Migrating your website to a new hosting provider can seem daunting at first, but with the right plan and a structured approach, you can complete your website migration without losing visitors, data, or your position in Google search results.
This guide focuses on hosting migration to cPanel, which is the platform VentraIP provides for all shared hosting plans. You may be migrating from another cPanel host, from Plesk, or from a platform such as Shopify, Wix or Squarespace. Each situation requires a slightly different approach to site migration, and this guide covers all the key considerations.
Need help migrating your website?
VentraIP offers free website migrations for all customers moving to our cPanel web hosting platform, which means you can transfer your site without the usual stress or guesswork.
Transfer your website to VentraIP today and let us handle the heavy lifting for you.
Step 1: Plan Your Website Migration
The most important part of any migration is planning. Before you transfer files or make changes to your domain name, create a migration checklist that outlines every step of the process. This helps you stay organised and reduces the risk of losing important content during the move.
Your website migration plan should include:
- Identifying all website files, databases, and emails that need to be moved.
- Recording your domain name’s existing DNS settings.
- Review and make note of your existing website traffic analytics (if you have this set up).
- Scheduling the hosting migration during a low traffic period.
A complete website backup should be taken before you begin. This gives you a safe version of your site to fall back on if anything unexpected happens.
Here’s an example site migration checklist you can follow
Before Migration
- Back up all website files, databases, and email accounts.
- Record domain settings and DNS records.
- Bulk export content from your CMS or website builder.
- Confirm access to both hosting accounts.
- Make a record of your existing website traffic analytics.
During Migration
- Transfer files to your new hosting platform using FTP or migration tools.
- Transfer database data to the new hosting platform (importing and exporting your database is typically done with PHPMyAdmin).
- Recreate email accounts if required.
- Test internal links, media, and content structure to ensure everything still works.
- Use a Temporary URL or hosts file update to preview the site.
Post Migration
- Update your domain name’s DNS settings to point to the new web hosting platform.
- Check that you have an SSL Certificate installed (this makes your website more secure).
- Test forms, carts, logins, and any e-commerce functions.
- Add 301 redirects for any URLs you changed.
- Submit your new sitemap to Google Search Console.
- Monitor your website’s traffic for at least two weeks after the migration is completed.
Step 2: Choose Your New Hosting Provider
Choosing the right hosting provider plays a major role in how smooth and stable your migration will be.
Here are some things to look for when choosing a new web hosting provider:
- Local infrastructure
- Modern server hardware
- Security features
- 24/7 Support
- Backups are included
VentraIP offers cPanel web hosting backed by Australian support, automated backups, and free migration assistance. These features help simplify the overall migration process and give you confidence that your site will perform well once the move is complete.
Step 3: Choose a migration method
Using a migration plugin
WordPress
If your site is built in WordPress, you can simplify the process by using a migration plugin such as All-in-One WP Migration, Duplicator, or Migrate Guru. These tools create a packaged version of your website, which can be imported into your new hosting account.
A migration plugin will typically move:
- WordPress core files.
- Themes (and child themes, if you have one).
- Plugins (including settings and configurations).
- Media libraries (including photos, videos, and any other assets).
- Databases, including posts, pages, and metadata.
This is usually the fastest and easiest method for standard WordPress sites. However, if you are running a large e-commerce store, a membership site, a heavily customised theme, or a site with complex development work, a manual migration is often safer.
Although this plugin-based approach is common in WordPress, not all website platforms offer an equivalent tool. Some do have partial migration tools that can assist with moving content or creating backups, although they rarely provide a complete export in the same way WordPress does.
Here is a quick overview of other platforms and the tools available:
Joomla
Joomla has extensions that help with backups and transfers. The most widely used option is Akeeba Backup, which creates a full backup of your Joomla site that can be restored on another server. It is not identical to WordPress migration plugins, but it is the closest equivalent and is widely used for Joomla migrations.
