Preparing for Migration

Last updated July 31, 2026

Before you migrate your project to Hostman—whether you do it yourself or ask our support team to handle it—a bit of preparation will make the process faster and reduce the risk of downtime. Here's what we recommend.

Back Up Your Project
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Before starting the migration, create a backup of your project (or your entire server) and store it somewhere outside your current hosting provider: locally on your machine, or in separate cloud storage. 

This way, you'll always have access to your data, even if your subscription with your previous provider expires before the migration is complete.

Prepare a Migration Brief
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You know your project better than anyone else. To get started, we'll ask for access credentials and site names, but the more detail you provide about your project's setup, the fewer adjustments will be needed later.

When submitting a migration request, include:

  • Root access to your server via SSH.
  • A list of all domains (and their aliases) that need to be migrated.
  • The root directory paths for each site, along with any additional folders they use.
  • Which site uses which database.
  • Any details that could affect how the project runs after migration, for example, an external database, a custom application, a non-standard import/export setup, or integrations with third-party services.
  • Any other information that could help us complete the migration smoothly.

Plan Ahead
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Avoid scheduling your migration for the last paid day with your current provider. If something goes wrong during the process, your project could be unavailable for several hours—or even days.

Request your migration at least 7–10 days before your current plan expires. This gives you enough time to:

  • Copy all your files to the new server without rushing.
  • Complete the necessary configuration.
  • Thoroughly test your project on the new server, using a temporary domain or a local hosts file entry.
  • Add any files that weren't transferred automatically.
  • Finish any remaining setup.

If possible, avoid making changes to your project while it's being migrated and tested. If you can't pause updates entirely, coordinate with our support team on a specific date and time—ideally during a period of low traffic—to sync the final version of your data. 

Also, hold off on launching any campaigns or driving traffic to the migrated site (for example, ad campaigns) until the migration is fully complete. Migrations don't always go exactly as planned, and it's best to have some buffer time.

Don't Rush to Delete Data With Your Previous Provider
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Even if everything looks fine after migration, keep your account and data with your previous provider active for a while. Minor issues sometimes surface a few days later, and having a working copy of your project on the old server makes it much easier to troubleshoot.

Turn Off the Old Server Before Your Final Check
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Once you're confident the migration is complete, disable (but don't delete) your old server, then test your project again. This confirms that everything is running from the new server and that no resources are still being pulled from your previous provider.

Point Your Domain to Hostman
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Once you've verified that your project is fully migrated and working correctly, update your domain's DNS settings to point to your Hostman server.