Moving your website to EmpathyHost is free on every plan. We copy the site from your current host to your new server, check it with you, and you switch your domain over when you are happy. Your old site stays where it is until you say go, so nothing goes dark in the middle.
What free migration is
Migration means your existing website, its files, its database and its settings, copied from wherever it is now onto your own server at EmpathyHost. We do the copying. You do not need to export anything yourself. It applies to WordPress sites, and to Laravel or Node apps, Docker stacks and the other things your server can run.
What to have ready
Before you message us, gather these so the first reply can be the useful one:
- Where the site is hosted now, and a login for that host or its control panel.
- Access to your domain registrar, or the name of whoever manages it for you.
- A list of the sites you want moved, if there is more than one.
- Anything with a date on it, like a bill coming due at the old host or a launch you are working toward.
Not sure about one of these? Message us anyway and say so. We will tell you what we need.
The four steps
Step 1: Choose a plan
Pick the plan that fits how many sites you have. Checkout creates your own account, and your welcome email has everything you need to sign in. You create the server and choose its region.
Step 2: Tell us where the site lives now
Message us on WhatsApp (opens in a new tab) with the details (the list above). Put the site name in your first message.
Step 3: We move the site and check it with you
We copy it across to your server and look it over with you before anything changes. You can click through the copy on the new server while the old site is still live.
Step 4: You switch over when you are happy
When the copy looks right, your domain is pointed at the new server. Free SSL is issued for the site, and daily backups are running from then on.
What happens after
Once the domain has moved, the site is on your own server. You run it from your account, and we are here when you want advice. If something looks off in the first days, message us on WhatsApp (opens in a new tab) with the site name.
Nervous about moving?
Most people are, and usually because a move went badly somewhere else. Linda moved from MyHosting.com:
“We were really nervous at first moving from our MyHosting.com because we got hurt making a move like this in the past, but to be honest, I've never felt better after talking to someone at EH.”