Migrate Bitnami WordPress to AWS Lightsail (Debian)

If you’re hosting WordPress on Amazon Lightsail with Bitnami, now is the time to migrate to a AWS’s newer Lightsail WordPress blueprint.

AWS stopped providing updated Bitnami blueprints in May 2026 and plans to deprecate new Bitnami WordPress deployments on November 19, 2026. Existing instances will continue running, but the change presents an opportunity to modernize your hosting environment.

At Uplancer, we’ve found that moving from Bitnami to a Debian-based Lightsail setup is surprisingly straightforward. Server maintenance is simpler, especially when managing Apache, PHP, and other services.

Here’s how to make the move using All-in-One WP Migration and its Unlimited Extension.

Why Move from Bitnami to the New AWS Lightsail Blueprint?

The newer Lightsail-packaged WordPress blueprint uses operating-system-managed software. This makes routine package updates more familiar and easier to maintain.

AWS also includes improved default security settings and a guided setup process for WordPress, DNS, and HTTPS.

Our recommendation: If you’re replacing a Bitnami WordPress instance, choose the WordPress blueprint with Lightsail as the provider, rather than the Bitnami option. WordPress is already installed, making this the easiest migration path. A bare Debian OS blueprint requires you to install and configure WordPress yourself.

Why a PHP Upgrade Is the Perfect Time to Migrate

PHP updates are an important part of keeping WordPress secure. On October 21, 2026, critical PHP security vulnerabilities prompted AWS to publish an advisory recommending immediate updates.

If you’re already planning a PHP upgrade, consider moving to a new Lightsail instance at the same time. This lets you establish a fresh server, apply security patches, verify compatibility with your WordPress plugins, and test everything before redirecting live traffic.

Remember that a fresh Lightsail WordPress blueprint doesn’t necessarily include the latest major PHP version. Check the installed version and apply the appropriate updates. In fact, we’ve recently documented how to upgrade PHP on a Debian and Apache Lightsail server, including PHP-FPM, OPcache, and Redis configuration. Our guide applies to a Debian OS blueprint with Apache installed. Your exact PHP configuration may differ on a prepackaged WordPress instance.

How to Migrate WordPress from Bitnami to Lightsail Using All-in-One WP Migration

For a typical WordPress website, our preferred approach is to create a new Lightsail instance and migrate the entire WordPress installation using All-in-One WP Migration.

The paid Unlimited Extension simplifies larger imports without manually adjusting PHP upload limits and saves developer resources.

Step 1: Back Up Your Existing Bitnami Instance

Before making any changes, create a manual snapshot of your existing Bitnami instance in the AWS Lightsail console.

Also record any server-specific configurations, including:

• Domain and DNS settings
• SSL certificates and CDN configurations
• Apache redirects and custom rules
• Scheduled jobs, email settings, and caching services

These are important because WordPress migration plugins don’t transfer all operating-system and web-server configurations.

Keep the old instance running until your migration is complete in case you need to roll back the server or move missing files to the new server.

Step 2: Create a New Lightsail WordPress Instance

1. Log into AWS Lightsail and select Create instance.
2. Choose Linux/Unix, select the WordPress blueprint, and make sure its provider is Lightsail.
3. Select an instance plan with sufficient memory, storage, and processing capacity for your website (we find the 4 GB option is plenty for WordPress).
4. Once your instance is running, access its temporary public IP address and confirm WordPress works.
5. You can retrieve the initial WordPress credentials by connecting to your Lightsail instance through the SSH console using

   cat ~/application_credentials

6. Assign a temporary static IP for testing if needed. Keep your production domain pointing to the old instance for now.

Step 3: Update PHP and Prepare Your New Server

Before importing your website, check which PHP version the new server is running. If it’s not a secure version, you’ll need to update your PHP.

You can confirm this under WordPress Dashboard > Tools > Site Health > Info > Server.

For the Lightsail-packaged WordPress blueprint, apply available package updates using SSH:

sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade

Restart Apache as required and confirm the patched PHP version.

sudo service apache2 restart
php -v

The above apt commands update PHP within the installed release branch (from 8.2.1 to 8.2.35). Upgrading from PHP 8.2 to PHP 8.4 requires additional steps and compatibility testing.

