---
title: "Migrating a Project with Hestia Control Panel | Hostman Docs"
description: "Learn how to migrate your project to a Hostman server using Hestia Control Panel, creating a user, adding your domain, and importing your files and database."
---

> For the complete documentation index for AI agents, see [llms.txt](https://hostman.com/llms.txt).

This guide covers migrating your project using [HestiaCP](https://hestiacp.com/)—one of the control panels [you can install directly](https://hostman.com/my/servers/create?createServerEntrySource=servers-cta-button&zone=fra-1&configurator=97&cpu=10&gpu=0&ram=6&drive=80&os=99&software=73) from your Hostman account. 

## Step 1. Create a User

Go to `https://your_server_IP:8083` and log in as `admin`. You'll find the password on your server's dashboard.

The administrative user `admin` has elevated privileges, so for security reasons, we don't recommend adding sites under this account. Instead, you should create a regular user first.

1.  Go to the **USER** section.
2.  Click **Add User**. 
3.  Fill in the required fields: **Username**, **Contact Name**, **Email**, and **Password**.
4.  Click **Save**.

You can now log in to the panel as the user you just created: go to the **USER** section and click on the login icon next to the new user.

![Users in Hestia](https://content.hostman.com/assets/be367d29-7ff7-4ea4-b71c-fc309083dcc1.png?width=1454&height=581)

_USER section in [Hestia Control Panel](https://hestiacp.com/)_

## Step 2. Add Your Domain

Add your domain to Hestia:

1.  Go to the **WEB** section.
2.  Click **Add Web Domain**. 
3.  Enter your domain.
4.  Click **Save**.

Now, let's configure it.

In the **WEB** section, click on the domain to open its settings.

We recommend issuing an SSL certificate for the domain at this stage. To do this, enable the following options:

-   **Enable SSL for this domain**
-   **Use Let's Encrypt to obtain SSL certificate**
-   **Enable automatic HTTPS redirection**

If you already have a certificate for the domain, you can upload the certificate files instead—in that case, leave **Use Let's Encrypt** disabled.

![Editing domain settings in Hestia](https://content.hostman.com/assets/975dcd1d-f2aa-4c7c-b494-7d3cfae60038.png?width=1453&height=1092)

_Domain settings configuration in [Hestia Control Panel](https://hestiacp.com/)_

You can also use the **Advanced Options** button to add an FTP account, adjust web server settings, or select a PHP version.

Click **Save** when done.

## Step 3. Upload Your Site Files

When you create your user, Hestia automatically sets up a directory for your site files: `/home/username/web/domain_name`.

To access your files, click the folder icon in the top menu.

![Web section in Hestia](https://content.hostman.com/assets/ea42b036-f16a-4503-ab07-c040eb10e832.png?width=1467&height=531)

_WEB section in [Hestia Control Panel](https://hestiacp.com/)_

Once in the file manager, you'll land in your user's home directory by default. Navigate to `/web/domain_name/public_html`, then upload your files using the `Add Files` button.

![File Manager in Hestia Control Panel](https://content.hostman.com/assets/df9a5765-00ef-43e3-9a9a-3aea90f82f4d.png?width=1561&height=690)

_File Manager in [Hestia Control Panel](https://hestiacp.com/)_

The file manager can unpack ZIP archives directly, which is handy if your files are archived.

For large file volumes, [uploading via FTP/SFTP](https://hostman.com/docs/cloud-servers/connect-to-server/#connecting-via-sftp) is usually more reliable—connect using the username and password of your Hestia user. You can also [use SSH](https://hostman.com/docs/cloud-servers/connect-to-server/#connecting-via-ssh) for the same purpose.

When done, return to the Hestia interface by clicking **Exit to Control Panel** in the top right corner.

## 4\. Import Your Database

First, create a database in Hestia:

1.  Go to the **DB** section.
    
2.  Click **Add Database**. 
    
3.  Enter the database details: 
    

-   Database name
    
-   Database user’s name
    
-   Database user’s password
    

5.  Click **Save**.
    

![Creating a database in Hestia](https://content.hostman.com/assets/4b16065d-4454-44f9-a72c-4d42fce59a36.png?width=1460&height=849)

_Creating a database in [Hestia Control Panel](https://hestiacp.com/)_

Now, import the database dump:

1.  Open the **DB** section.
    
2.  Click on the **phpMyAdmin** button.
    
3.  Log in with the database user’s credentials you just set up.
    
4.  Go to the **Import** tab and import the database.
    

> [!NOTE]
> Hestia restricts access to the PMA interface via the server IP address (`https://server-ip-address/phpmyadmin/`). Make sure to use the hostname instead (for example, `https://host.mydomain.com/phpmyadmin/`).

You can also import the dump via the command line, by connecting to your server [over SSH](https://hostman.com/docs/cloud-servers/connect-to-server/#connecting-via-ssh).

## Step 5. Point Your Domain at the Server

For the site to be reachable, your domain's A record must point to your server's IP address. Update the record in the DNS settings of your domain registrar or DNS provider.

DNS changes can take up to 24 hours to propagate, although in most cases they take effect much sooner.

After propagation, open your domain in a browser to confirm that the migrated site loads correctly and that it connects to the database.