Migrating between hosting providers
What a website hosting migration involves, how long it takes, what causes downtime, and how we minimize disruption when moving your site to a new host.
Your website is stored on a server run by a hosting company. Switching to a different hosting provider — maybe for better performance, lower cost, or better support — is called a hosting migration.
Done carefully, a hosting migration is invisible to your visitors. Done carelessly, it can cause hours of downtime and data loss.
Quick summary
A hosting migration copies your website files and database from the old host to the new one, then switches your domain's DNS settings to point at the new server. We handle this so your site has minimal downtime — usually none during business hours. The whole process typically takes one to three days.
What you'll need
1–3 days Handled mainly by usWhat is a hosting migration?
Hosting is the service that stores your website files and makes them accessible on the internet. Think of it like renting space on a server. When you move to a new host, you're moving all your website's files and data to a different company's server.
For WordPress sites (the most common migration type), this includes:
- All WordPress files (your theme, plugins, uploaded images, etc.)
- Your WordPress database (this holds all your content — pages, posts, settings, user accounts)
- Your email, if it's hosted on the same server (see email migrations)
Website hosting and email hosting are often separate
Many businesses have their website on one host and their email on another (such as Google Workspace or Microsoft 365). If your email is already on a separate provider, a website hosting migration won't affect your email at all. If your email is on the same server as your website, it needs to be migrated separately or preserved carefully.
Why businesses migrate hosting
| Reason | Common scenario |
|---|---|
| Better performance | Current host is slow; new host has faster servers |
| Better support | Current host has poor response times |
| Lower cost | Found equivalent service at a better price |
| More features | Need staging environments, better backups, or a CDN |
| Upgrading to managed hosting | Moving from cheap shared hosting to managed WordPress hosting |
| Host is shutting down or being acquired | Forced migration |
How we migrate your site
We back up your current site. A full backup is taken from your existing host before anything else happens. This is the safety net if anything goes wrong.
We set up the new hosting account. Your new hosting account is created and configured — server settings, SSL certificate, PHP version, and any host-specific optimizations are applied.
We copy your site files to the new server. Using migration tools or direct file transfer, we copy all your WordPress files to the new host. For large sites, this can take time.
We export and import your database. Your WordPress database is exported from the old host and imported to the new host. Your content, settings, and user accounts are all in this database.
We test the site on the new server. Before changing anything visible to the public, we access the site directly on the new server using a temporary URL or by editing local host settings. We confirm everything works correctly.
We lower your DNS TTL. TTL (Time To Live) is how long other servers remember your DNS settings. Lowering this before the switch means DNS changes propagate faster — reducing the window where some visitors go to the old server and some go to the new one.
We update your DNS settings. We change the DNS records for your domain to point to the new server. See what is DNS if this is new to you.
We monitor the switchover. DNS changes propagate gradually over a period of up to 48 hours. We monitor the site on both servers during this window and keep the old server running until the switch is complete.
We confirm and wrap up. Once DNS has fully propagated and the site is confirmed working on the new host, we let you know. We keep the old hosting account active for a short period before cancellation.
How long will my site be down?
For most hosting migrations, there is no noticeable downtime. Here's why:
We run both the old and new site in parallel during the DNS propagation window. Visitors who have already loaded your site from the old server continue to see it there until their DNS cache updates. Visitors whose DNS has already updated see the new server. Both servers have identical, working content.
The only scenario where visitors see a problem is if they visit during the very brief moment when DNS is changing and caching is stale. This is typically seconds to minutes, not hours — and we time it during low-traffic periods.
Don't make content changes during migration
During the migration window (typically 24–48 hours), do not publish new content, change passwords, or process orders on the old site. Changes made after the database was copied to the new server won't exist there. Wait until we confirm the migration is complete before editing.
Common hosting providers we work with
| Provider | Type | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Flywheel | Managed WordPress | Small to mid-sized WordPress sites |
| WP Engine | Managed WordPress | Growing WordPress businesses, staging needs |
| Kinsta | Managed WordPress | High-performance, enterprise WordPress |
| SiteGround | Shared / managed | Budget-conscious, smaller sites |
| Cloudways | Cloud-managed | Technical users who want server control |
See the hosting section for detailed guides on each provider.
What you need to provide
For us to migrate your site, we need:
- Admin access to your current hosting account
- Admin access to (or permission to create) the new hosting account
- Access to your domain's DNS settings (usually through your domain registrar)
Share access with support@chykalophia.com unless your project lead has given you a different address.
Common questions
Related guides
- Pre-migration checklist
- Don't lose your SEO during a migration
- Migrating your business email
- What is DNS?
- DNS propagation: why changes take time
- What is managed WordPress hosting?
Need a hand?
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