How do you move a website to a new host?
To move a website to a new host, you copy its files and database to the new server, test the copy privately, make sure email keeps working, and then point your DNS at the new server. Done in that order, visitors never see a broken page and a store does not lose orders placed during the move.
The old host stays paid for a little longer, as your safety net.
Owners often mix up two separate jobs. Hosting is the server where your pages and database live. The domain registration is your rental of the name itself, held at a registrar. You can change hosts without touching the registration: you only edit DNS records. Moving the registration to a different registrar is a different process with its own authorisation code and lock periods, covered in our guide to transferring a domain between registrars. Do one job at a time. Changing registrar and host in the same week doubles the things that can go wrong and makes any fault hard to trace.
This guide is host-neutral. Hosting companies publish tutorials built around their own migration plugin, which is fine when it works, but the order of operations below applies whichever provider you leave and whichever you join.
Before you touch anything: the inventory
Many failed moves go wrong before any file is copied, because nobody knew who controlled what. If your previous developer stopped answering, this step matters even more: you may find the domain sits in their account, not yours. Write down each item below, with the login and the person who holds it. Anything you cannot access yet, sort out first.
- Domain registrarWhich company holds the registration, whose account it is in, and the renewal date.
- DNSWhere the DNS records are edited today: the registrar, the old host, or a service such as Cloudflare.
- EmailWhether mailboxes run on the old host or on a separate provider such as Google Workspace or Microsoft 365.
- SSL certificateFree Let's Encrypt from the host, or a paid certificate you will need to reissue.
- Database and filesThe database name, the site files, and any uploads stored outside the usual folders.
- Scheduled jobsCron jobs for backups, stock sync, feeds or reminder emails.
- Third-party scriptsAnalytics, chat widgets, payment gateways and any service that allows requests only from a known server IP.
Pick the new host
Choose the destination before planning dates. For most Bangkok business sites the questions are practical: is the server close to your visitors, does the plan include daily backups you can restore yourself, is there SSH or at least a file manager and database access, and will support answer when something breaks on a Sunday during a promotion.
If a store sells mainly to Thai buyers on mobile data, a server in Singapore or Thailand usually loads faster than one in the US, although server location affects SEO far less than it affects speed. We compare the options in more depth in our guide to choosing hosting in Thailand, so here one rule is enough: do not pick a plan smaller than the one you are leaving just because the first year is cheap.
Copy the site
For WordPress, a migration plugin can package files and database in one archive and unpack it on the new server. It works well on small sites and struggles with large media libraries or strict upload limits. The manual route is slower but predictable, and it is what the official WordPress documentation on moving a site describes. Either way, the steps are the same.
- Step 1
Take a full backup
Download files and a database export to your own computer, not only to the old host. If anything goes wrong later, this copy is the one that saves you.
- Step 2
Copy the files
Upload the site files to the new server by SFTP, SSH or the host's file manager, keeping the folder structure intact.
- Step 3
Import the database
Create an empty database and user at the new host, then import the export with phpMyAdmin or the command line.
- Step 4
Update the configuration
Point the site's config file (wp-config.php on WordPress) at the new database name, user, password and host.
- Step 5
Recreate the extras
Add cron jobs, PHP version and memory settings, and any server rules the old host had, such as redirects in .htaccess.
Test before anyone sees it
Your domain still points at the old server, so how do you view the new copy? Two ways. Many hosts give a temporary URL or preview link. The more reliable method is to edit the hosts file on your own computer so that your domain resolves to the new server's IP address for you alone, while every customer still reaches the old site.
Then use the site as a customer would:
- Open the home page, a few inner pages and both language versions if the site is bilingual.
- Submit every form and confirm the message actually arrives in the inbox.
- On a store, place a test order with each payment method you offer, including PromptPay and cash on delivery, and check that the order email and stock update both work.
- Log in to the admin area, upload an image and save a page.
Remove the hosts file entry when you finish, or you will keep seeing the new server and wonder later why nobody else does.
Email: the part people forget
If your mailboxes live on a separate provider such as Google Workspace, email is safe as long as you copy the MX records exactly when DNS moves. If your mailboxes live on the old web host, they need their own migration: create the same addresses at the new host, then copy existing mail across with IMAP, either through a migration tool the new host offers or by adding both accounts to a mail client and dragging folders over.
Check the SPF record too. It lists the servers allowed to send mail for your domain. If your website sends order confirmations or form notifications from the new server and SPF still names only the old one, those messages start landing in spam. Update SPF, and DKIM if the new host provides a key, in the same DNS change.
Switching DNS
Lower the TTL a day or two ahead
Every DNS record carries a TTL, the number of seconds other servers may cache the answer. Records are often set to several hours. Lower the TTL on your A record (and on www) to about 300 seconds at least a day before the move, so that when you change the IP address the world picks it up quickly.
Freeze orders briefly on a store
A database copy is a snapshot. Orders placed on the old server after you exported are not on the new one. For WooCommerce, pick a quiet hour, put the shop in maintenance mode, take a fresh database export, import it, then switch DNS. Shopify stores are hosted by Shopify, so this applies to self-hosted shops only.
Cut over and install SSL
Change the A record to the new IP address and paste in the MX, SPF and any other records you listed. Issue the SSL certificate at the new host as soon as the domain resolves there; free certificates usually need the DNS to point at the server first. Our explainer on SSL and HTTPS for business websites covers what to check if the padlock does not appear. Propagation is often done within an hour with a low TTL, though some networks cache longer.
After the switch
Run these checks from a phone on mobile data as well as from the office Wi-Fi, since the two may resolve DNS at different times. If the site misbehaves after the move, our article on why a website goes down helps you separate a DNS delay from a real server fault. A move is also a good moment to look for leftovers: if the old site was ever compromised, copying it moves the infection too, so read about cleaning up a hacked WordPress site before you trust the copy.
- Forms and notificationsSend a test from every form and confirm the email arrives, not in spam.
- Orders and paymentsPlace one real low-value order or a test order and check the confirmation, stock and payment status.
- HTTPS everywhereOpen the site with and without www and with http; all versions should land on one https address.
- Search ConsoleCheck coverage and crawl errors over the next week; the URLs did not change, so no change-of-address request is needed.
- SpeedCompare load times on mobile against the old host; the reason you moved should show here.
- Backups at the new hostConfirm the first automatic backup ran and that you can download it.
- Cancel the old host lastKeep the old account for one to two weeks until email, orders and forms are all confirmed, then download a final copy and cancel.
Keeping the site healthy on its new server
A new host fixes speed and support problems only if someone keeps the site updated, backed up and monitored afterwards. If you are not sure what website maintenance actually involves, start there, and use our monthly website maintenance checklist to run it yourself. If you would rather hand it over, we offer care after launch for sites we build and sites we take over. There are no fixed plan prices: see how we approach website maintenance cost, then send the site address by WhatsApp or email to service@websitedevelopmentbangkok.com for a quote.
Who reviewed this guide
Who builds your site
Litesh Dhir
Builds and ranks the websites: the systems behind the 17 client sites whose Search Console numbers we publish.
More about usMore on hosting and domains
Sources
- Google Search Central: Moving a site without URL changes
- WordPress Developer Resources: Moving WordPress
- Cloudflare Learning Center: What is time-to-live (TTL)?