The idea of moving your WordPress site to a new host might seem intimidating—but it doesn’t have to be.

With the right steps, you can move your coaching website quickly, safely, and without any downtime. 

In this guide, we’ll walk you through a stress-free process that even beginners can follow.

Why Move Your WordPress Site to a New Host?

There are several good reasons to consider switching your hosting provider.

  • Slow loading times can frustrate visitors and hurt your SEO.
  • Your current host may lack helpful or responsive customer support.
  • Better features like free SSL, daily backups, or staging environments may be available elsewhere.
  • You might find a more cost-effective hosting plan with better value.
  • Your site has outgrown your current host’s resources and needs more scalability.

Whatever your reason may be, let’s take the guesswork out of moving your site and help you get set up on your new host smoothly.

Why move hosting

1. Backup Your Website

Before making any changes, the most important step is to back up your entire website. 

This ensures that if anything goes wrong during the move, you can easily restore your site without losing content, settings, or design.

  • Use a plugin like UpdraftPlus or All-in-One WP Migration to create a full backup with just a few clicks.
  • For more control, you can back up manually using cPanel’s File Manager for your site files and phpMyAdmin for your database.
  • Store your backup in a safe place (cloud storage or local computer) before proceeding to the next step.

2. Choose a New Host & Set Up a Temporary Domain

Once your backup is ready, it’s time to pick your new hosting provider. 

Choose a host that offers better performance, reliability, and support compared to your current one.

  • Popular choices include SiteGround, Cloudways, and WP Engine for their speed and support.
  • After signing up, install a fresh WordPress setup on your new hosting account.
  • Most hosts let you work on your site using a temporary domain or staging URL before pointing your actual domain to the new server.
  • This gives you a safe space to test the site before going live.

Check out this article on how to decide on a good hosting for your website.

Pro Tip:

Before purchasing a new hosting plan, check if your new host offers free website migration services.

Many top WordPress hosts like SiteGround, Cloudways, and WP Engine offer free or assisted site migration — saving you time and reducing the risk of errors during the move.

If this service is available, it’s worth using — especially if you’re not comfortable handling files and databases manually.

3. Move Your Files and Database

Now that your new host is ready, it’s time to transfer your website files and database.

  • The easiest method is using a plugin like All-in-One WP Migration or Duplicator, which handles both files and database in one package.
  • Simply export your site from the old host and import it into the new one using the plugin.
  • If you prefer the manual route, upload your website files via FTP or File Manager, and import your database using phpMyAdmin.
  • Don’t forget to update the wp-config.php file with your new database credentials if you’re migrating manually.
Move Your Files and Database

4. Update Your DNS Settings

Once your site is set up on the new host, you’ll need to point your domain name to it by updating your DNS settings.

  • Log into your domain registrar (like GoDaddy, Namecheap, or wherever your domain is registered).
  • Replace the old nameservers with the new host’s nameservers, which you can find in your hosting account dashboard or welcome email.
  • DNS changes can take up to 24–48 hours to fully propagate, though it often happens much sooner.
  • During this time, some users might still see the old version of your site—this is completely normal.

5. Test Everything

After the DNS changes have taken effect and your site is live on the new host, it’s important to test everything thoroughly.

  • Check your homepage, inner pages, blog posts, and images to ensure they’re loading correctly.
  • Test forms, buttons, and any custom functionality to make sure nothing is broken.
  • Log into your WordPress dashboard and verify that all plugins and themes are working properly.
  • Clear your browser cache and any caching plugins to see the most up-to-date version of your site.
  • It’s a good idea to browse your site on both desktop and mobile devices.

6. Cancel Old Hosting

Once you’ve confirmed that everything is working smoothly on the new host, you can consider canceling your old hosting plan.

  • Before canceling, ensure that all your data has been fully migrated and tested.
  • Keep a copy of your old backup in case any issues arise later on.
  • If you were using a monthly plan with your old host, remember to stop automatic renewals to avoid unnecessary charges.
  • Some hosts may offer a refund if you’ve recently paid for a service, so it’s worth checking their refund policy.

Pro Tip:

Keep your old hosting account active for at least a week — even after your site is live on the new host.

This gives you a safety net in case you missed any files, emails, or settings during migration. It’s always better to double-check than rush to cancel and lose important data.

Essential Plugins & Tools for a Smooth Migration

Using the right plugins makes migration quicker, safer, and ensures minimal downtime.

Here are essential plugins that can simplify your site migration:

  • UpdraftPlus (Backup): Create complete backups for easy restoration if anything goes wrong during migration.
  • All-in-One WP Migration (Migration): Simplify the site transfer with a single-click export and import for files and databases.
  • Velvet Blues Update URLs (Change URLs): Automatically update URLs to the new domain, preventing broken links after migration.
  • WP-Optimize (Database Optimization): Clean and optimize your database to boost site speed and performance after migration.
  • Wordfence Security (Security): Protect your site from threats with Wordfence’s firewall and malware scanning.
  • WP Rocket (Caching): Enhance site speed by caching content for faster load times and improved SEO.
7 steps to Move Your WordPress Site to a New Host

Conclusion

Congratulations! Your WordPress site is now successfully moved to a new host with minimal stress. 

By following these simple steps—backing up your site, migrating files, and testing thoroughly—you’ve ensured a smooth transition without any downtime.

If you still have questions or need assistance with your website migration, feel free to reach out. Whether you’re moving to a new host or optimizing your site further, we’re here to help.

Need help with your WordPress migration?

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Komal

About
Komal

Building a website that drives traffic and generates leads is challenging. Komal is a website growth expert at WP Minds, a website consulting service that helps coaches, trainers, authors, and creatives to create winning website strategy, develop high converting websites, attract visitors and convert leads into customers to grow their businesses.

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