Moving your website from another host

Move the files and the database, test on the new server and switch DNS for a seamless changeover.

Hosting and email Updated: November 3, 2026 · 2 min read

Moving a site is easier than you might think: the files, the database and, last, DNS. In the right order your visitors won’t notice any downtime. You can also leave the move to our team — open a ticket and share your current hosting details.

Preparation

Make sure your new hosting plan has the disk and database capacity you need.
Take a full backup of the site at the old host (files + database). Don’t cancel the old hosting until the move is done.
Lower the TTL on your domain’s DNS records to 300 seconds; the switch will be quicker.

1. Move the files

Download the files from the old host to your computer (FTP client or the control panel’s file manager).
Sign in to the control panel at the new host (see The hosting control panel) and upload the files to the domain’s root folder (httpdocs). For many files it is faster to zip them first, upload, and extract in the panel.

2. Move the database

Export the database at the old host (a .sql file).
At the new host create a new database and user in Databases.
Use Import on the new database to load the .sql file.
In your application’s configuration file (wp-config.php for WordPress) update the database name, user and password to the new values.

3. Test before you switch DNS

Does the site work on the new server? Add your domain with the new server’s IP address to your computer’s hosts file to test the new server from your own machine only:

203.0.113.10  yourdomain.com  www.yourdomain.com

Check pages, forms and sign-in and checkout flows. Remove the line when you are done.

4. Switch DNS

When everything is right, point the domain’s DNS to the new host: either change the nameservers or change the A record to the new IP address (see Nameservers and DNS records). Because the TTL is low, the change usually propagates in minutes to a few hours.

5. After the move

Install the free SSL certificate.
If your email is at the old host, create the mailboxes at the new host and copy old messages over IMAP; switch MX records only after that.
Keep the old hosting for a few days; cancel it once you have confirmed everything works.