Website Migration
Move your website without breaking what already works.
We rebuild the whole site on the destination as a staging copy, check it against your live site, and cut over in a window you agree to.
- Files, database, configuration, SSL, and DNS all accounted for
- Staging copy verified against the live site before anything switches
- Cutover scheduled with you — downtime kept to a minimum
- URLs and redirects preserved so search results keep landing
Plan your migration
Tell us where the site lives now and where it’s going — you’ll get a written plan and quote within 24 hours.
Everything the site needs to run, moved as one set.
A website is not just a folder of files. It is a database, a stack of configuration, a certificate, and a set of DNS records that all have to agree with each other on the other side. Miss one and the site looks fine until the first person tries to buy something.
Files and media
Themes, uploads, images, documents, and any custom code — copied in full, with the directory structure and file permissions kept as they were.
The database
Pages, posts, products, orders, customers, users, and settings. The database moves intact rather than being rebuilt by hand, so nothing is quietly lost in translation.
Configuration
Language runtime version, server rules, caching behavior, scheduled jobs, environment variables, and the rewrite rules the site quietly depends on.
SSL certificates
A valid certificate is issued and active on the destination before the switch, so nobody meets a browser security warning on launch day.
DNS records
We write down every existing record — web, mail, authentication, third-party tools — before touching anything, then change only what genuinely has to change.
URLs and redirects
Your URL structure is preserved. Existing redirects travel with the site, and new ones are added wherever a path has no choice but to change.
How a migration runs
The order matters. Nothing switches until the copy has been checked against the site you already have, and you pick the moment it happens.
Audit
We look at what is actually running: platform and version, extensions in use, database size, custom code, integrations, mail, and the DNS records in play. You get the plan and the schedule in writing before anything moves.
Staging copy
The full site is rebuilt on the destination as a private staging copy on a temporary address. Your live site keeps serving visitors the entire time — nobody sees the work in progress.
Verify against live
We compare staging with the live site: pages, templates, forms, checkout, logins, and integrations. Staging is the source of truth for structural decisions — where the two disagree on how something is built, staging wins and the difference gets recorded.
Agreed cutover window
You choose the window. We freeze content changes, take a final sync of anything that moved since the copy, and switch DNS. The window is kept deliberately short and downtime is kept to a minimum.
Post-launch checks
After the switch we re-run the checks on the live domain: certificate, redirects, forms, mail flow, analytics, and search console. The old environment stays in place until you are satisfied.
Written handover
You get a written record of where the site now lives, what changed, what was deliberately left alone, and what to keep an eye on during the first week.
What we move
WordPress is the most common by a distance, but the method is the same wherever the site is coming from — and where a platform cannot be copied, we say so before you pay for anything.
WordPress
The migration we run most often. Core, theme, plugins, uploads, and the database move as one unit, on the versions you are already running.
WooCommerce stores
Products, orders, customers, tax and shipping configuration, and payment connections. Cutover is scheduled around your quietest trading hours, not ours.
Static sites
Hand-built HTML and generated static sites — fast to move, fast to verify, with the build and deploy steps documented on the way out.
Next.js and custom builds
Application builds move with their build pipeline, environment variables, and deployment steps written down so the next deploy is not a guessing game.
Hosted store platforms
Platforms like Shopify cannot be copied file for file. We move what is portable — domain, DNS, mail, redirects, and content — and tell you plainly what has to be rebuilt instead.
Something else
Most CMS platforms move fine. Tell us what you are on and we will confirm before quoting, including when the honest answer is that this is a rebuild rather than a move.
A migration moves your site. It does not update it.
Worth being plain about, because it is the most common misunderstanding in a migration quote — and the one that turns a clean move into an argument.
What a migration is
A migration copies your site as it stands today — the same plugin versions, the same theme, the same core version — onto new infrastructure. That is deliberate. It means the thing you sign off after the move is the thing you had before it, and if something behaves differently we know the environment caused it, not an update.
Plugin, theme, and core updates are not part of a migration scope and we do not quote them into one. If the audit turns up versions that are well behind, we flag exactly what we found and price the update work separately so you can decide.
Where updates belong
Updating a live site is its own discipline: changes tested on a staging copy first, pushed during a low-traffic window, and rolled back from a backup the moment something breaks. That is maintenance work, and it deserves its own time and its own budget — before the move or after it, but never bundled invisibly into a migration.
See Website Maintenance →Where your site can land
Pick the destination that matches the load. Hosting can be placed where it makes sense for your audience — US or Europe — rather than wherever the cheapest default happens to be. If you have already chosen a host elsewhere, we can migrate into that instead.
Web Hosting
Managed hosting with the essentials handled for you — the usual home for brochure sites and small stores.
See hosting plans →Cloud Hosting
Dedicated resources, fully managed, from $7.99/mo — for sites that outgrew a shared plan without needing a server team.
Explore cloud hosting →VPS Hosting
Dedicated NVMe resources with root access, from $6.49/mo — when the stack has requirements of its own.
Explore VPS hosting →Website migration FAQs
Will my site go down during the migration?
Your live site keeps serving visitors while we build and check the copy. The switch itself is a DNS change made in a window you agree to, usually a quiet trading period, and downtime is kept to a minimum. We don't claim zero downtime, because DNS doesn't behave that way.
How long does a website migration take?
It depends on the size of the site and how much custom work sits behind it. A straightforward brochure site is usually days rather than weeks; large stores and heavily customized builds take longer to verify properly. You get a written schedule at audit stage, before anything moves.
Do you move email as well as the website?
Mailboxes are a separate piece of work with its own method — see email migration. If both are moving, we sequence them together so one DNS change doesn't knock over the other.
What happens to my SEO, URLs, and redirects?
We preserve your URL structure. Existing redirects move with the site, and we add new ones wherever a path genuinely has to change. After the switch we re-check redirects, canonical tags, sitemaps, and search console on the live domain. If you want a deeper look at rankings afterwards, that's SEO work and it's quoted separately.
Do you update my plugins, theme, or core version as part of the migration?
No. A migration moves your site as it is today, on the same versions, so what you sign off on the other side is what you had before. Updates are maintenance work — tested on staging, pushed in a low-traffic window, rolled back if needed — and they're quoted separately from any migration. See Website Maintenance.
What platforms can you migrate?
WordPress most often, along with WooCommerce stores, static sites, Next.js and custom builds, and most CMS platforms. Hosted store platforms can't be copied file for file, so we tell you up front which parts move and which parts are a rebuild.
Do I have to host with you to have my site migrated?
No. We can migrate into hosting you've already chosen. Most clients move to us because they'd rather have one team accountable for the site, the hosting, the domain, and the mail — but it isn't a condition of the work.
Do I need to transfer my domain too?
No. A migration only needs a DNS change, which can usually be made wherever the domain currently lives. Moving the domain to us afterwards is optional and handled as a separate domain transfer.
What if something is wrong after the switch?
We re-run the checks on the live domain immediately after cutover and stay on hand through the settling period. The previous environment is left in place until you're satisfied, so there's no burn-the-boats moment.
What do you need from me to start?
Access to the current hosting or platform, access to wherever DNS is managed, the site URL, and a decision on the destination. We handle the rest and confirm the plan in writing before anything moves.
How much does a website migration cost?
It's quoted per scope — site size, platform, custom code, integrations, and whether email is moving too. Tell us what you're on and you'll have a written quote within 24 hours.
Ready to move the site properly?
Tell us where it lives now and where it’s going — you’ll have a written migration plan and quote within 24 hours.
Request a Migration Plan