If you have an existing website and would like to migrate it for hosting on UCI Sites (sites.uci.edu), CampusPress may be able to assist you. CampusPress is the vendor OIT uses for managed WordPress hosting on UCI Sites. If UCI Sites is not robust enough for your needs, CampusPress also offers WordPress Single Site hosting. Learn more about these options to see if they are right for you.
Please note, if you hire CampusPress to migrate your website, you will be working directly with them.
Why host on UCI Sites?
UCI Sites is our managed WordPress hosting network. It has a lot of benefits, but also some limitations you should be aware of.
- Free. OIT covers the cost of hosting the service (after migration).
- More than 60 plugins are available to extend the functionality of your website. These plugins are curated for use in higher ed. They have gone through strict code review to make sure they are secure and stable.
- Unlimited pages and blog posts.
- Built-in version control.
- Backups, updates, and security are handled for you. WordPress is a very popular content management system (CMS) making it a big target. By using managed WordPress, you don’t have to worry about patching, plugin conflicts, or security. You can focus on your content versus having to worry about managing the technical details.
- Generous media storage.
- 24/7 Technical Support – technical support is available from our partners at CampusPress.
What should I know about the limitations of UCI Sites?
- You are limited to the installed WordPress plugins and themes. You cannot install or modify themes or plugins. However, we have a wide variety of plugins that should meet most of your needs.
- You are limited to editing via WordPress tools. (No scripting or programming.)
- The maximum upload file size is 50 MB. All files must be 50 MB or smaller. This is not a good place to upload or store video. We recommend Vimeo or YouTube for video.
- All website contributors require an active UCInetID to log in.
- Sites that have not been updated in more than 2 years may be archived.
- You must be an active student or employee to be able to log in. When you are no longer an active student or employee, you will no longer be able to log in to edit content.
Frequently Asked Questions about UCI Sites
How do I know if UCI Sites will work for me?
UCI Sites has many features, but also has limitations. Please read “Is UCI Sites Right for You?” to find out if the service will meet your needs.
Is there any cost to hosting my site on UCI Sites?
OIT covers all the costs of using this shared hosting service. There is no cost to the people using the service. If you hire CampusPress to migrate your website, there will be a one-time cost.
Migration Cost – CampusPress
If you would like to hire CampusPress to migrate your website, there is a one-time cost for CampusPress to migrate and manually rebuild your site to UCI Sites. The one-time cost can only be determined by CampusPress assessing your existing site. The price will depend on the complexity of the site and how much needs to rebuilt. Assessments are free.
Do I have to use CampusPress services to migrate my site?
No, you also have the option to transfer your content from your current site over to your new UCI Sites platform (see the CampusPress documentation for importing from another site here.). However, keep in mind that if your content relies on specific functions or blocks associated with your active theme or plugins, you may face challenges if the same theme or plugin isn’t available on UCI Sites. You’ll have to modify your content to make use of similar features offered by a theme or plugins available on UCI Sites. To support you through this process, CampusPress Support is always ready to suggest viable alternatives available on UCI Sites.
Can we use UCI Sites for larger sites?
Yes! Since we’ve moved to managed hosting, we are more confident that the service is robust enough for larger websites. The OIT website is hosted on a similar managed network.
Can I use my own custom themes or plugins on UCI Sites?
No. For security and performance reasons, you are limited to using the themes and plugins that are already installed on UCI Sites. If you are considering migrating your site into UCI Sites, you’ll find that there are likely to be vetted and installed plugins that can replace your existing plugins. However, if you have a plugin that is critical to your site’s functionality, and there is no replacement plugin on UCI Sites, then you may need to consider CampusPress’s Single Site Hosting or another hosting vendor solution.
Can I use Divi, or some other ‘page builder’ on my new site if it is migrated by CampusPress?
No. If you use CampusPress to migrate your website, they will use a block-ready theme (CampusPress Flex) and you will be able to edit content using Gutenberg blocks (refer to our Gutenberg Guide).
What if I would rather not host my site on UCI Sites?
If you’re finding it difficult to meet the requirements for your site to be hosted on UCI Sites, and still want to retain your site’s current appearance, themes, and plugins, you can consider using CampusPress Single Site Hosting instead or use another hosting solution.
How can CampusPress help me migrate to UCI Sites?
Each site migration requires that CampusPress first perform an assessment and test migration in order for CampusPress to prepare a unique quote for your site.
WordPress sites can typically use any plugin and theme. However, UCI Sites have limitations on which plugins and themes may be used on a site, as all code must meet the CampusPress Code Guidelines.
The CampusPress Support Team will require Administrator access to your WordPress site to analyze which plugins and themes are active, and if any require replacement with UCI Site’s plugins and themes. If a replacement is not available, you will be informed during the assessment process.
If a site’s plugins and theme can be used ‘as is’ on UCI Sites, then a migration of the site without a rebuild may be possible.
A ‘manual rebuild’ is required when
- The replacement of an incompatible theme and/or plugin/s significantly changes the front-end layout of your site, or
- Your site uses a compatible theme and/or plugins, but the current front-end layout/elements do not meet Accessibility requirements.
