LannyMa

@op Try this:

(0) If you have not already done so, on the web site of your Domain Registrar (GoDaddy, WordPress.com?, etc.) change the DNS Servers for your domain name to the 2 DNS servers you were instructed to use by DreamHost, for your hosting account with them. It may take some time for the DNS “Propagation” to be on all DNS servers around the world, but probably it will resolve, very quickly, to your DreamHost account, so that you can proceed with the following.

(1) In your local WordPress installation, install the “Duplicator” PlugIn.
https://www.ads-software.com/plugins/duplicator/

Then activate the Plugin

(2) In your DreamHost cpanel, Create a Database with the MySQLDataBase Wizard (it’s one of the icons on the cPanel home page for Databases)

NOTE: Be *very* careful and write down *exactly* what you type into the required spaces for the data base. You must have the details exactly correct for this to work.

(3) Create a Database user for that database (You may need to use PhpAdmin to do that)

(4) Go to the cPanel File Manager and navigate to public_html and be sure it is 100% empty. If it is not empty, delete whatever is in it. (select any files you need to delete and then click on the “X”)

(5) On your local WordPress installation, run “Duplicator” and backup your installation. You will get two (2) files. One is install. php or something like that and the other is everything in your WordPress install, including WordPress, the plugins, etc. Download those files to your local PC (actually they are already there), but download them and be sure you can locate them, because you will need to Upload them to your DreamHost account.

(6) On cPanel, with the File Manager, navigate to the public_html folder. Click on Upload and Upload the 2 files that are on your local PC that were created by Duplicator into public_html.

(7) With your web browser, navigate to your_domain_name/public_html/installer.php ( I think that’s the path) and then begin the installation on your Dreamhost site.

If I missed something above, there is good documentation on the web site of the people who created “Duplicator” and in other places on the web.

If you can do this with “Duplicator”, it will be easier and faster for you.

GL