Migration

Moving a website to a new host is a project, not a button press. This page explains what we can migrate, what we need from you, the steps involved, and what can go wrong — so you can plan the move instead of discovering problems halfway through it.

Who Is Eligible

Migration is available to customers who have purchased a hosting plan with Offshore Hosting, or who are in the process of ordering one.

• Eligible: WordPress sites, WooCommerce stores, standard CRM installations, and single-script deployments that meet the requirements of the relevant solution page.
• Not eligible or needs review: sites on custom server setups, sites with very large data volumes, sites running software our servers do not support, and sites whose current host will not provide the access needed for a move. In these cases, contact support before ordering so we can assess the move.
• Migration availability by plan: [TO BE CONFIRMED BY OWNER].
• If your current site is already broken or compromised, tell us before the migration starts. Moving a broken site moves the problem with it.

Scope — What a Migration Includes

A standard migration includes:

• Copying your website files from the old host to the new account.
• Copying your database and connecting it to the migrated site.
• Basic configuration so the site loads on the new hosting.
• A check that the homepage and main pages load after the move.

A standard migration does not include:

• Redesigning the site, fixing bugs, or updating themes, plugins, or the application itself.
• Fixing performance problems that existed on the old host.
• Migrating email accounts and old mail unless explicitly agreed in advance.
• Moving a site between different applications — for example, converting one platform to another.
• Recovering a site from a host that has already deleted it or refuses access.

If you need work outside this scope, say so before the migration starts. We will tell you whether it is something we can do, something your developer should do, or something that needs a separate arrangement.

Access — What We Need From You

To migrate your site, we need access to the current hosting. The exact access required depends on how your current host works:

• Login details for your current hosting control panel, or
• FTP/SFTP access to your files plus database access, or
• A full backup file (files plus database) that you provide.

We will tell you which option applies once we know your current host. Provide access through the support ticket, not by email, and change the passwords after the migration is complete. We do not keep your old-host credentials after the migration.

Do not send us your passwords for unrelated accounts. We only need access to the hosting being migrated from.

Steps

1. Order and confirm. Purchase a hosting plan and open a migration request through support, telling us your current host, your domain, and what application the site runs.
2. Access. Provide the access described above. We confirm we can reach the old hosting.
3. Copy. We copy files and the database to the new account and configure the site to run there.
4. Check. We check that the site loads on the new hosting. You then check it yourself using a temporary address or a hosts-file change, before anything goes live.
5. Go live. When you confirm the migrated copy looks correct, we help you point the domain to the new hosting. DNS changes take time to spread, so the old site and the new site may both appear for a while depending on where a visitor is.
6. Verify. After the domain has moved, check the live site again — pages, forms, login, and checkout if it is a store. Report any problem in the same ticket.
7. Clean up. Change the old-host passwords, and cancel the old hosting only after you are satisfied the new site is working and you have a backup of the old one.

Timing

Migration timing depends on the size of the site, the speed of the old host, and how many migrations are already in progress. Timing estimates: [TO BE CONFIRMED BY OWNER]. Plan the migration for a low-traffic time — not the same day as a sale, a launch, or a major update.

Stores and Live Data

If your site takes orders, bookings, or form submissions, plan carefully:

• Orders or submissions made on the old site after the copy is taken will not appear on the new site unless they are copied again.
• For a WooCommerce store, we plan the final switch to minimise lost orders. See the backups and restoration section of our E-Commerce Hosting page for why this matters.
• Do not make content changes on either copy during the migration window unless support tells you to.

Rollback Limits

• Before go-live: if the migrated copy does not work, we can investigate and retry the copy. Nothing on the live site has changed yet.
• After go-live: rolling back means pointing the domain back to the old host. That is possible while the old hosting is still active — another reason not to cancel it immediately.
• After the old hosting is cancelled: there is no rollback. The old site is gone. Keep a backup of the old site until you are certain the migration is complete.
• Data created after go-live on the new hosting — new orders, new users, new posts — is not part of a rollback. Reverting to the old host would lose that data.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does a migration take?
It depends on the size of the site and the responsiveness of the old host. Small sites can move quickly; large stores take longer. Ask support for an estimate for your site.

Will my site go down during migration?
The live site keeps running on the old host while the copy is made. Downtime, if any, is limited to the short window while DNS changes spread after go-live.

Can you migrate my email too?
Email migration is not included in a standard migration unless agreed in advance. Tell support if you need mail moved, and how much of it there is.

What if the migration fails?
We investigate, tell you what went wrong, and retry where possible. If the failure is caused by the old host or by the site itself, we will explain that and what your options are.

Request a Migration

Open a support ticket with your domain name, your current host, and the application your site runs. We will confirm eligibility, tell you what access we need, and agree on a time to start.