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Migrate your website to us with minimal downtime

Copy the site onto our shared hosting, test it on this account first, then switch AtlasDNS so visitors move over with little downtime.

Updated

Keep the public name on the old copy until the site works here. Visitors stay on the old account while you upload files, import the database, and test. Then you point the domain at AtlasDNS.

This article is for Beginner and Standard shared hosting (cPanel) in Australia. Open cPanel from the portal. Do not guess a hostname.

If you ordered a VPS, credentials and the console are on that server in the portal. Start with First steps on a new VPS. Open a support ticket if you want us to walk through the cutover.

If you ordered a dedicated server, open a support ticket and we will walk you through access.

Moving WordPress? The same order applies (files, database, test, then DNS). Use WordPress Toolkit or Installatron when you need a fresh install. For a copy of an existing site, see Back Up and Migrate a WordPress Site.

Need a plan first? Browse shared hosting, VPS, or dedicated, or see Choose the right hosting plan. After the account is ready: Getting started after you order hosting.

A step is unclear? Open a support ticket and we will help.

Before you switch DNS

  • Leave the old hosting account active. Do not cancel it, and do not delete the site there.
  • Export a full copy from the old account: website files (including hidden files such as .htaccess and .user.ini), every database as .sql, and a list of email addresses if mail is moving.
  • Write down custom DNS you must keep: MX (mail), TXT (SPF, DKIM, DMARC, domain checks), CNAME, and any extra A records. You will add those on AtlasDNS before or as you switch nameservers.
  • Match PHP to what the site already runs, if you know it. See Choose your PHP version.
  • If the site takes orders, comments, or other live writes, plan a short freeze on the old copy so you do not lose data written after you export.

Keep those backups on your computer for at least 30 days after the move.

1. Put the site on this account

Do this before you change nameservers. The public name should still resolve to the old copy.

  1. Sign in at the portal.
  2. Open the hosting service for the domain.
  3. Click Log in to cPanel.

You do not need a server hostname, and you do not type cpanel.yourdomain.com to get in.

The main domain's files live in public_html. Addon domains and subdomains each have their own document root. See Add an Addon Domain and Create a Subdomain.

Upload files

  • A few files: File Manager. Turn on Show Hidden Files (dotfiles) so .htaccess is visible.
  • A large folder: FTP. While public DNS still points at the old copy, use the Shared IP Address from cPanel General Information as the FTP host. Copy the username from FTP Accounts → Configure FTP Client. Do not guess a hostname.

Extract archives into the document root you mean. A zip that contains a top-level folder will create that folder inside public_html, so the site may sit at /folder/ until you move the files up.

Recreate the database

Skip this if WordPress Toolkit or Installatron just ran. They already created the database.

  1. In cPanel, open MySQL Databases (the engine is MariaDB; cPanel still labels the tools MySQL).
  2. Create a database, create a user, and grant that user access. Copy the full prefixed names. The host the app should use is localhost.
  3. Open phpMyAdmin, select the new empty database, and Import the .sql file.
  4. Update the site's config (wp-config.php or the equivalent) with the new database name, user, and password. Leave the host as localhost.

Step-by-step names: Create a MySQL Database and User.

2. Test without changing public DNS

Point only your computer at this account so you can browse the new copy while everyone else still sees the old one.

1. In cPanel, copy General Information → Shared IP Address.
2. On your computer, edit the hosts file:
- Windows: C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts (open Notepad as administrator)
- macOS / Linux: /etc/hosts
3. Add a line (use the IP you copied, and both names if you use www):

203.0.113.10 yourdomain.com www.yourdomain.com
  1. Save the file. Open a private browser window and visit http://yourdomain.com.
  2. Check pages, images, forms, logins, and downloads.

Remove that hosts line when you have finished testing, or you will keep seeing this account after you no longer want to.

HTTPS during this test: AutoSSL (Let's Encrypt) issues from cPanel SSL/TLS Status only after the public name points here. The hosts-file copy may show as not secure. That is expected. Turn on HTTPS in step 6, after DNS.

If the site looks wrong on the hosts-file test, fix it here first. Do not switch nameservers yet. Open a support ticket if you want us to look.

3. Recreate email if mail is moving here

Shared-hosting mail is created in cPanel Email Accounts. That is not LochStudios Mail (Axigen). Axigen mailboxes live on the mail service. Open that service in the portal and click Log in to WebMail. See What is Axigen webmail and how to sign in.