Drupal
Drupal includes a Migrate API, which is designed primarily for moving content between Drupal versions or for importing data from another system. There is also a Backup and Migrate module, which assists with database exports. These tools do not provide a full hosting-to-hosting migration but can assist with moving content.
Magento (now Adobe Commerce)
Magento sites do not have plugin-based migration options that work like WordPress. Magento provides a Data Migration Tool, which is used only for upgrading from Magento 1 to Magento 2. Hosting migrations still require manual file and database transfers, especially for e-commerce sites with complex catalogues.
Concrete CMS (Concrete5)
Concrete CMS has basic backup tools that allow you to export your database, but full site migrations typically involve manually moving files and re-configuring the environment. Some older addons exist but are not widely maintained.
Because most platforms do not provide a complete plugin-based migration system, you will often need to rely on a manual method unless you are using WordPress or Joomla with Akeeba Backup. If your website is not built with WordPress, your safest option is to follow the manual migration method outlined below, ensuring your files, database and configuration settings are transferred accurately.
Manually Transfer Your Files and Databases
Once your new hosting account is active, you’ll need to transfer files and databases from your old server. You can access and manage your website’s file’s manually via FTP (File Transfer Protocol).
Here’s what to move:
- All files in your website’s “root” folder. This folder is typically called “public_html” or “www”. You’ll need to export the files from the relevant folder on your old hosting provider’s server and then upload those files to your new web hosting service.
- Databases, which are typically accessed via phpMyAdmin OR a similar tool that your current web hosting provider gives you access to. You will need to export your database and then import it into your new web hosting provider’s platform.
- Any additional configuration files that are relevant to your website.
Configuration files
Some websites rely on configuration files to define important settings such as database credentials, file paths, environment variables and connection details. These files often need to be updated once the migration is complete, so your site can communicate correctly with the new hosting platform.
For WordPress, the main configuration file is wp-config.php. This file contains your database name, database username, password, and hostname. After migrating to the new server, you will need to update these values so that WordPress can establish a connection with the imported database.
Other platforms and applications also use configuration files that may require updating. For example:
- Joomla uses configuration.php
- Drupal stores its database settings in settings.php under the sites folder
- Magento uses env.php (and sometimes config.php) within app/etc
- Concrete CMS uses site.php and database.php
If you’re not sure what your new database credentials are, you can find them inside your web hosting control panel. If your web hosting provider gives you a cPanel account, you can find and create databases under cPanel > MySQL Databases.
Migrating from platforms like Wix, Squarespace and Shopify
If you are moving away from Wix, Squarespace, or Shopify and migrating to WordPress or another cPanel-compatible platform, the process is different. These hosted website builders do not allow you to access your website’s file system or database, which means you cannot complete a traditional migration.
Instead, you will need to complete a content migration and then rebuild the website structure manually.
Here is how the process typically works:
Export whatever content the platform allows
Each platform has different export options. For example:
- Wix allows export of blog posts in CSV format.
- Squarespace allows export of certain content types in a limited XML format.
- Shopify allows export of product data, collections, customers, and orders in CSV format.
Images may need to be downloaded manually if they are not included in the export.
Rebuild your site on WordPress or another CMS
Because Wix, Squarespace, and Shopify use closed systems, layouts, templates, and page designs cannot be transferred. You will need to recreate your website structure using a WordPress theme or another CMS theme that reflects your desired design.
This includes:
-
- Rebuilding your navigation and menus
- Recreating each page layout
- Replacing design blocks and content sections
- Rebuilding product pages if moving from Shopify
- Recreating forms, galleries or custom features
Import your exported content
Once your new website framework is set up, you can import the content exported from your old platform. WordPress has built-in importers and plugins that help with blog posts and XML data. Shopify product data may need to be imported using an e-commerce plugin such as WooCommerce.
Reupload media and check formatting
Images are often not included in platform exports, which means you may need to upload them manually and replace them throughout your site.
