login stays yours. A changed host key is refused.
On a paid plan, connect Cloudways with an API key. BuildPress creates its own SSH user, takes a Cloudways backup first, shows every file and table that will change, pushes, clears the Cloudways cache and Varnish, runs health checks, and then you choose Keep or Undo.
Build free, push when ready
Stop migrating by hand.
Push with a safety net.
Download the app free and build your site locally. Add a plan when you want to connect your host and push it live.