How to Migrate a WordPress Site to a New Host Without Downtime

Moving a WordPress site to a new host sounds risky, but the risk comes almost entirely from doing things in the wrong order. If the new copy is fully working before visitors are sent to it, they never notice the move. This guide gives you a reliable order of operations, with the checks that catch problems before your visitors do.

The principle: build first, switch last

A migration without downtime has three phases:

1. Copy the site to the new host while the old one keeps serving visitors.
2. Test the new copy privately until it works exactly like the original.
3. Switch the domain to the new host, then keep the old one running until the change has spread.

Your old hosting should stay active for a few days after the switch. Do not cancel it the day you start.

Before you start

Lower the DNS TTL

Every DNS record has a time to live (TTL) that tells resolvers how long to cache it. If yours is set to a day, some visitors may keep reaching the old server for up to a day after you switch. A day or two before the move, lower the TTL on your website records to a few minutes, if your DNS provider allows it. Then the switch takes effect much faster.

Take a full backup

Make a complete backup of the files and the database at your current host, and download it to your computer. Whatever happens next, you can always go back.

Pick a quiet moment

If your site takes orders, comments or form submissions, choose a quiet time for the final copy. Anything that changes on the old site after your final copy will not be on the new one.

Note your email setup

If your email is hosted with your current provider, decide where it will live afterwards. Moving a website and moving email are separate jobs, and the DNS records for each are separate too.

Step 1: set up the new hosting

Order the new plan and add your domain. On Zebra's WordPress hosting the account, Plesk panel and SSL setup are created automatically in about two minutes after payment. You do not need to change any DNS yet.

Step 2: copy the site

There are three common ways to copy a WordPress site. Use whichever you are most comfortable with.

Option A: let Plesk import it

Plesk includes migration tools that can import sites from many other hosts, provided you have access details for the old server. If you are moving to Zebra, open a ticket after ordering and tell us where your site is now. Our team can help with the import.

Option B: a migration plugin

Several WordPress plugins export the whole site, files and database, as one package that you import on the new host. They are convenient for small and medium sites. Very large sites may hit upload or time limits, so check the plugin's documentation.

Option C: manual copy

1. Download the whole WordPress folder from the old host by FTP or the file manager. The wp-content folder holds your themes, plugins and uploads.
2. Export the database from the old host as an SQL file.
3. On the new host, create an empty database and user, then import the SQL file.
4. Upload the files to the new hosting.
5. Edit wp-config.php with the new database name, user, password and host.

Our help articles on managing databases in Plesk and the Plesk file manager cover those steps in detail.

Step 3: test before anyone sees it

You want to see the site on the new server while the public still sees the old one. The simplest way is your computer's hosts file. Add a line with the new server's IP address and your domain name, and your computer alone will load the site from the new host.

Then work through this list:

• Home page, a few posts and pages, and the menus all load.
• Images display. Missing images usually mean the uploads folder did not copy completely.
• You can log in to wp-admin.
• Forms send, and search works.
• For shops: product pages, the cart and a test checkout work.
• Permalinks work. If posts show "not found", re-save the permalink settings.

Remove the hosts file line when you are done, or you will keep seeing the new server after the switch and miss problems others might have.

Step 4: do a final sync

If the site changed while you were testing, repeat the database export and import just before the switch. For a shop, you may want to pause orders for the few minutes this takes.

Step 5: switch DNS

Now point the domain to the new host. You have two ways to do it:

• Change the nameservers at your registrar to the ones your new host gives you. With Zebra's Cloudflare, these are shown in your client area.
• Keep your DNS where it is and change the A records for the domain and www to the new server's IP address.

Our guide to pointing a domain to hosting explains both. Nameserver changes can take longer to spread than a record change with a low TTL. Throughout, the old host keeps serving anyone who has not yet received the new answer, so nobody gets an error.

Step 6: after the switch

• Check the SSL certificate on the live domain.
• Clear any caches: WordPress caching plugins and, if you use it, the Cloudflare cache.
• Submit your sitemap again in your search console if you use one.
• Watch the old host's access logs. When traffic there drops to nothing, the move is complete.
• Only then cancel the old hosting, after downloading a final backup.

Move your WordPress site to Zebra

Zebra's WordPress hosting starts at €3.99 a month, billed yearly, with one-click install, automatic updates, Cloudflare and free SSL. WP Business adds a staging environment, daily backups and malware scanning, and can be paid monthly or yearly with two months free. Every plan includes Plesk, so you can import your site with familiar tools, and our support team can help in any of our 17 languages. If your site grows, you can move to a bigger plan by ticket without losing your sites, email or data.