What is ‘manual rebuilding’?
- The CampusPress Flex theme is activated on your UCI Sites site.
- Your existing site’s theme/layout is manually emulated using the CampusPress Flex theme.
- The site’s text and images are manually duplicated, page by page, and added to your site by using Gutenberg blocks.
Your site may not look exactly the same after migration.
Please note, not all front-end layouts and elements can be emulated 1:1 during a rebuild. There may be differences in the front-end layout/design on your new site compared to your old site. This can happen when a block is not available to emulate a layout/element, or if emulating an existing layout/element would cause Accessibility issues. New sites will not be built using the Divi page builder by CampusPress. They will use the CampusPress Flex theme and the block editor.
Accessibility and compatibility are a priority over 1:1 emulation
CampusPress wants to bring this to your attention early because they receive feedback from people that their site does not look exactly like it did before they migrated. In order for your new site to be compliant with web accessibility guidelines (and, to a lesser degree, the availability of a similar and compatible layout or block), changes may be required. CampusPress will attempt to emulate a site as closely as possible, but accessibility and compatibility remain the priority during the migration and rebuilding process.
What does it cost to migrate my WordPress site to UCI Sites?
As each site has its unique combination of theme, plugins, and content, it would be impossible to determine this without CampusPress’s assessment. There is no charge for CampusPress’s assessment. It depends on the complexity of your existing site.
- The assessment determines the number of hours it would take to migrate your site into UCI Sites, and the number of hours to manually rebuild your site (if this is required).
- Migrations and rebuilds by CampusPress commence on receipt of a purchase order or full payment of the quoted fee.
- Note that the cost of migrating your site, and manual rebuilding (if required), is a one-time fee. Once your site is active on UCI Sites, there are no additional costs for hosting or support.
How do I get a quote for migration and possible rebuilding onto UCI Sites?
- Create a new site on UCI Sites using http://sites.uci.edu/wp-signup.php.
- Email contact@campuspress.com with the subject line “UCI Sites migration: <site address>”.
- In the email, state that you would like an assessment for migrating your existing WordPress site into UCI Sites.
- Provide the URL of your current (old) WordPress site.
- Provide login credentials (username and password) for a user with an Administrator role.
- You may wish to create a new Administrator user account for this. You can use the email address contact@campuspress.com.
- Provide the URL of your new UCI Sites site.
Migrating to CampusPress’s WordPress Single Site Hosting
An alternative to migrating your site to UCI Sites is to purchase CampusPress WordPress Single Site Hosting.
CampusPress offers you Managed WordPress Hosting on a cloud-based Virtual Private Server (VPS) with the following features:
- Server is 100% optimized exclusively for WordPress,
- Dedicate CPU, memory, and IP address,
- 99.9% uptime,
- Located in Los Angeles, USA,
- Nightly backups (hourly backups available at an additional cost) for up to 30 days,
- Web Application Firewall and dynamic malware defense, with optimized rule sets/blocklists,
- Lets Encrypt SSL certificate,
- PHP 8.1,
- No read/write file limits,
- FastCGI and object cache,
- 100GB of storage for uploads (on the ‘CP Gold’-plan)
- Weekly security patches applied to the server software.
Top Benefits
- Because you would be free to install any plugins, themes, and code, you will have more freedom to add functionality compared to hosting on UCI Sites.
- CampusPress Technical Support is included (but limited to 1 ‘main’ Administrator).
- CampusPress can automatically update WordPress core, plugins, and themes daily or weekly.
Top Limitations
- Your site will not have the same high levels of security, mobile responsiveness, performance, accessibility, etc compared to hosting on UCI Sites.
- You will only have access to the WP Admin back-end, without access to the server, files, database, etc. CampusPress hopes to permit access to more server functions in the future.
- CampusPress Technical Support is limited to ‘troubleshooting’ 3rd party themes, plugins, and code only. Issues related to your server, WordPress core and WPMU DEV plugins will include troubleshooting and resolution (where possible).
Included Plugins and Configurations
The following plugins can be added and configured at no additional charge:
- Defender Pro by WPMU DEV
- Malware scanning,
- Server security recommendation checks,
- Additional firewall for login and 404 protection,
- Auditing,
- Additional security features.
- Smush Pro by WPMU DEV (optional)
- Image optimisation,
- Delivery of images by CDN (included premium feature)
- Lazyload,
- WebP conversion.
- SmartCrawl Pro by WPMU DEV (optional)
- SEO optimisation,
- Title optimisation,
- Site crawler SEO scans,
- Sitemap,
- SEO health audit.
- Beehive Pro (optional)
- Integrate Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager.
- Link Checker (optional)
- Identify broken links on your site.
3rd Party Plugins & Themes
You will be able to install 3rd party plugins and themes.
However, please be aware that CampusPress’s technical support is limited to troubleshooting 3rd party code — they may not be able to resolve all issues related to their use, performance impact, or functionality.
