How to Migrate Your Existing Website to Us

Moving your website and email to us is easier than you might expect, and in most cases we'll handle the whole thing for you at no charge. This guide explains the simplest path, what we'll need from you, and how we keep your site online throughout.

The easiest option — let us migrate it for you

For most customers, the simplest approach is to let our team do the migration. Wherever possible, we'll move your website and email across for free.

1. Log in to your account and open a support ticket requesting a migration.
2. Tell us your current hosting provider and the website address you'd like to move.
3. Provide the details we need (see below) so we can access your existing site.
4. We'll let you know once everything is copied across and ready to review.

What we'll need from you

To move your site smoothly, we'll ask for a few details. The more you can give us, the easier it is.

1. Your current hosting login, or a recent backup of your website if you'd prefer to provide that instead.
2. A list of your email accounts so we can recreate them on our servers, ideally with their current passwords.
3. Your domain name details, so we can plan the switch-over.

We treat all login details securely and only use them to complete your migration.

How we avoid downtime

The final step is the DNS cutover — pointing your domain to our servers. We coordinate this carefully so your visitors and email keep working throughout.

1. We copy your website and email across first, while your live site stays untouched on your old host.
2. We check that everything works correctly on our servers.
3. Once you're happy, we update your domain's DNS to point to us. Because your site already exists on both hosts during the changeover, there's no gap in service.

The manual option (for the technically inclined)

If you'd rather move the site yourself, here's the general approach. This suits people comfortable with backups and databases.

1. Export your website files and download your database from your current host.
2. In your control panel, use the File Manager to upload your website files.
3. Create a new database and import your exported database into it.
4. Update your site's configuration to use the new database name, user and password.
5. Recreate your email accounts in your control panel.
6. Once everything is in place and tested, update your domain's DNS to point to us.

If you get partway through and would like a hand, you can always switch to a managed migration — just let us know.

Next steps

Most customers find the managed migration the easiest and most reassuring option, and it's free wherever possible. To get started, open a support ticket from your account with your current host details and we'll take it from there.