If a demo import fails, in the large majority of cases the server does not meet the recommended values. Start with the server requirements and the pre-import checks.
The reason it is the import specifically: this is the heaviest operation in a site's life. It downloads media, creates hundreds of entries, writes to the database in long runs and generates thumbnails. Everything that is merely a little slow in normal use hits a ceiling here.
The upload size limit deserves separate mention, because it decides whether the demo images can arrive at all. A small limit does not mean "slower". It means some media will not arrive.
#If you are unsure about your server
Do not gamble on a full run. There is a safe sequence:
Import content only, without media
A light operation that succeeds almost anywhere and gives you a working site structure.
Add the media afterwards
Run the import again with media selected.
Running the import twice does not duplicate your site.
The importer is built for repeat runs and recognises what it already created, so a second pass layers onto what is there rather than making a second copy of everything.
#Typical failures
- The import stops partway
Almost always a timeout or memory. Raise
max_execution_timeandmemory_limitand run it again. Repeating is safe.- Content arrived, images did not
The upload limit, not enough memory for image processing, or
gdandimagickmissing from the server. Diagnostics shows the last one.- Images are there but have no previews, or are cropped wrongly
The sizes did not finish generating. Regenerate thumbnails, which is a normal thing to do after a large import.
- The site does not look like the demo
Usually the menus and the front page have not been assigned. That is a step after the import rather than a failure.
- The import will not start at all
Look at connectivity. The demo is downloaded from our server, so it needs outbound HTTPS allowed, a working certificate and an active license.
Servers in Russia and Belarus are blocked at our infrastructure level, permanently.
Demo import, licence activation and updates never complete on that hosting, and there is no setting or exception that changes it.
#Before trying again
Switch off caching, including the object cache, for the duration of the import. Managed hosts often have their own cache that also needs to go temporarily.
Switch off security plugins and firewalls that throttle series of similar requests. To them, an import looks like an attack.
Then look at the importer's advanced settings and reduce the load per pass. There are two fields and both are about exactly this: the batch size, meaning how many items are processed per request, which defaults to 20, and the PHP time limit, which the importer raises itself where the server allows it. On tight hosting, lowering the batch size to 5 or 10 makes the import longer and stops it breaking.
The mechanics behind that advice: the import runs in steps rather than in one request. Content first, then media, then rewriting links, then settings. The step that breaks is almost always media, because it is the heaviest.
The pre-flight check names the media that is larger than your upload limit, and those files are skipped.
It reports how many files, the largest size and the limit itself. That is exactly where "the images disappeared" after an apparently successful import comes from, so it is worth reading rather than clicking past.
Run Diagnostics before the retry. It shows immediately which limit is short.
#Common questions
Can I run the import a third time?
Yes, duplicate avoidance does not wear out, so a third or fourth pass behaves the same as the second.
Should I delete the partial import first?
No, running it again continues from what exists, and deleting everything to start over is more work for the same result.
My host will not raise the limits
Import content without media first, then add media in small passes with a low batch size, and if even that fails then the plan itself is the problem rather than the import.
Is a partially imported site safe to use?
Yes, it will simply look incomplete until the rest arrives, and nothing is corrupted by an interrupted run.
It fails at the same step twice
Note which step, because each one points somewhere different: media stopping is a limits problem, content stopping is usually memory, and not starting at all is connectivity or licensing. Attach the Diagnostics report to your ticket and say which step it was.
#Still stuck
Open a support ticket with the demo name, the step it stops on, and the Diagnostics report.
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