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Fixing alias_visible Errors After Moving a Site to Another Server
An “unknown column alias_visible” error during migration usually means the database schema and the codebase are no longer from the same Evolution generation.
One of the most common server-move failures in older Evolution projects is a mismatch between the deployed files and the database schema. The alias_visible error is a textbook example.
What it means
The code expects the alias_visible column, but the database you moved does not have it. That is not a random hosting bug — it is a version mismatch.
What to do
- verify the exact Evolution build on the source server
- compare schema changes before switching environments
- apply the missing DB update or align the code to the same version
Recommendation
Always migrate code and schema as one release unit. Moving only the files or only the database is how version-coupled manager errors appear.
Keeping Test and Production Servers in Sync Safely
A test server is useful only if deployment back to production is deliberate, repeatable, and does not overwrite live data blindly every night.
Fixing Mixed Database Encodings Before a Site Migration
If the site renders correctly but phpMyAdmin shows mojibake, do not migrate blindly — first identify how the data was stored and which connection settings are masking the issue.