Mail will live on this hosting account

  1. Create each address with the same local part (sales@yourdomain.com).
  2. In your mail app, add the new account (IMAP) and keep the old one until you have a copy of the mail. Username is the full email address.
  3. Browser inbox here is Roundcube.
  4. When the domain uses hosting DNS, the mail hostname is usually mail.yourdomain.com. Confirm in Email Accounts → Connect Devices. Ports: IMAP 993, POP 995, SMTP 587 (STARTTLS) or 465. Shared hosting allows 1000 emails per hour.

See General IMAP/POP/SMTP Mail Settings Explained.

Mail stays on Google, Microsoft 365, or another mailbox product

Do not let the zone reset to our shared-hosting MX. Before you switch nameservers, copy the existing MX, SPF, DKIM, and related TXT records into AtlasDNS (or into the Zone Editor if the domain is in cPanel Hosting DNS mode). Background: MX records and how email routing works.

4. Lower the TTL, then wait

TTL is how long other resolvers may cache the current answers. A shorter TTL makes the later nameserver change show up faster.

If the domain is registered with us (or already on AtlasDNS), open Domains → the domain → DNS in the portal and set a short TTL (300 seconds) on the records you will change. AtlasDNS is the default.

If the name is still on someone else's DNS, lower the TTL there (often 300 seconds), then wait at least as long as the old TTL before you switch. If the old TTL was 86400 seconds, wait a day after you save 300.

Unsure which DNS you are on, or you cannot find TTL? Open a support ticket. You can still switch nameservers without this step. The cutover just takes longer.

5. Point the domain at AtlasDNS

Only do this after the hosts-file test looks right.

If you registered the domain with us (at /domains or with the order), it is already on AtlasDNS. Open Domains → the domain → DNS. Set A records for @ and www to this account's Shared IP Address if they are not already. Add the MX and TXT records you listed in the first section.

If the domain is registered somewhere else, set its nameservers to ours, then manage records in the portal:

ns1.atlasdns.net.au
ns2.atlasdns.net.au
ns3.atlasdns.net.au

AtlasDNS is the default. Do not send the domain to a third-party DNS host. Full steps: Point your domain at your hosting.

cPanel Zone Editor applies only when the domain is in cPanel Hosting DNS mode (paired with this hosting service). If the portal DNS page says records are managed from the hosting control panel, use the Zone Editor. Unsure which mode you are on? Open a support ticket.

Moving the registration itself is a separate job and is not required for the website to load here. See Transfer a domain to us.

6. Watch the cutover and turn on HTTPS

DNS can take hours, and sometimes up to 48 hours, to show everywhere. During that window some visitors still hit the old copy. That is expected. See DNS propagation explained.

Once the name resolves here for you (try a private window, or a different network):

  1. Visit https://yourdomain.com and https://www.yourdomain.com.
  2. In cPanel, open SSL/TLS Status, run AutoSSL if a certificate is not there yet, and turn on Force HTTPS Redirect if the control is there.
  3. Recheck pages, forms, logins, and mail (send and receive a test).
  4. Remove the hosts-file line from step 2 if it is still there.

The browser padlock appears after AutoSSL has issued and you reload over HTTPS. Background: Understanding SSL/TLS and HTTPS.

If SSL/TLS Status still shows no certificate after DNS has updated, open a support ticket.

Hourly backups (Acronis) are already running on this account. Keep your own copy as well: Download and Restore a Backup.

7. Raise the TTL, then cancel the old account

After a full day of clean checks:

  1. In Domains → the domain → DNS (or the Zone Editor in cPanel Hosting mode), set TTL back to something like 3600 seconds.
  2. Keep the old hosting account for about a week so you can roll back if you missed a mailbox or a file.
  3. Cancel the old account there when you are sure. Keep the files and .sql you downloaded.

Do not delete those backups for at least 30 days.

If something is not working

  • The name does not load, or you still see the old copy: confirm the nameservers and A records, wait for DNS, try a private window, then see My website is down.
  • Database connection error: check the full prefixed database name, user, password, and host localhost. WordPress: Fix "Error Establishing a Database Connection".
  • Mail is missing or still going to the old inbox: confirm the addresses exist here, and that MX still matches where you want mail to land (this hosting, LochStudios Mail, or the external product you kept).
  • Not secure in the browser: wait for AutoSSL on SSL/TLS Status, or open a support ticket.

Do not wait on an email thread. Open a support ticket and we will help.

A typical week

  1. Day 1: Order hosting if you have not, upload the site, import the database, test with a hosts file.
  2. Day 2: Lower TTL if you can, switch nameservers (or A records on AtlasDNS), watch propagation, turn on AutoSSL.
  3. Days 3-7: Recheck the site and mail. Keep the old account.
  4. After that: Cancel the old account when you are confident.

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