Update internal links and URLs
Once the site has been rebuilt, review your internal links to make sure they point to the correct pages on the new platform. You may need to adjust URLs to match your preferred structure.
Set up redirects from old URLs to new URLs
This is especially important for SEO. Redirects prevent visitors and search engines from landing on broken pages.
Step 5: Test Your Website Before Updating DNS
Before updating your domain name’s DNS settings, preview your site on the new hosting environment. You can do this by using a Temporary URL or by updating your computer’s hosts file.
Using a Temporary URL
Most web hosting providers (including VentraIP) offer a Temporary URL. This allows you to view your website on your new web hosting service.
If you’re migrating to VentraIP, you can follow our guide on how to set up a Temporary URL.
Updating your computer’s hosts file
This is a more technical method of previewing your website. If you’re unfamiliar with this method, it’s kind of like you’re “tricking” your computer into thinking your website is already hosted with your new provider, before you have updated your DNS settings. Doing so allows you to view your website on the new web hosting provider’s server before changing your DNS settings.
Follow this guide to update your computer’s hosts file: Testing your website before pointing your domain to our servers
What to check
While previewing your website, test the following carefully:
- Ensure all pages load and the site structure hasn’t changed.
- Ensure all your images and any other multimedia content load correctly.
- Make sure any forms, login pages, shopping carts, and checkout pages work.
- Test internal links on your website to make sure they still work.
Step 6: Update your Domain Name’s DNS Settings
Once you’ve tested your website and can see everything is functioning correctly, you can update your DNS records to finalise the migration. It’s important to keep in mind that when you change the domain name’s DNS settings, the changes generally take 2-8 hours to take effect, and up to 24 hours in some cases (this is called DNS Propagation). Avoid making changes to your website until propagation has completed.
Your web hosting provider will provide you with new Name Servers OR an A record, which will need to be applied in your domain name’s DNS Settings. Doing so will point your domain name to your new web hosting provider’s platform.
For domain names registered with VentraIP, you can follow the steps detailed in this guide on how to manage your domain name’s DNS Settings. If your domain name is not registered with VentraIP, you should refer to support articles provided by the company your domain name is registered with OR contact their support team.
If you’re new to DNS and want to learn more about it, check out our guide on what DNS is and how it works.
Step 7: Monitor Website Analytics Post Migration & Retaining Traffic
Your SEO can be impacted after migrating a website if search engines cannot understand the new site structure. To minimise issues:
- Don’t change the URLs for your web pages where possible.
- When you do change a URL, set up a redirect from the old URL to the new one.
- Submit your new sitemap to Google Search Console.
- Monitor website traffic analytics for traffic fluctuations.
- Check for broken links and missing content.
If you happen to be changing your domain name during the process of your migration, we’d recommend taking a look at our guide on how to change your domain name without losing traffic.
Step 10: Decommission the Old Hosting Account
An often overlooked step is decommissioning the web hosting service you have with your old provider. It’s important to remember that your old web hosting provider won’t necessarily know that you migrated your website away from their platform.
Once DNS propagation is complete and your new hosting environment is running smoothly, you can safely close your old hosting account. Before doing so, confirm that:
- All backups have been saved
- Email data has been migrated
- Your website analytics look steady
- SSL is active on the new site
Most web hosting providers allow you to cancel services via their customer control panel or dashboard. Otherwise, you may need to reach out to their support team regarding cancellations.
Making Your Move with Confidence
Migrating a website can feel overwhelming at first, but the process becomes far more manageable when you follow a clear plan and take the time to test everything before going live. By preparing a thorough migration checklist, backing up your content and paying close attention to how your URLs, forms and content behave after the move, you can complete your hosting migration smoothly and without disruption.
If you would prefer not to deal with the technical side of things, VentraIP is ready to help. Our free website migration service ensures your files, databases and domain settings are transferred safely by an experienced local team. You can focus on your business while we handle the technical work behind the scenes, giving you complete peace of mind throughout the move.
