Migrating with Hestia

This guide covers migrating your project using HestiaCP—one of the control panels you can install directly from your Hostman account. 

Step 1. Create a User

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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.

USER section in Hestia Control Panel

Step 2. Add Your Domain

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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.

Domain settings configuration in Hestia Control Panel

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

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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 Control Panel

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

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

For large file volumes, uploading via FTP/SFTP is usually more reliable—connect using the username and password of your Hestia user. You can also use 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

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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

4. Click Save.

Creating a database in Hestia Control Panel

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.

You can also import the dump via the command line, by connecting to your server over SSH.

Step 5. Point Your Domain at the Server

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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.