You may also need to reconfigure PHP; if so, take another server snapshot before making major configuration changes.

Step 4: Export Your WordPress Website from Bitnami

On your existing Bitnami WordPress website:

1. Install and activate the free All-in-One WP Migration plugin.
2. Navigate to All-in-One WP Migration > Export.
3. Select Export To > File.
4. Download the resulting .wpress backup file. This file packages your WordPress database, media, plugins, themes, and other WordPress content.

As you complete the export, keep a server snapshot for recovery. And if your website processes orders, memberships, or regular content changes, you’ll want to arrange a final export during a controlled maintenance window to prevent data loss.

A few things to keep in mind if you face issues when exporting:

• Your log size matters. We’ve run into this a few times where overly large logs (gigabytes in size) caused the export to stall and not work.
• Related to the previous point, website size also matters. A website with tons of images can prevent the export from completing.

Step 5: Import WordPress Using the Unlimited Extension

On your new Lightsail WordPress instance:

1. Install and activate the free All-in-One WP Migration plugin.
2. Purchase and install the Unlimited Extension from ServMask.
3. Navigate to All-in-One WP Migration > Import.
4. Choose Import From > File and select your .wpress backup.
5. Confirm that you want to overwrite the new WordPress installation.
6. The Unlimited Extension helps bypass common hosting upload restrictions, which is particularly useful for larger websites.

You still need enough available server storage and compatible PHP and WordPress versions for the import to work.

Once the import finishes, log in using the credentials from your original WordPress website (not the new one). The import restores your old database, so your users will remain active.

Step 6: Test Your Migrated WordPress Website

Before switching your live domain, verify that the new website works properly!

If possible, use a temporary local hosts-file mapping to preview the website on the new server using its existing domain.

Then, check your homepage, internal pages, images, plugins, contact forms, login functionality, and database-dependent features.

Go to Settings > Permalinks and save your existing permalink structure. Don’t skip this action, because WordPress defaults to a query URL structure for blogs, which will cause indexing issues as soon as you publish your new site.

Also review redirects, caching, canonical URLs, and any custom Apache configurations. Bitnami-specific paths and server rules should be recreated for the new environment rather than copied blindly.

We’ve documented additional troubleshooting advice in our guide to five common WordPress migration issues.

Step 7: Switch Your Domain and Configure SSL

Once testing is complete, it’s time to repoint your domain to your new instance.

If your old Bitnami instance already has a Lightsail static IP, you can detach it from the old server and attach it to the new one. Your existing DNS records can remain unchanged. This is the simplest way.

Next, use the new Lightsail WordPress HTTPS setup workflow to generate and install a fresh SSL certificate. Review your CDN origin settings if you use an Amazon Lightsail Distribution. For Cloudflare setups, you must disable DNS proxy and if you’re using two A records – one for your www and another for your non-www domain – you’ll need to switch to one A and one CNAME record for the AWS Lightsail SSL to install correctly.

You’ll also want to verify that HTTPS works, redirects behave properly, and visitors can access the website without errors.

Step 8: Keep Your Old Server Until Everything Is Stable

Monitor your new website for errors after the migration. You’ll also need to confirm that scheduled tasks, automated backups, email delivery, caching, and security updates are working, and keep a final snapshot of your Bitnami server for rollback purposes. Once you’ve confirmed that everything is stable and no data is missing, you can remove the old instance to avoid paying for two servers.

Is Migrating from Bitnami to Lightsail Worth It?

From our experience at Uplancer, absolutely. \The migration itself is manageable using All-in-One WP Migration Unlimited, and the newer Lightsail WordPress blueprint makes ongoing server maintenance more straightforward.

More importantly, moving during a planned PHP upgrade allows you to address security updates and simplify your hosting configuration in one go.

Our approach is simple: keep the website working, reduce unnecessary maintenance, and make future updates easier.

If you’re planning a WordPress migration or need help managing your cloud infrastructure, explore Uplancer’s cloud solutions services. We’ll help you build a hosting environment that’s easier to maintain and ready for what’s next.