How to Move a Website to a New Host, Step by Step
There are two ways to move a website to a new host. One is to copy everything across, change the nameservers, and hope the two things line up. The other is to build a complete working copy on the new server, look at it with your own eyes, and only then send traffic to it.
The second way takes a little longer and removes almost every way this can go badly.
What follows is that sequence, from opening the new account to cancelling the old one. It assumes you have already decided to move; the rest of the switching hosts guides cover how to make that call.
Short answer: Set up the site on the new host first, copy the files and database across, recreate the things that live outside both of those (cron jobs, redirects, SSL, DNS records), preview the site using your hosts file, then lower your DNS TTL and change the nameservers at your registrar. Leave the old account running for a couple of weeks.
How do you move a website to a new host?
In eight steps, and the order is what keeps you safe. Nothing you do before step seven is visible to a single visitor, which means every mistake up to that point is free. That is the whole design principle behind a careful migration: make all the errors in private.
- Open the new hosting account and add the domain to it.
- Copy the files across.
- Export the database from the old host and import it on the new one.
- Update the site configuration so it connects to the new database.
- Recreate what does not travel: cron jobs, redirects, custom server rules, the SSL certificate.
- Preview and test the site on the new server while the live site keeps running.
- Lower the DNS TTL, then change the nameservers.
- Verify everything after the switch, and keep the old account until you are sure.
| Step | What you are actually doing | Where it goes wrong |
|---|---|---|
| Copy files | Everything in the web root, hidden files included | Missing .htaccess or an uploads folder that timed out |
| Move the database | Export, transfer, import | Exporting before the site is quiet, so orders are lost |
| Reconnect | New database name, user and password in the config | Editing the wrong config file and staring at a blank page |
| Recreate extras | Cron, redirects, certificate, DNS records | Assuming a file copy brought them along |
| Preview | Hosts file pointing your machine at the new server | Testing the home page only |
| Switch DNS | Nameservers updated at the registrar | Doing this first, before anything is ready |
What do you set up on the new host first?
An account, the domain added to it, and a matching environment. Before copying a single file, check the PHP version, the database version and the available disk space on the new server against the old one. A site that lands on software several versions newer can throw fatal errors on code nobody has touched in years.
Add every domain and subdomain the site answers on, not just the main one. If the old server handled example.com.au, www, shop and a staging subdomain, all four need somewhere to live. Worth checking what the new plan includes while you are there: GoodHost’s cPanel plans run from $5 a month plus GST on Starter 1 to Business from $18, each a CloudLinux isolated account with free SSL and daily backups, and the team will do the move for you if you would rather skip the next four steps.
How do you copy the files and the database?
Files by whatever moves them reliably at your size: a control panel backup, SSH, or FTP for small sites. Database by export and import. The one rule that matters is that the two halves need to match, so take the database export after the site has gone quiet, not before.
For anything content-heavy, a server-to-server transfer beats downloading it all to your laptop and uploading it again. It is faster and it does not depend on your home connection staying up. If the old host offers a full account backup, that single file usually carries files, database and cron jobs together.
Once the import finishes, put the new database credentials into the site configuration. On WordPress that is wp-config.php, and nothing else in the file needs touching. The site should load on the new server the moment those four lines are right.
How do you check the site works before changing DNS?
Edit the hosts file on your own computer so your machine alone resolves the domain to the new server’s IP address. Everyone else still sees the old site. You get the new one, under its real domain name, with nothing rewritten and no temporary URL to confuse the theme.
Then test properly. Not just the home page: a blog post, a category page, a 404, the search results, a form submitted end to end, a login, and a checkout if you have one. Trigger a scheduled task by hand to prove cron fires. The 21 point migration checklist has the full test list if you would rather tick boxes.
When should you change the nameservers?
Only after the preview passes. Two days before the switch, drop the TTL on your DNS records to 300 seconds so resolvers stop holding old answers for long. Then update the nameservers at your registrar, which is the company you pay for the domain, not necessarily your host.
For .au domains a nameserver change is typically visible within a few hours, and the 48 hour worst case people quote comes from cached records at intermediate resolvers expiring on their own schedule. Nothing gets pushed anywhere. Resolvers simply stop trusting the copy they hold and ask again. The detail is in the guide to changing nameservers properly, and the reason both versions of your site should be alive during that window is covered in avoiding downtime during a move.
What do you do after the switch?
Check the visible things immediately: the padlock, a form submission that actually arrives, a test order. Then leave it alone and watch. Scheduled tasks, backups and anything weekly cannot prove themselves for days, so keep the old account paid until they have.
Two housekeeping jobs get forgotten. Point your backups at the new server, because the old host is now archiving a site nobody visits. And once a full billing cycle has passed cleanly, cancel the old account properly rather than letting the card decline.
Frequently asked questions
Can I move a website without any technical knowledge?
Often yes, if the site is a standard WordPress install and the new host runs the move for you. What stays with you is the decision making: confirming the preview looks right and changing the nameservers at your registrar. If the site is custom built, get whoever built it involved.
Do I need to move my domain to the new host as well?
No. The domain and the hosting are separate purchases and can sit at different companies indefinitely. Moving hosts only needs the nameservers updated wherever the domain is held. Plenty of people transfer the domain as well, usually to keep renewals on one invoice, but that is convenience rather than a requirement.
What is the difference between a manual migration and a plugin?
A plugin packages the files and database into an archive and unpacks it on the new server, which works well for small standard sites. A manual migration copies the same things directly and gives you control over what a plugin cannot see: server configuration, cron jobs and PHP version. Large sites usually need the manual route, because the archive step times out.
Will my WordPress plugins and theme come across?
Yes. They are files inside your site and their settings are rows in your database, so both travel with a complete copy. Licence keys are the exception: some premium themes and plugins tie activation to a domain or a server, and although the domain is not changing, a few need reactivating.
How do I move a site that is currently down?
Work from a backup rather than a live copy. If the old server is unreachable but the control panel still opens, download the most recent backup and restore it on the new host. If nothing responds at all, you are down to whatever backup you hold elsewhere, which is the argument for keeping one outside your hosting account.
Work through it in this order and the risky part is a single nameserver change made after you have already seen the new site working. If you would rather not spend a weekend on steps two to six, the GoodHost migration team will do the copy and hand you a preview link, and you keep the final say on when the domain moves.