How to Migrate Your Website From Another Host

Moving Your Website to Ultra Web Hosting

Switching hosts does not have to be stressful. We offer free website migration for all new accounts. Simply open a support ticket after signing up and provide your old hosting login details. Our team will transfer your website files, databases, and email accounts for you at no charge.

If you prefer to handle the migration yourself, here is a step-by-step guide.

Step 1: Back Up Your Current Site

Before making any changes, download a complete backup from your current host:

• Website files: Download everything from your public_html (or www/htdocs) directory via FTP
• Databases: Export your databases using phpMyAdmin (choose SQL format)
• Email: If you have important email on the old server, download it to a local email client via IMAP before switching

Step 2: Set Up Your New Account

Sign up for a hosting plan at Ultra Web Hosting. Once your account is active, log into cPanel and create your databases and database users under MySQL Databases. Make sure the database name, username, and password match what your website expects (check your site config file, such as wp-config.php for WordPress).

Step 3: Upload Your Files

Connect to your new account via FTP (using FileZilla or another FTP client) and upload all your website files to the public_html directory. For large sites, you can compress the files into a .zip archive, upload the archive, and extract it using File Manager in cPanel.

Step 4: Import Your Database

In cPanel, open phpMyAdmin, select your new database, and click the Import tab. Upload the .sql file you exported from your old host. If the file is too large for phpMyAdmin, contact our support team and we can import it via command line.

Step 5: Update Configuration Files

If your database credentials changed (name, username, or password), update the configuration file for your application. For WordPress, this is wp-config.php. For Joomla, it is configuration.php.

Step 6: Test Before Switching DNS

Before pointing your domain to our servers, test your site using a temporary URL or by editing your local hosts file to point your domain to our server IP. This lets you verify everything works before going live.

Step 7: Update Your Nameservers

Once everything checks out, update your domain nameservers at your registrar to point to our servers. The nameservers are listed in your welcome email. DNS propagation takes 24 to 48 hours.

WordPress Users: Use a Migration Plugin

If your site runs WordPress, plugins like All-in-One WP Migration or Duplicator can simplify the process by packaging your entire site (files and database) into a single downloadable archive that you restore on the new host.