Moving your website

Moving a website to a new host is routine work, and it goes smoothly when you do it in the right order. The aim is simple: the old site keeps running until the new one is proven.

Before you start

Gather what you will need: the login for your current hosting, the login where your domain's DNS is managed, and a list of your email accounts. Your domain name is separate from hosting, so you normally keep it where it is. If you are not sure which plan to move to, read choosing a hosting plan first.

The steps, in order

1. 1

   Back up the current site

   Download a full copy of your website files and its databases, and keep it somewhere safe. If anything goes wrong later, you can restore from it.

2. 2

   Order the new hosting

   Choose a plan with enough storage, email accounts and databases for your site, and set it up. Do not change your domain yet, so your live site keeps running on the old hosting.

3. 3

   Copy the files and databases

   Upload your site files and import your databases to the new hosting, either yourself or with a developer. Update any settings that point to the old server, such as the database details in your site configuration.

4. 4

   Test on the new hosting

   Look over the copy before anyone else sees it. Click through the pages, test forms and checkout, and confirm images and links load. Many hosts offer a temporary address or a way to preview the site before the domain moves.

5. 5

   Point the domain to the new hosting

   Change your domain's DNS settings, either the nameservers or the A record, so visitors reach the new hosting. Lower the DNS time to live (TTL) a day or two beforehand, if you can, so the change spreads sooner.

6. 6

   Keep the old hosting until DNS has settled

   DNS changes can take from a few minutes to a couple of days to reach everyone. Leave the old hosting running during that time, so visitors who still reach it see a working site, and check that new form entries and orders arrive in the right place.

7. 7

   Cancel the old hosting

   Once the new site has run correctly for several days and you have a final backup from the old host, cancel the old hosting.

Email may move separately

Your website and your email do not always live in the same place. If your mailboxes are on the old hosting, they and their messages need moving as well, and the email DNS records (called MX records) may change. If your email is hosted elsewhere, it may carry on untouched. Check which applies before you change any DNS, because pointing the wrong records at the new host can interrupt mail.

If you would rather not do it yourself

Moving files, databases and DNS is easy to get wrong when you have not done it before, and a mistake can take a live site offline. If you want it handled for you, tell us about your site and we will put a plan in writing.

Moving it yourself? See the hosting plans.