How to Migrate Your Website to a New Hosting Provider

Migrating a website to a new host sounds like the kind of thing that could break everything — but the actual process, done correctly, is controlled and low-risk because the old site stays live the entire time until you're ready to switch.

Step 1: Audit what actually needs to move. List every component: website files, databases, email accounts and their contents, SSL certificates, any cron jobs or scheduled tasks, and DNS records. Missing one of these is the most common cause of a bumpy migration.

Step 2: Set up the new hosting account first, without touching DNS yet. Create the account, note the new server's details, and prepare the environment (PHP version, any required extensions) to match or exceed your current setup.

Step 3: Copy your files to the new host. This can be done via FTP/SFTP, a control panel file manager, or — for full cPanel accounts — a direct account transfer tool that copies everything including email and databases in one operation. Many hosts, including Host Tonic, offer this as a free managed migration handled by their own engineers.

Step 4: Export and import your databases. Export each database (typically via phpMyAdmin or a command-line dump) from the old host, then import it into a newly created, identically-configured database on the new host. Update your site's configuration file (like WordPress's wp-config.php) with the new database credentials.

Step 5: Test on the new server before touching DNS. Every reputable host lets you preview your site on its new server using a temporary URL or by editing your local computer's hosts file, so you can verify the site loads correctly, forms work, and the database connected properly — all before any visitor sees the new server.

Step 6: Migrate email separately and carefully. If you're keeping the same domain for email, plan the email migration timing alongside the DNS cutover, since MX record changes affect where new email is delivered — mid-migration, you may need to check both the old and new inbox for a short window.

Step 7: Lower your DNS TTL a day or two in advance. Time-to-live settings control how long DNS changes take to propagate; temporarily lowering it before the cutover means the eventual switch happens faster across the internet.

Step 8: Cut over DNS once everything's verified. Update your domain's nameservers or A records to point to the new host. Because the old site remains untouched and live during this step, if you spot an issue you can simply not proceed, or roll back by leaving DNS unchanged.

Step 9: Monitor both old and new servers during propagation. DNS changes take anywhere from a few minutes to 24-48 hours to fully propagate worldwide, meaning some visitors may briefly see the old server and others the new one — this is normal, not an error.

Step 10: Confirm SSL, forms, and email are working post-cutover, then decommission the old account. Once propagation is complete and everything checks out — usually confirmed after 48 hours — you can safely cancel the old hosting account.

Done this way, "migrating hosts" isn't a single risky leap, it's ten small, verifiable steps where the old site is your safety net the entire time.