A step-by-step checklist for moving a website and email to Twerple safely, with no lost email and no time offline.
Moving a website to a new host sounds risky, but with a little planning your visitors will never notice. The secret is simple: get everything working on the new server first, and only then switch the domain over.
Our Web Hosting plans include free website migration. If you would rather we did the move for you, get in touch before you start.
Before you start
- Make a list of everything that runs on your domain: the website, email accounts, subdomains, and any forms or tools connected to it.
- Find your login for your current host and for the company where your domain is registered. They are sometimes different.
- Do not cancel your old hosting yet. You will need it until the move is complete.
Step 1: take a full backup
Download a copy of your website files and export your database from your current host. Keep it somewhere safe. This is your safety net if anything goes wrong.
Step 2: set up your new hosting
Order your Twerple plan and choose Use My Domain at checkout, so the domain stays where it is for now. Then add your website in HostPanel.
Step 3: copy your website across
Upload your files and import your database. For WordPress, our guide Moving an existing WordPress site to Twerple covers each step. For other websites, see Uploading your website and Importing a database.
Step 4: test before you switch
Check the website on the new server before anyone else sees it. Our guide Checking your website before switching the domain shows how. Click through the important pages, submit a test form and, for a shop, place a test order.
Step 5: recreate your email accounts
Create the same mailboxes on your new hosting, with the same addresses. If you want to keep old messages, your email app can copy them across once both accounts are set up.
Step 6: lower the TTL, then switch
A day before the move, lower the TTL on your DNS records at your current DNS provider. This makes the change take effect faster. Then point your domain to Twerple, either by changing the nameservers or by updating the A and MX records. See Pointing your domain to Twerple.
Step 7: check, wait, then cancel
Give the change up to 48 hours to reach everyone. During that time some visitors may still reach the old server, which is why you kept it running. Once your website and email have worked from Twerple for a few days, download a final backup from your old host and cancel it.
Common things people forget
- Scheduled tasks (cron jobs) that ran on the old server.
- Email forwarders and autoresponders.
- Third-party services that send email from your domain, such as a newsletter tool. Their SPF and DKIM records must move too.
- Hard-coded links to the old server’s address inside the website.