# Migrating a production website: Doing it right the first time

**URL:** <https://meta.discourse.org/t/migrating-a-production-website-doing-it-right-the-first-time/33484>\
**Category:** Self-hosting\
**Created:** [September 19, 2015, 11:05pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/migrating-a-production-website-doing-it-right-the-first-time/33484 "2015-09-19T23:05:26Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Showing post:** 4

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**Author:** ![payetteforward](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/meta/user_avatar/meta.discourse.org/payetteforward/32/46240_2.png) [@payetteforward](https://meta.discourse.org/u/payetteforward)\
**Post date:** [September 20, 2015, 3:00am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/migrating-a-production-website-doing-it-right-the-first-time/33484/4 "2015-09-20T03:00:39Z")

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Hey Jeff,

Thanks for taking the time to respond so quickly and I see where you’re coming from.

I feel uncomfortable letting even a professional handle the migration because I haven’t seen a successful example of their work with a website analogous to my own, but that’s not the only reason. I’m not afraid of getting my hands dirty in Linux and the code (to a certain point).

My questions are more about the features and behavior of Discourse than the technical installation / migration. I realize I posed a lot of questions in a single post, but I tried to paint a clear picture of who I am and the barriers someone like me faces when they are about to switch to Discourse.

My company is a baby. Actually, it’s been just me until I started hiring some freelance writers a few days ago. I don’t have the funding (at least I don’t think I do) to hire a professional at this point.

I wrote this post with the hope I wouldn’t be dismissed because my questions are too simplistic. It’s hard for me to admit I don’t know something, especially in the presence of experts whom I admire.

My language was too strong when I talked about losing my livelihood and business - that’s not going to happen. There is a margin for error. I’m not freaking out. I just wanted everyone to understand it’s important to me to have a solid understanding before I dive in. (Usually, I’m the opposite - dive in, fix on the fly.)

Thanks for all of your support! I hope someday I can give back at least a small part of what is so freely offered here.

David

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