Moving a live site to new hosting is routine work, but it is routine because it follows a sequence. Skipping steps is where downtime and lost data come from.
What we need from you
- Access to the current hosting control panel, or a full backup of files and database exported from it.
- Access to the domain registrar, or the ability to make DNS changes yourself.
- A list of anything connected to the site: payment gateways, email services, analytics, third party APIs, and any scheduled jobs.
- Your current DNS records, particularly MX and TXT, so email is preserved.
How the migration runs
- We take a full copy of files and database from the existing host.
- We build the site on our servers and test it on a temporary address, checking pages, forms, admin login and any integrations.
- We lower the DNS TTL a day or two ahead so the cutover is quick.
- You freeze content changes on the old site for a short window.
- We take a final sync of the database so nothing added at the last minute is lost.
- DNS is repointed. The site starts serving from our servers.
- SSL is issued on our side once DNS resolves to us.
- We keep the old host active for a short overlap period as a safety net.
Things to watch
- Email. If mail is hosted with the old provider, decide before the move whether it stays there. If it stays, the MX records must be carried across exactly.
- Hard coded URLs. Old absolute paths in the database need rewriting or images break.
- PHP version differences. Old sites sometimes rely on outdated code that will not run on a supported PHP version. We flag this in testing.
- Licences. Premium plugins may need reactivation on the new domain or server.
Downtime
With this sequence, visitor facing downtime is usually zero, because both servers serve the same site during propagation. The content freeze window is the only real constraint.
To start a migration, reply to your email thread or contact [email protected] with your current host details.
