Changing your hosting provider without the stress
Moving a website sounds like a weekend of work: copying files, exporting databases, creating mailboxes again and changing the DNS without breaking anything. With ThunderHosting you don’t have to do it alone. Free migration and consultation are part of the hosting we run for you: we handle the transfer from your current provider and then show you how to use our platform.
Your new home is web hosting on Plesk in our Lugano data centre in Switzerland, with free Let’s Encrypt SSL, daily backups and one-click WordPress. On this page you can read what we move, how the switch works without downtime and what we need from you to get started.
What we move for you
A website is more than its files. For a complete move we take care of everything your site and your domain need to keep working:
- Website files: your web space with themes, plugins, images and uploads, copied to the document root of your new hosting.
- Databases: MySQL/MariaDB or PostgreSQL databases, exported from your old host and imported on the new one, with your site’s connection settings updated.
- Email: the mailboxes and forwarders of your domain, set up on the new hosting so your addresses stay the same. Existing emails stay with your current provider until you switch; we can advise you on moving them, just ask in the ticket.
- DNS records: the records of your domain for the website, mail and things like verification entries, moved to ThunderHosting DNS or updated where your DNS stays.
- SSL certificate: a free Let’s Encrypt certificate for your domain as soon as it points to the new hosting.
Running a VPS or a more complex setup? Describe it in your ticket and we look at the best way to move it together with you.
No downtime: how the switch works
The secret of a migration without downtime is the order of the steps. First we set up your new hosting and copy your site there while the old one keeps serving your visitors. Only when the copy is complete and checked does your domain switch to ThunderHosting.
The DNS change is the moment visitors start arriving at the new server. It can take up to 24 to 48 hours to spread worldwide, and during that time some visitors still reach the old server. That is why your old hosting stays active until the switch is complete: keep it running for a few more days and check the old mailboxes once more before you cancel it.
How long a migration takes
That depends mostly on the size of your site and databases and on the kind of access your current provider gives. A small website moves quickly; a shop with a large database needs more planning.
We coordinate the switch with you in the ticket. If you already have a deadline, for example the end of your current contract, tell us right away.
What we need from you
To get started, open a ticket with the subject “Migration” and send us:
- Access to your current hosting: a login for its control panel, or FTP/SFTP and database access. A full backup also works if you can download one.
- Your domains: which domains and subdomains belong to the site and where each one is registered.
- Your mailboxes: the addresses and forwarders you use, so we can create them on the new hosting.
- DNS access: a login at your registrar or DNS provider, or you change the name servers yourself when we tell you to.
- Your timing: deadlines such as the end of your current contract, and days the switch should avoid.
Please send access details only in the ticket, never by email or chat, and change those passwords once the migration is done.
After the move
Once your domain points to ThunderHosting, you manage everything in the control panel: files with the File Manager or SFTP, mailboxes and webmail, databases in phpMyAdmin and WordPress with the WordPress Toolkit. Our knowledge base explains each step, and our support team is there for any question.
Your domain can stay with your current registrar. If you prefer to have everything in one place, you can also transfer it to ThunderHosting with the Auth/EPP code from your registrar.