3rd party plugins may affect the uptime of your site, and downtime caused by 3rd party plugins will not be covered by CampusPress’s 99.9% uptime agreement.
CampusPress highly recommends contacting their technical support before installing any 3rd party plugins, to check for compatibility and reliability issues.
Support
CampusPress’s technical support is included in your annual hosting fee.
Support Channels
CampusPress offers you 24/7/365 technical support by email, for your Main Administrator.
Issues CampusPress Support Can Resolve
- They will assess, troubleshoot and attempt to resolve:
- Server-related issues,
- WordPress Core-related issues,
- WPMU DEV Pro plugin-related issues,
- Content update related issues.
- Critical issues (e.g. a site that is unresponsive) will typically be resolved within 2 hours.
- Non-critical issues will typically be resolved within 1 to 5 business days. They will communicate to you where issues may take longer to resolve, on a case-by-case basis.
Issues CampusPress Support Can Troubleshoot But Not Always Resolve
As noted in the section ‘3rd Party Plugins’, CampusPress Support may not always be able to resolve issues caused by 3rd party code. However, they can assess and identify if a 3rd party plugin is the source of an issue. If it is not resolvable by their support, they will make recommendations for your consideration (typically, contacting the 3rd party vendor/developer for assistance and support).
Migrations
CampusPress can migrate your site from your existing WordPress site. Note that all themes, plugins, and code on your existing site are required to be compatible with PHP 8.0 as a minimum (PHP8.1 is preferred). Any themes, plugins, or code that is incompatible with PHP8.0 will need to be deactivated and removed.
There is no additional cost for migration.
Migrations are performed using SFTP. You will need to provide your server’s SFTP credentials, as well as an Administrator user account credentials.
Server Specifications
All CampusPress WordPress Single Site Hosting plans start on the ‘CP Essential’ plan, with 8 GB RAM, 4 CPUs, and 100 GB for uploads. This plan is sufficient for the vast majority of WordPress sites. However, if after 6 weeks it is determined that the ‘CP Essential’ plan provides insufficient resources, it may be necessary to upgrade your hosting plan — this is always discussed on a case-by-case basis.
Annual Hosting Fee for CP Essential Single Site Hosting
| 1-year hosting fee, prepaid, and billed from the month of migration | $6,000.00 |
| 2-year hosting fee, prepaid, and billed from the month of migration | $11,820.00 |
| 3-year hosting fee, prepaid, and billed from the month of migration | $17,100.00 |
- The hosting fee includes access to Campus Press technical support
- There is a reasonable annual increase to the annual hosting terms
- On completion of a 2- or 3-year hosting term, hosting fees will revert to the rate charged to new clients at the time of renewal.
- The next hosting plan, CP Platinum, provides double the resources and is priced at $12,000 per year.
Terms and Conditions Apply
- A signed hosting agreement will be required.
- Hosting and migration require 100% payment before commencing.
- A Purchase Order or full payment will be accepted.
Frequently Asked Questions about WordPress Single-site Hosting
Can I use any themes or plugins on CampusPress Single Site Hosting?
Yes. However, be aware that plugins and themes impact the performance and security of your site. The uptime agreement will not apply if the site stops responding due to an issue caused by a 3rd party plugin or theme. Note that CampusPress Support is limited for 3rd party plugins and themes: Support will try to assist you & troubleshoot issues, but cannot resolve all issues with 3rd party code.
Do I still need to “manage” my site?
Yes, to some degree. CampusPress can help you by keeping your WordPress core, themes, and plugins updated, and looking after your server. The fewer plugins you use, the easier it will be to maintain your site.
Will I be able to use SFTP or SSH to access my server?
Yes, CampusPress can provide SFTP and SSH credentials to your server.
What if I only want to focus on publishing my content and not managing my site at all?
Then it’s best to migrate to UCI Sites.
Can I use my custom domain / map my domain on CampusPress Single Site Hosting?
Yes. You’ll need to be able to change your DNS settings for your domain to point to your new server. CampusPress can provide you the addresses for your server, but you will need to be able to change your domain’s DNS records to complete the mapping.
Will my site be compliant to Accessibility standards?
Not necessarily. While CampusPress can assist you, you will have to manage your site theme and content to meet Accessibility standards.
How do I get a quote for migration to CampusPress Single Site Hosting?
- Email contact@campuspress.com with the subject line “UCI Sites migration: ”.
- In the email, state that you would like an assessment for migration to CampusPress Single Site Hosting.
- Provide the URL of your current (old) WordPress site.
- Provide login credentials (username and password) for a user with an Administrator role.
- You may wish to create a new Administrator user account for this. You can use the email address contact@campuspress.com
Is there a cost to migrating my WordPress site to CampusPress Single Site Hosting?
No, migration is included in your first payment for CampusPress Single Site Hosting.
I’m still not sure if I want to migrate to UCI Sites or to CampusPress Single Site Hosting.
Consider migrating to UCI Sites. You may lose some functionality and your site may look different on the front end; however, you’ll get full CampusPress support and will not pay annual hosting fees after paying for the migration.
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