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Moving a Website to Another Hosting Plan, Keeping the Same Domain
Moving a Website to Another Hosting Plan, Keeping the Same Domain
Moving a website between hosting plans
Updated over a week ago

To move your website to another hosting plan, keeping the same domain name, follow these steps:

IMPORTANT NOTES

  • This procedure doesn't apply for websites created with Hostinger Website Builder

  • The below steps are meant for WordPress-based websites

    • For other content management systems, the flow might be slightly different

    • However, you'll still need to download and upload files (and databases, if applicable) for all kinds of content management systems

Step 1 – Generate and Download the Backup of Your Website

In hPanel, go to Websites and click on Manage next to the website in question. Then, search for Backups on the left and click on it:

Once there, find the option Generate new backup and click on Select:

Next, click on Proceed. It may take up to a couple of hours, but it's usually done faster. Once backups are generated, you can download them. For files, select Files backups:

Specify a preferred date and click on Next step:

Next, click on Download all files:

Now, give it some time: for larger websites, it can take up to 30 minutes. Once it's ready, just click on Download Backup:

That's it! The downloaded archive will contain all of your website's files 😊

A similar process applies when downloading generated databases – select Database backups. From the dropdown, choose your database and click on Show databases:

If you're not sure which database to choose, check your website's configuration file and look for the name of the database. If you use WordPress, you may also refer to this tutorial: How to Find Your WordPress Database Name 💡

Then, select the preferred date of the backup, and click on Download:

That's how you download your website's files and databases.

Step 2 – Delete the Original Website

The next step is removing the original website from your hosting plan. It is necessary otherwise you won't be able to use your domain name with another hosting plan.

If you use an email service, make sure to back up your emails before deleting the website:

In hPanel, go to Websites, find the website in question, click on the ellipsis button (), and select Delete website:

You will be presented with a warning, reminding you of what exactly will be deleted: which domain, and that all data of it will be removed:

Finally, confirm the action by placing a checkmark and click on Delete. This way, your website will be removed from the hosting account.

NOTES:

  • If you remove the main domain of your hosting account, a new domain (the next one from the add-on list) will be set as the main one automatically

  • It may take around 10–15 minutes for a website to be completely deleted – give it some time and reload the page to make sure it's removed

  • IMPORTANT ❗️ If you only have a single domain and delete the single website you have, the whole hosting plan is canceled; to avoid this, create a dummy website and set its domain as the main one 👇

A dummy website is a website connected to any random domain name. If you're not sure what domain to use, you may use any subdomain of your domain. For example, if your domain is hello.com, you can use hi.hello.com or bye.hello.com, or similar (like placeholder.domain.tld as it will only work as a placeholder, you won't actually use that address).

To create a dummy website, follow this guide: How to Add a Website (select WordPress or any other CMS, but not Hostinger Website Builder)

To set its domain as the main domain, follow these steps: How to Change the Main Domain of Your Hosting Account

Step 3 – Add a New Website to the Preferred Hosting Plan

In hPanel, go to Websites, click on Create or migrate a website, select the preferred hosting plan, and click on Select plan:

In the step Create or Migrate a Website, select Create a new website:

In the step Select a Platform, select Skip, I will start from scratch. Finally, insert your domain name and click on Continue.

That's how you add your website to another hosting plan. Now, all you need to do is upload your website's files and databases.

Step 4 – Upload Your Website's Backup

There are multiple ways to upload backups, but the easiest one is to use the file manager – the upload limit is 100 GB. There's no big difference if you upload the website's files or its database first.

Upload Website Files

In hPanel, go to Websites and click on Manage next to the website in question. Then, search for File Manager on the left and click on it:

Access the files of a particular website:

Open your website's public_html folder, and click on Upload in the top-right:

Then, select File, and upload the backup of your website's files (.tar.gz). Sit back, and give it some time: depending on the size of the backup and the internet speed, it may take up to an hour.

Extract the Archive of Your Website Files

Now, right-click on the backup file, and choose Extract, or click on Extract in the top-right:

Insert a folder name, e.g., backup, and click on Extract:

Once the website files are extracted into a dedicated folder, you may delete the backup .tar.gz file 🧹

Now, let's move your website files to the correct folder. To do this, open the folder containing the extracted website files (in our case, it's called backups) → domainsselect the domain in question → open its public_html folder, select all the files, and click on Move file in the top-right:

Double-click on .. to go to the parent directory, so that the destination would be /files/public_html, and click on Move:

The goal is to have all the website files in the public_html folder.

Upload the Database

You simply need to create a new database and import a backup there. To create a database, in hPanel, go to Websites and click on Manage next to the website in question. Then, search for Management on the sidebar, and click on it:

The hPanel sidebar showing to select Databases Management

Make sure the correct website (the one you want to upload the database) is selected on the left drop-down menu:

The Database management section showing how to select the website

In the section Create a New MySQL Database And Database User, enter the name, username, and password of your database.

It's recommended to use the same name and password as in the original database. You can find and copy those details by opening your website's configuration file in the file manager.

For WordPress websites, it's in the public_htmlwp-config.php file:

  • DB_NAME = MySQL database name, e.g., u123456789_abcd

  • DB_USER = MySQL username, e.g., u123456789_efgh

  • DB_PASSWORD = your preferred password

Once you fill in the details, click on Create:

This way, a new database is automatically assigned to the selected domain and appears in the List of Current MySQL Databases And Users section, where you will be able to manage it.

The first part of the database name and username (u123456789) is unique and cannot be removed or changed 📌

To import the backup of your database, click on Enter phpMyAdmin next to the newly created database. On phpMyAdmin, your database will be selected by default, so simply click on Import:

Select the database backup that you've downloaded previously (.sql.gz):

Proceed further without changing anything on the settings and click on Go or Import.

If you can't import the .sql.gz file, extract it to the .sql format and try uploading it again; learn more about possible issues when importing a database 💡

Update the Database Details in Your Website's Configuration File

The final step is to make sure that your database connection details (name, username, password) match the details in your website's configuration file: How to Find MySQL Database Details 💡

Once the database is imported, open your website's configuration file and update those details to match those of the new database. Make sure to update the username, as it will definitely be different!

For WordPress websites, it's in the public_htmlwp-config.php file:

  • DB_NAME = MySQL database name, e.g., u123456789_abcd

  • DB_USER = MySQL username, e.g., u123456789_efgh

  • DB_PASSWORD = your preferred password

That's it! Now, you know how to move a website from one hosting plan to another, keeping the same domain 😊

If you get a 403 error when accessing your website after migration, it might be due to DNS propagation: different hosting plans have different IP addresses, therefore the A record has changed and is undergoing propagation; give it some time and your site will work like a charm!

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