Is your current host slow, expensive, hard to reach or not offering new PHP versions? Then moving is often the best step. It sounds daunting, but with good preparation nobody will notice: no hours offline, no lost email. In this article you’ll learn step by step how to move your website, email and domain name without downtime.

When does moving make sense?

  • Your site is slow, even after you’ve cleaned up images and plugins.
  • Your host doesn’t offer a supported PHP version or is slow to respond to security flaws.
  • When there’s a problem, you can’t reach anyone, or only after days.
  • You pay for hosting, but still have to arrange updates, backups and monitoring yourself.

Step 1: map out what’s moving

A move is about more than just the website. Make a list:

  • The website: files and database.
  • Email: which mailboxes and forwarding addresses are there, and where are they hosted?
  • The domain name: where is it registered and who manages the DNS settings?
  • Other services: think of a link with your accounting software, a newsletter service or a Google verification stored in the DNS.

Step 2: make a full backup

Before you start, make a complete backup of your WordPress site and store it off the old server. That way you can always go back.

Step 3: transfer the site to the new server

Copy the files and the database to the new hosting. For WordPress you can use a migration plugin or do it manually. Then set up the site on the new server and test it before anyone notices, for example via a temporary address or by pointing only your own computer to the new server. Check the most important pages, forms and, if you have one, the webshop.

Step 4: prepare the email

Email is where things go wrong most often. Create the mailboxes with the same names on the new server and transfer the existing mail (with an IMAP migration or by temporarily keeping it in a mail program). Note down the new settings for your phone and computer.

Step 5: lower the TTL and switch the DNS

The DNS settings determine which server your domain name points to. A day in advance, lower the TTL (how long those settings are cached) to a few minutes. Then update the DNS or move the name servers to the new host. Because the old server is still running, your site stays available during the switch; visitors automatically end up on the new server.

Step 6: check and clean up

  1. Check that the padlock (SSL certificate) works on the new server.
  2. Send test emails back and forth, and check that forms on your site arrive.
  3. Check in Google Search Console that no new errors appear.
  4. Keep the old hosting running for another week or two, in case anything is missing. Only then cancel it.

And the domain name?

You can move your domain name to your new host too, but it doesn’t have to happen at the same time. For a transfer you usually need a transfer code (also called an auth code or EPP code), which you request from your current registrar. Keep an eye on the end date of your current contract, so you don’t pay twice.

Rather not worry about it? We’ll move your website, email and domain name for you, including testing and without downtime. Your site then runs on our own servers, with daily backups and maintenance in which every update is first tested on a copy with Verploy. On our page moving your hosting you can read how it works.

Wondering whether moving makes sense for your site?

Leave your website address below. We’ll look at speed, PHP version, security and findability, and you’ll receive a personal report by email with the three improvements that will make the biggest difference. Free and without obligation.

Book a free consultation   

Prefer to call? +31 (0)166 700204, Mon–Fri 9:00–17:30 (CET).