How to Move Your Website and Domain to a New Hosting Company (Without Downtime)

There are many good reasons to change hosting: a slow server, poor support, renewal prices that suddenly doubled, or a developer who controls everything and has stopped responding. Moving a website feels risky, but with a clear order of steps it can usually be done with little or no downtime.

This guide is written for typical PHP/MySQL or WordPress business websites on shared or cloud hosting.

Website hosting vs domain: two separate things

• Domain registration is your website's name (yourbusiness.com), held with a registrar.
• Hosting is the server where your files, database and often email live.
• DNS connects the two — it tells the internet which server your domain points to. See DNS records explained.

You can move hosting without moving the domain, and vice versa. Many people move hosting first, then transfer the domain later.

Before you start: checklist

1. Login access to the old hosting control panel (or at least FTP and database access).
2. Login to the domain registrar.
3. A list of email accounts on the domain and where email is hosted.
4. Any special settings: cron jobs, PHP version, SSL, redirects, subdomains.
5. Choose a quiet time — late night or a low-traffic day.

If a previous developer controls these logins, request them in writing first. Read who should own your domain and hosting.

Step 1: Take a full backup

• Download all website files (usually the public_html folder) as a zip.
• Export the database through phpMyAdmin (Export → SQL).
• Export email if it's hosted on the old server.

Keep a copy on your computer and in cloud storage. Our backup guide has more detail.

Step 2: Set up the new hosting

1. Add your domain to the new hosting account (without changing DNS yet).
2. Set the same PHP version as the old server, or a newer one you've tested. See upgrading PHP safely.
3. Create a new database and user, and import the SQL file.
4. Upload the files and extract them.
5. Update the configuration file (for example connection.php or wp-config.php) with the new database name, user and password.

Step 3: Test before switching

Most hosts provide a temporary URL or preview. You can also edit your computer's hosts file to point the domain to the new server only on your machine. Check:

• Every main page loads, with images and styles.
• Forms submit and emails arrive.
• Admin login works.
• Clean URLs and redirects work (the .htaccess file was copied — it's a hidden file and is often missed).

Step 4: Lower the TTL (optional but helpful)

A day before the switch, reduce the TTL (time to live) of your domain's A records to a few minutes at the current DNS provider. This makes the change spread faster.

Step 5: Switch DNS

Either change the nameservers at your registrar to the new host's nameservers, or keep the current DNS provider and update the A record to the new server's IP. If email is hosted elsewhere (Google Workspace, Zoho), copy the MX, SPF, DKIM and other TXT records before changing nameservers — this is the most common cause of lost email during migrations.

Changes can take from minutes to a day or so to reach everyone. Keep the old hosting active for at least a week.

Step 6: After the switch

• Install or confirm the SSL certificate on the new host.
• Check the site on mobile data and different networks.
• Submit a test enquiry.
• Check Search Console for crawl errors over the next few days.
• Set up automatic backups on the new host.
• Cancel the old hosting only after everything has worked for a week or two.

Transferring the domain (separately)

1. At the current registrar, unlock the domain and get the authorisation (EPP) code.
2. Make sure the domain owner email is one you can access.
3. Start the transfer at the new registrar, enter the code and pay (usually includes a one-year extension for .com).
4. Approve the transfer email. It typically completes within several days.

Domains usually can't be transferred within 60 days of registration or a previous transfer. Don't start a transfer when the domain is about to expire. Read domain expiry protection.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will moving hosting affect my Google rankings?

Not if URLs stay the same and the site works properly. Faster hosting may even help.

Can the new host migrate the site for me?

Many hosts, including Hostinger, offer free migration help for common setups. Still keep your own backup.

How long does a migration take?

A small site can be moved in a few hours; DNS propagation may take up to a day or so.

What if my old developer won't give access?

If the domain is in your name, the registrar can help you recover it. If it's in their name, request a transfer in writing.

Need a safe migration?

Joboo Web moves websites, databases and email with minimal downtime. See web hosting services or contact us.