Move your website without downtime: how to switch to a new host
Step by step: how to move your website, database and emails to a new hosting provider without your website going offline or any emails getting lost.
Changing hosts sounds like effort and risk. With the right order of steps, however, it can be planned – and your visitors will not notice a thing. One principle is key: copy and test first, then switch.
1. Take stock
Make a note of everything that needs to move: website files, databases, email mailboxes, forwarders, cron jobs and special DNS records, for example for Microsoft 365 or a newsletter service.
2. Lower the TTL early
The TTL (Time to Live) determines how long DNS records are cached. Lower it to a few minutes at least one full TTL period (usually a day) before the migration. That way, the later switch takes effect everywhere quickly.
3. Copy everything to the new account
Files and databases are transferred to the new hosting account. When moving from cPanel to cPanel, a complete account including emails and DNS zone can be transferred in one step. Emails from other systems are copied via IMAP.
4. Test before the world sees it
With an entry in your computer’s hosts file, you can open the website on the new server even though the domain still points to the old one. Check forms, logins, shop functions and images.
Tip: With WordPress, it is worth checking the permalink settings and the cache after the migration – saving them once is usually enough.
5. Switch over and resynchronise
Now the DNS records – or the name servers – are switched to the new provider. Emails that still arrive on the old server during the transition are then synchronised a second time.
6. Cancel the old hosting last
Only cancel with your previous provider once everything is running and all mailboxes have been checked. A few days of overlap is the cheapest insurance.
Would you rather not handle it yourself? At HostOn, we take care of the migration for web hosting and WordPress hosting packages for you.
Frequently asked questions on this topic
With proper preparation, not at all. The website keeps running at the old provider until the DNS change has been made – and afterwards runs directly on the new server.
The TTL determines how long DNS records are cached. A short TTL before the migration ensures that the new address becomes known everywhere quickly after the switch.
No, if the mailboxes are copied via IMAP and synchronised once more after the switch. That way, emails received during the transition also end up in the new mailbox.
Only once the website and mailboxes have been checked at the new provider. A few days of overlap is the safest solution.
