Get immediate assistance for WP export plugin error
Most WordPress installs allow XML files upto 7 MB, but the process might feel when you try to import or export files sized at 2MB. If you are facing WP export plugin error, here is a quick guide to how to fix it.
Export XML data
You must have already done this, but if not, go to your old WP site. In the admin area, go to Tools > Export and click the “Download Export File” button. Then, save the XML file that has been generated.
Divide the file into chunks
Here comes the hard part. Before even proceeding, be clear that this step requires working knowledge of HTML or XML markup. Open any text editor except for MS Word or any other text processing app. An editor as basic as notepad will also do. In the XML file, the first 20 something lines will be all instructions. Look for the "<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?>" tag in the top line as it is crucial. Also, look for the <channel> and <rss version="2.0" tags as that is where the content begins.
Format the chunks properly
Here is where the working knowledge of markups comes into play. Firstly, make sure every chunk is starting and ending with proper tags and in the right pattern. You can have as many
You would need to copy and paste these tags into the top and bottom of each file. Or, you can also start with file and then paste your content in the middle. This step is the trickiest of them all, and if you face any WordPress import plugin issues, it is probably because this step was performed wrong.
Upload chunks individually
Now, repeat the Tools > Import > WordPress Import process, but this time, import smaller files that will not take much time to parse. Your data will import in smaller installments, but it should import just fine.
Problems with this method
Although this solution is likely to solve most of your WP export plugin error issues, it is not perfect. Here are a few troubles you might face with this method.
It is slow and cumbersome:
You would have to go through a file with 1,00,000 lines and break it into smaller chunks of 5,000 lines each. Sadly, there is no way to automate this method if you are an average WP user. Thus, it will take you an hour or two to segregate the file into smaller chunks.
It might affect your metadata or relationships:
This is not a major problem, but it can turn out to be a deal-breaker for some. If you have a couple of pages in your site, say Page ID #3 and Page ID #9. Now, it might sound weird to some, but #9 is created after #3; still, #9 is the parent of #3. In other words, page number 9 has a higher ID and is a newer page; thus, it is a parent of the older page. The reason for this is unclear, but that is how it is.
Now, if you import a chunk that defined #3 but cuts off before defining #9, you will send a message to WordPress that you want to import page 3, and its parent is 9, but you have not imported page 9 yet. This relationship is not valid, and WordPress will skip this right away, giving you plugin update fail issues. Moreover, you will not get any WP export plugin error.
The cause of the problem
The reason for plugin update issues is not with uploading XML files but with processing it. After the XML file is uploaded, WordPress passes it into a PHP processor script. This processor will parse through all lines of the XML document and handle the data accordingly.
The problem occurs in the markup-parse or database-insert process as it takes a lot of time. 2 MB of a plain text is a lot, and the server will take forever to process it. Since most servers have a timeout limit, the process will not run long enough and eventually stop. The reason why there is no WP error message for these woocommerce plugin issues because the problem is in the server, which is not under the control of WordPress.
Conclusion
WP export plugin error and import errors are common issues faced by WordPress users. The issue is all about the size of the XML file, so the simple solution to this is to divide the file into smaller chunks and upload it individually. However, the process is tedious. If you are facing such problems, follow the steps mentioned above to fix all WordPress plugin issues and get help with our expert.