Moving your website to a new host: a checklist for India

Moving a website to a new host sounds risky, but most problems come from doing the steps in the wrong order: cancelling the old host too early, switching DNS before testing, or forgetting that email lives on the domain too. This checklist puts the steps in a safe order so your visitors never see a broken site.

It works for WordPress, plain HTML sites and most PHP sites on cPanel hosting. Go through it once before you start, then tick things off as you go.

Before you start

Take a full backup of files and database

Your site has two parts, and you need both:

• Files: everything in your site's folder, usually public_html. In cPanel, use File Manager to compress the folder into a zip and download it, or use the Backup tool if your old host offers one.
• Database: if your site uses one (WordPress always does), open phpMyAdmin, select the database and use Export to download a .sql file.

Keep both on your computer, not only on the old server. If anything goes wrong, this is your safety net.

List your email accounts

Write down every mailbox on the domain (info@, sales@, your own name) and any forwarders. If email runs on Google Workspace or Zoho instead of the host, note that too, because it changes how you handle DNS later.

Check your DNS TTL

TTL (time to live) is how long the internet remembers your current DNS settings. If it's set to a day, the switch can take a day to be seen everywhere. A day or two before moving, lower the TTL on your main records to 300 seconds (5 minutes) where your DNS is managed, if it lets you.

Don't cancel the old host yet

Keep the old hosting running until the new site is live, tested and has been working for a few days. Renewal dates are the usual reason people rush, so start the move at least a week before yours.

Copy files and move the database

Upload the files

• Log in to cPanel on the new hosting and open File Manager.
• Go to public_html, upload your zip and extract it.
• Make sure files sit directly in public_html, not in an extra folder inside it.

Import the database

• On the new host, open MySQL Databases, create a database and a user, and add the user to the database with all privileges.
• Open phpMyAdmin, select the new, empty database, choose Import and upload your .sql file.
• Large databases can hit an upload limit. Zipping the .sql file first often gets it under the limit.

Update the config

Your site needs to know the new database details. For WordPress, edit wp-config.php in File Manager and update these three lines to match the database you just created:

• DB_NAME: the new database name, including the account prefix
• DB_USER: the new database user
• DB_PASSWORD: that user's password

Leave DB_HOST as localhost unless your new host tells you otherwise. Other PHP sites keep the same details in a file often called config.php or .env. Plain HTML sites need no config changes.

Test before you switch

Right now your domain still points to the old host, so typing it opens the old site. To check the new copy first, you can tell only your own computer to use the new server. This is done with the hosts file.

• The hosts file is a small text file on your computer that overrides DNS just for you.
• You add one line: the new server's IP address (from your welcome email or cPanel), a space, then your domain.
• On Windows it's at C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts (open Notepad as administrator). On a Mac it's /etc/hosts.
• Save, close your browser fully, reopen it and visit your domain. You're now seeing the new host, while everyone else still sees the old one.

Click through your important pages, log in to the admin, submit a contact form and check images load. When you're done, delete the line you added, or you'll keep seeing the new server even after something changes.

Change DNS

Right before you change anything, take one more fresh backup of files and database on the old host. If you or a visitor changed anything since your first copy (a new post, an order, a form entry), this catches it.

Once the new copy works, point the domain at it. The simplest way is to change the nameservers at your domain registrar to the ones listed in your welcome email. If email or other services must stay on the current DNS, you can change just the A records instead. Our guide to pointing your domain's DNS after you order hosting shows both methods and where to find the settings at common registrars.

How long propagation takes

• If you lowered the TTL, many visitors see the new host within an hour.
• Nameserver changes can take up to 24–48 hours to reach everyone.
• During this time some people see the old site and some see the new one. That's why the old host stays on.

Avoid editing content during the switch, since changes made on the old site won't carry over.

Check SSL after the move

Your SSL certificate is issued for the server your domain points to, so the new host can only issue it once DNS has switched.

• Open your site with https:// and check for the padlock.
• If you see a warning, wait a few hours after DNS has switched, then check SSL/TLS status in cPanel.
• For WordPress, make sure the site addresses under Settings → General use https://.

Move email as a separate step

Treat email as its own small project:

• If email was on the old host, create the same mailboxes on the new hosting before switching nameservers.
• After the switch, new mail arrives on the new host. Old messages stay on the old server, so move them across (an email app connected to both accounts by IMAP makes this a drag-and-drop) before you cancel.
• If you use Google Workspace or Zoho, make sure their MX and verification records exist on the new DNS, or use the A record method so they're never touched.

When to cancel the old host

Cancel only when all of these are true:

• DNS has pointed to the new host for at least three or four days
• The site, forms and admin work over HTTPS
• Email is arriving in the new mailboxes and old messages are copied
• You have your own local backup of files and database

Would you rather have help?

If you move to CheapHostIndia, your first paid order includes one free migration for a WordPress or normal static site. After payment, we guide you through it step by step on WhatsApp. Details are on the migrate page.

Pick a plan, then pay

Starter (₹49/month) suits one site, Growth (₹69/month) up to five, and Pro (₹99/month) unlimited sites. Yearly billing is 10× monthly. Every plan includes cPanel, free SSL, unmetered bandwidth and automated weekly JetBackup backups. Your account is created automatically after payment and your login details are emailed to you, so you can start the move straight away. Compare plans on /pricing.