If you would like to migrate your existing WordPress site from another provider to aWh, you have two options: you can use our free migration service, or you can carry out the migration yourself.

Request a free migration

All our hosting plans include a free migration service, with minimal or even zero downtime. We’ll transfer your files, databases and emails for you.

1. Order your new hosting plan, such as a WordPress hosting plan or a cPanel hosting plan.
2. In the Support section of the client portal, open a ticket and provide your old hosting login details (control panel, or FTP and database access if your old provider does not have a control panel).
3. If it is important, please let us know when you would like the migration to take place; we can also arrange a time outside normal working hours.
4. After the migration, we will let you know what else you need to do, which usually involves changing your domain’s name servers or DNS records.

If your previous provider also uses cPanel, your entire account (files, databases, emails and redirects) can be migrated in a single step. You can read about the details of the process in our article on hosting migration.

Steps for manual migration

If you wish to carry out the migration yourself, the process consists of the following steps:

1. Downloading files: download all WordPress files (themes, plugins, uploaded images, wp-config.php, .htaccess) from your old hosting account via FTP or a file manager; the easiest way is to pack them into a compressed archive first.
2. Exporting the database: in the phpMyAdmin of your old hosting provider, go to the ‘Export’ tab and save the database as an SQL file.
3. Creating a new database on aWh hosting, along with a user (see: Creating a MySQL database and user in cPanel), then importing the SQL file in phpMyAdmin.
4. Upload files to the domain’s root directory (usually public_html) and update the DB_NAME, DB_USER, DB_PASSWORD and DB_HOST values in the wp-config.php file. The value of DB_HOST is usually localhost on cPanel hosting.
5. PHP version: set it to the same version or a newer version supported by the extensions, as on your old hosting account.
6. Testing before changing the DNS settings: you can temporarily point the domain to the new server’s IP address in your computer’hosts file, so that only you can see the new hosting and check that everything is working.
7. DNS configuration: changing the domain’s name servers or A records to point to the new hosting provider, followed by setting up an SSL certificate on the new hosting provider.

If the domain changes as part of the migration, the old addresses must also be replaced in the database; the WP-CLI search-replace command is the safest way to do this, as it handles serialised data correctly. You can also read a detailed WordPress migration guide on our blog.

What should you look out for?

• Do not cancel your old hosting account too soon: after the DNS change, some visitors may still be able to access the old hosting account for a while due to DNS propagation, so please keep the old hosting account active for a few more days.
• Orders and comments: for online shops, it is advisable to switch the site to maintenance mode whilst the migration is taking place; otherwise, orders placed on the old hosting service may be omitted from the new database.
• Email: if the domain’s email accounts are also hosted on the old hosting service, these must also be transferred before you change the DNS settings.
• Common errors: the ‘Error establishing a database connection’ message indicates incorrect database details in the wp-config.php; if only the home page works and subpages return a 404 error, the .htaccess file is missing; you can recreate it by clicking the ‘Save Changes’ button on the Settings > Permalinks page.
• WP Toolkit: a manually imported site will not automatically appear in the cPanel WordPress Management list; you can add it using the Search button – see: Adding WordPress to WP Toolkit.

In most cases, using our free migration service is simpler and safer than performing the migration manually.